Luis Gispert: Louis Vitton Escalade and words of wisdom
Is art your first love or do you have another passion?
The fantasy is to live without rules, routines, or compromises. Art and love are two ways I can most approximate this utopia. I’m passionate about everything I do.
Tell me about yourself, where you live and your background/lifestyle.
I was born in New Jersey and grew up in Miami Florida. Both my parents were born in Cuba, so my sister and I were raised in a politically and visually Baroque environment. Their passion for polemics over dinner during our childhood definitively affected the way I see the world and approach my work. The beauty was that all this solemnity was balanced with their love for music and humor and
pranks. In 2001 I moved to Brooklyn after graduate school and have kept a studio
there ever since.
Is there anything about the way you produce your work that you believe
to be unique or unusual?
I don’t think there is anything unique about the way I work. Like many artists I jump from medium to medium. Whatever fits the idea at the time. I tend to have a short attention span so I like changing the way I work frequently. I like not knowing how things are going to end. The mystery, and the
anxiety of possible failure always exist.
Once a project is completed I don’t like to repeat it. Perhaps that relates to why I don’t draw that much- because once it’s illustrated on paper it’s dead. It’s more exhilarating having a fuzzy image in your head that changes
Who do you feel has influenced art most this century?
Filmmakers and video game designers
Who first influenced you artistically?
Probably my great uncle. He was the black sheep of the family a revolutionary thinker. He killed a man in Cuba because of a family vendetta, pretend to be insane to escape capitol punishment, received a presidential pardon then escaped to Miami. I spent a lot of time with him as a kid. He was a very charismatic and creative man, always tinkering and taking me along on his “crazy” projects. His disrespect for authority was inspiring.
Who inspires you?
That changes all the time. As of recent the supremacists and ghetto aesthetics have led me back into the studio to make sculptures. Also Omega 3 Mood Fish oil has done wonders.
What role does the artist have in society?
I believe the Dadaist blueprint is still valid. Artists should question all prevailing standards. That’s not say art can not have entertainment or pleasure value. The goal of the artist in the 21st century is not limiting themselves to one miniscule audience.
Luis work can be found in published by the Museum Of
Contemporary Art Miami