|
Carlos Cruz-Diez
"I do not become inspired, I ponder"
With Fisicromía back at Plaza Venezuela, the spirit of the master of kinetic art returns to Caracas. In Paris, where he lives, however, he picks up the phone and opens his electronic mail box to show us the nuances he sees in the world at his 85 years of age
|
|
Art has marked Cruz-Diez, who because of his honesty as an artist has occupied privileged positions (Photo: Handout)
|
|
(3) 1 votes
Vote
JOSEPH POLISZUK
EL UNIVERSAL
 What inspires you? I do not become inspired; I ponder. How do you want to be remembered? As I am, because that is the only thing I have been able to do. Have you visited all the cities where your works are displayed? You cannot create a large-scale work unless you have seen and studied the site. Does a Cruz-Diez prompt different reactions in Caracas, Paris or Seoul? Any reaction to the spectacle and surprise of a kinetic work is comforting. It confirms my idea that art knows no borders, because I have been able to communicate with a viewer even though I know nothing of his language or customs. Every Cruz-Diez is worth quite a few dollars. Can art really appeal to the masses? Love of art is a higher state of sensitivity and has nothing to do with class. Things of the spirit cannot penetrate those for whom life is nothing more than eating, fornicating and defecating. That is why the commitment of a society and a government must be to create the opportunity for spiritual and cultural growth. What role does culture play in a city where every weekend 50 people die at the hands of criminals? If the government and society do nothing to rescue people both culturally and humanistically, they will remain at the animal level where life, living together as a group and belonging to a country, are worth nothing. Your Web page says: "The work is not disconnected from the artist's generational circumstances...." What influenced your ideas? The same thing that motivated others of my generation. We wanted to grow, stand face to face with artists from the developed world. Look them in the eye without bowing our heads. My generation suffered from cultural dependency, due to a lack or late arrival of information. That is why we came to Europe. Where were you during the events of May 1968? I had already been living in Paris for eight years, and I felt it all intensely. We thought that society had changed and that everything would be different. It was one of the most beautiful illusions that Western civilization has had. How did you turn your atelier into a family business? It is a life plan that my wife Mirtha and I built up. When I was courting her, I was able to convince her that, for an artist, life and art are one and the same. And I have practiced what I preached, involving our three children and, now, the grandchildren. In 1981 you said you suffered from Caracasitis. Are you still afflicted by that terrible disease? Less now, because I come less often. It is the anguish and despair that I feel as I watch the decades roll by while we stand still. Watch as the country, instead of moving forward into the 21st century, moves backward to the 19th. What did you feel when they demolished the mural outside the port in La Guaira? That work was designed to solve an urban problem, a work that I gave to the people of La Guaira and that they accepted with affection. But others, who are not of the people, demolished it. Those are the uncertainties of a country like ours. Translated by Francine Jacome |
|
