Iván Lopez Munuera:
When you were selected for Circuitos MMX you hadn’t yet finished your studies at university, so your experience of the educational system is still quite fresh. You’ve seen several different academic environments, first at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Complutense University in Madrid and, subsequently, at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg, where you finished your degree. I’d like you to talk to me about your reasons for attending these centres.Ignacio García Sánchez:
The Complutense, everyone knows, is far too traditional, though this may be a good thing too, something I’ll explain later on. I went to Hamburg for a number of reasons. I’ve always liked to travel, to get to know other countries, and I’d always wanted to leave Spain. As paying for the trip myself was very difficult, I had to stay in Madrid for three years until I could finally go thanks to an Erasmus grant and now I don’t want to return.
Why?
Because everything is freer in Germany. There are no credit points, no grades and no timetables. There are seminars which you can attend if you want to –and they do have timetables– but nothing happens if you don’t go. You have all the time to spend on your own oeuvre; you don’t have to do exercises, or compulsory work. But technique is missing, which is the positive thing about Madrid. At the Complutense you work on still-lifes until fourth grade. If you like drawing, then it is definitely the right thing for you.
Why Hamburg?
My first choice was Berlin, definitely Germany. Finally I ended up in Hamburg. I wanted Germany because it’s where I’ve see the best balance between quality of life, climate, education, art scene and movements. I find most places attractive, but not to live in, just to travel through.
In what ways is travel important in relation to your work?
In every way.
In Circuitos MMX we are going to see a number of your works, a suite of drawings, a sculpture and, lastly, some pieces made from moulding clay. What do these works have in common?
The main piece is the set of drawings. It is not a closed suite, but rather an open one that communicates with the other pieces I’m presenting. Drawing lets me be more descriptive than painting, more narrative. With drawings I can introduce more ideas that interest me. Regarding the sculptures, firstly I made the fabric ones which I wanted to be life-sized. They are the characters of the drawings taken out of context.
The drawings are reminiscent of children’s illustration, the fabric sculptures look slightly like cuddly toys and the sculptures made of moulding clay resemble decorative figurines, do you use these domestic worlds as a reference?
Yes. In this manner I keep a distance between the subject I am dealing with and the way I approach it. It infuses the whole thing with a degree of estrangement, with humour too, which I really need when broaching such serious themes.
Themes like political strife, revolutions, war zones, reconstructions and places that look like a hurricane hit them.
Yes.
All of which are populated by recurring figures that look a bit like rats or lemmings…
…vermin. Vermin represents the parasitical, the plague. Just as each character in the drawings plays a role, those little animals portray the irrational side. They have no morals, you cannot judge them, and they inhabit the place just like the people. Sometimes they are the victims, sometimes the executioners. The only thing they do is exploit a situation they did not create. They push their way into private business to see what they can unearth. They are all metaphors for something else.
Yes, that’s where I was heading. They provide a fictional view of something that appears to be real. In other words, you clarify the fiction they generate in any given situation, including extreme ones, such as, for example, a battle scene.
The drawings tackle historical subjects from a highly metaphorical and ambiguous point of view. I have chosen historical moments that have been repeated a number of times, which do not belong to any specific time or place, although they are sometimes vaguely identifiable. People from different countries or of different ages can take away different interpretations and I’m interested in applying that mythology to a variety of real situations. Outrageous things we accept as natural.
A number of images crop up repeatedly, such as the hermit and the children, but according to your description they have no single meaning.
For the most part the old bearded characters are the scientists, philosophers and intellectuals of our society. The ones who don’t work, they just think and provide instructions about what others should do, for better or worse. Then there are the security forces, the army, who are given orders. The workers and the children are innocent; they have no say in what is going on, yet they play a crucial role in it. These same characters play different roles in every historical era.
How do these pieces connect to the rest of your oeuvre?
I refer to them as a suite because I don’t want them to be regarded as something finished: ten pieces and it’s over. No, I’m constantly adding, extending and evolving. I didn’t think too much about the first things I made, but I’m becoming increasingly aware, I am conceptualizing them now, as if they were all applied arts techniques that are being brought to the foreground. I’m now working a lot with posters, a medium that has been used throughout history as a vehicle for framing political projects and ideological propaganda. They are techniques which at first sight aren’t artistic, but which make the spectator realize that every cultural product, even though it might not be museum art, contains ideologies and ideas one should always be aware of. Any image has them.
Your drawings, with those very clear lines, also seem reminiscent of other fields, such as videogames, comics or graphic design. Or of the work of artists regarded as outsiders such as Daniel Johnston or Robert Crumb.
I’m not interested at all by design. I read comics, but when I was small, not now. I’m not a big fan of comics.
Which techniques and materials do you feel most at ease with?
My main technique is drawing. The sculptures are three-dimensional versions of what I already created in drawings. Of course subsequently, when they are translated into a new medium, they are no longer the same. They take on new meaning and they need to be treated differently.
You have taken part in various group exhibitions. What do you think of them? Do you think they allow for a better or worse, similar or different, evaluation of your work compared to a solo show?
I think group exhibitions are important because to prepare a decent solo show you might spend a year producing new material. Group exhibitions are good for discovering new artists, for seeing an assortment of things, though sometimes –actually almost always– the connections between them are not very strong.
Do you have any thoughts regarding success and failure in work?
That can be judged in a variety of ways, commercial, professional or personal success. Sometimes they go together, but not always. First off I think it is quite likely that any contemporary artist doing worthwhile work may not be able to make a living from it or be regarded as successful. However, I do think there is recognition. I do not believe in the Romantic image of the unknown artist. Success and failure are out there.
And what are your thoughts about them in relation to developing your own work?
When you working directly, you think about the piece you are making and I try harder and harder to make sure that I’m doing a good job, something that is worth the effort, because it takes me a long time.
Do you regard art as a closed, monolithic and exclusive world, or open, porous and plural?
For the most part the world of museums and exhibitions stays off the scope of ordinary people. Though lately they are attempting to do things that can attract all sorts. With regard to exhibitions, it is very difficult to balance the commercial part with artistic quality and with the desire for novelty. If you want to attract big crowds you can’t do the things you would do in order to maintain a high artistic level. The degree of demand is the decisive aspect.
Furthermore, contemporary artists insert current things into their works; things not part of the world of art. There must always be something taken from outside so the piece doesn’t end up being a rehash, or a mere version of prior works by other artists.
What do you expect from the art world?
It is the world where I can best convey what I want to communicate. Despite the fact there are many things I don’t like about it, I still think it’s the best terrain to appreciate things. It is where I obtain greater freedom, even though it’s elitist. It is a place where anything can enter, be accepted and evaluated in a very different manner to other worlds.
Where do you see yourself in ten year’s time?
Where I am now, but better. Not having to worry about doing any other jobs that aren’t this, being able to live, even if very modestly, from what I earn from my art work. I don’t know if the way is through galleries or institutions, but I would like to try to live from my work alone. And at the same time, I would like as many people as possible to know about it.
