ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Liliana Perez

Liliana Perez is a Cuban artist. She studied at the Pratt Institute and DePaul University, has been head painter at Steppenwolf theater and at Glimmerglass Opera, and got her MFA from the New York Studio School.  She won grants from Honenberg and A.I.R. France, and was nominated to attend RAP.  Liliana has exhibited widely in the US and worldwide.

RomeArtProgram: What is your definition of “art” today?

Liliana Perez: I find “Art” is a feeling that turns into a verb. Art holds for me ways to fuse a specific emotion and experience in an invented form, in or about space, or both. I can’t say what it is, and I can’t look away.

RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?

Liliana: Art’s elusive nature changes when we humans redefine our philosophy of how we live. We feel stirred when looking at art, and art is the catalyst for acting on what it means to be human.

RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?

Liliana: I met with the high school counselor to set up my first-year classes; she went over the requirements and emphasized how important it was to make choices that would lead me to attend a good college. I asked her if I could have a few minutes to get a drink of water. I knew I had to make sure I took art classes in the first year. I returned and said I would start my career as an artist in high school by taking a drawing class in my first year. We worked out a plan, and I had art every day for four years. With that grit, I managed to create a good enough portfolio to get accepted to Pratt Institute.

RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?

Liliana: Art plays a role of entertainment, a function of exclusion. The significant figures are the ones that don’t exclude nor entertain. Instead, they share imagination, wonderment and invite the viewer to spend time with them while looking at art, such as David Hockney, Leon Kossoff, Paula Rego, Bill Viola, to name a few. I have never met these artists. But I know many fabulous artists from the New York Studio School, faculty, staff, and peers. I feel close to them because they give me the confidence to work from a place of hope.

RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?

Liliana: Today’s collectors, curators, and patrons practice an interaction model relationship and significantly boost an artist’s career.

RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?

Liliana: Technology has changed how we see art by overlooking what is slow to take on. It is repeated but made to look different, with unique juxtaposing to spin our sensibility. But technology has also heightened our need to connect and create valuable connections, look a little longer and ask more questions. Technology has changed the democratization and capitalization of art. I balance it myself by looking more at Agnes Martin, being more deliberate and giving more to the audience, shedding the arrogance and replacing it with empathy.

RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?

Liliana: My answer to that question is, what do the fragments reflect now? As the question asks, the shattering has given way for more individuals to have the time to create. I spend more time understanding the importance of light. I even grew a deeper understanding of shadows in the landscape.

RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?

Liliana: Be present; take notes with words, marks, colors, and listen. Look at the work till I hear the artist’s intent, see what is obvious, and see the maker’s sensibility and philosophy.

RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?

Liliana: Academies and Art School’s fundamental role is to teach history and make the past relevant today. The other function is to create an environment for artists to make breakthrus in their work.

RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?

Liliana: Being authentic is the only way to live as an artist.

RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?

Liliana: Museums and Galleries are poised to prove their worth and knowledge. Museums, for me, exist to house and take care of works of art. It doesn’t imply the work needs to be from an old or dead artist, but a work of art that “own’s time.” Museums, for me, are like a temple? Museums are run by Board Members, endowments, and curators, making them a specialized bubble, a wee bit out of touch with their members.

RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction” ? Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?

Liliana: I find figurative art is more prevalent today because Artificial Intelligence has driven robots into our daily lives. We are interested in seeing ourselves in different forms, and the human figure is beautiful, but so are some abstract paintings.

RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?

Liliana: Look, draw, draw, draw, read, make, play, play, and play; meet other artists.

RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?

Liliana: Yes, we experience the past and future when we make art. Scientists say time and space are connected. I want to think that YES! art can save us.

www.lilianaperez.com