FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

Dostoevsky believed that beauty could save the world; Walt Whitman believed that words and poetry could. When I see a dance piece or an image that moves me, I believe that too. To me, There’s no point in doing art if you don’t think you can change the world for the better.

My work is deeply collaborative.  Human connection--my greatest tool--is the very thing that makes art universal and yet deeply intimate.  

The process of creating and applying makeup, of creating costumes and building sets is as important to me as is the act of taking the image itself.    Learning and mastering every aspect of my craft has also made me a better collaborator with the artists who help make my vision take form.

— Antolina Ortiz, Otumba

— Damián Siqueiros

THE SEARCH FOR BEAUTY

Beauty has for long been shunned out from art (the serious kind, of course!). The sublime took its place for a while and then Conceptual art took over and the focus was shifted to the “idea” rather than the vessel of the message. Maybe I’m too much of a hedonist, but I like the form for sensual cognition and experience to be as powerful as the idea. For me beauty is not ornamental, it is a tool.

I believe something that is aesthetically pleasing can help establish a conversation with a reluctant public; it can soften the message for people to be more receptive. Beauty can also have a cathartic effect by creating a deep emotionalconnection and release by the spectator. It is important to keep in mind that as a part of my formal research, one of my goals is to broaden the concept of what beauty is; It is not static, but one it evolves with time.

These constantly changing aesthetic standards are a reflection of the specific ideologies that produced them. Using the style of a particular era is also, implicitly, revisiting those ideas. In my work, I use this process of conscious appropriation to tie in a historical perspective to contemporary issues.

Beauty also acts as an instrument to master and exploit the transformative power of art. For example, through beautification, we can change the perception of a forgotten space or change the space itself to reclaim it.

— Maya Angelou

— Damián Siqueiros