Carlos Rodriguez

Everywhere across the country, communities and organizations are transforming their public “SPACES” into public “PLACES”; “PLACES” being designed to attract and engage all of its people in recognition, appreciation, and celebration of their shared histories , achievements, rich cultural traditions, and valued differences. The ultimate goal of these places is quite simply,  to support building a truly inclusive, engaged, and vibrant community for all. 

Murals play an essential role in a majority of these “PLACES”. Not only do their artistic beauty and community-informed visual imagery often become a point of pride for  the community , but their visual stories act as a catalyst in   promoting positive community dialogue,  understanding, unity, and the building of new relationships. 

Influenced by my cultural heritage, immigrant story, and unique 20+ year artistic journey, my murals are always designed and composed in partnership with important community/organization stakeholders with the goal of translating their stories into high-quality visual experiences that will engage and inspire people from throughout the community. My murals are often composed of large, colorful, and detailed images reflecting a blend of indigenous traditions, colonial influences, and modern interpretations, creating a dynamic and vibrant visual language that promotes greater cultural identity and awareness, individual and community empowerment, social equity, and the shared hopes, dreams, and aspirations of a community or organization’s peoples. 

My Artistic Journey

My father moved our family from Mexico to the United States in the 80’s  in order to find the needed medical care my sister needed to save her  life.  My sister is alive today because of the treatment she received.

As a young boy in Mexico, before immigrating to the United States, I was being raised in a town whose public spaces were filled with murals that seemed to provide the “glue” that helped connect the community and to give voice to its peoples’ shared struggles, hopes and dreams. By being exposed to these murals, and since then , the works created by great Mexican Muralists like  Rivera, Squieros and Orozco , I  have come to understand  and appreciate just how powerful a role murals can play in  empowering and giving voice to a community’s  people, in promoting deeper cultural awareness and appreciation, and in visually reflecting its  collective hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

While I now realize the seeds of my artistic journey had been sown in Mexico, they took root and began to grow after arriving in America and finding my first artistic outlet in graffiti . Graffiti and Street Art gave me the freedom and the support structure I needed to learn how to visually express myself in public places and to develop my artistic talents; talents that soon found my artwork being appreciated not only for its beauty but also for its ability to touch the hearts and minds of those throughout the community for the stories and messages it visually communicated. 

For the past 20+ years, my talents have continued to grow through collaborations across a network of professional Bay Area muralists, public Art/Mural organizations (e.g., Precita Eyes Muralists; Mission District, San Francisco) , and through my arts business that has focused on commissioned street art pieces, murals, and fine art . Over the years, I have completed dozens of murals throughout San Jose (and beyond). These creative works  have engaged the hearts and minds of thousands of people through captivating and inspiring compositions and imagery that gave visual life to their unique stories, histories, cultures, hopes, dreams, aspirations, and shared values of the communities and organizations in which they had been imagined and created. 

As the tlacuilo (artist) in my calpulli (chosen family/group/clan),  I believe it is my responsibility to create powerful works of art that help inform, educate, empower, and inspire the communities within which I work and live.  I see my art as an important and influential piece of the puzzle that helps  create and/or sustain a community’s unique culture and identity. I don’t take these responsibilities lightly. I am always reminded of the great Mexican Muralists and  Artists who came before me, artists who had taken on the responsibility to inform, educate, empower, and inspire not only a small community but an ENTIRE COUNTRY. To this day, the  artwork these greats created continues to speak volumes about the culture, struggles, hopes, dreams, and aspirations that existed at the time they were created.  These great artists’ works spoke through a creative language that was authentic and honest but  yet managed to touch the hearts and minds of their audiences in ways that promoted the power of the community and its people as the true source for creating a better tomorrow for all. In every mural and artistic work I create, I strive to live up to these standards and to have my artwork be remembered for its powerful role in empowering communities/organizations and its peoples to work in a unified way towards the realization of a better community, and world, for all. 

Mission

To create powerful and inspirational high-quality visual experiences through murals, canvas art, and range of visually stunning creations that touch the hearts and minds of audiences while enriching and activating the environments in which they are installed.

“Captivating and Inspiring works of art that help turn “Spaces” into welcoming, engaging, and vibrant “Places” that celebrate and embrace the value, beauty, and power of our cultural diversity and our shared hopes and dreams for better tomorrow for all.” 

Approach

My murals’ imagery and compositions are informed through a series of conversations that encourage  important stakeholders *(e.g.  mural sponsors, community members, advocates, leaders, students, parents, business owners , cultural institutions, etc. as appropriate) to share their individual and collective views on the community’s/organization’s current cultural identity/identities as well as their views about the community’s/organization’s future( i,e, the challenges they see it may face as well as the hopes, dreams, and aspirations they have for its future.). From there, I work with these stakeholders to create and share their visions on what a more culturally rich, inclusive, engaged, and vibrant community for all might look like in the future should their hopes, dreams, and aspirations be realized.

Following these essential conversations, I create a  small number of compositional studies (e.g., drawings and/or paintings) and ask participants to provide additional feedback, inputs, and ideas. Following this session I create an updated compositional study for the stakeholder dialog group members and the mural’s program sponsor to review and approve. Once approved, I complete a final compositional study that I then use to help guide my work in painting the mural on its intended surface.

*Note: By bringing together these stakeholders in a safe, supportive, and respectful environment, each stakeholder gets a chance to engage with each other on a deeper level;  reflecting a process which , in itself, becomes an early step in helping build deeper relationships amongst stakeholders ( a.k.a. a  “healing circle” for communities and organizations in conflict) by highlighting and introducing the type of work it will take to build and sustain a truly culturally rich, inclusive, engaged, and vibrant “Place” for all to enjoy.

Contact

artist@carlosrodriguezart.com

Instagram: @CarlosRMK