Miami, Florida

1-Do you make a career out of or hope to make a career out of art, or is it a sideline for you?

I’ve been a computer systems analyst/programmer since 1976 and I’m also a mathematics tutor for high school and college students, but when I am with my friends and say that I am a programmer/mathematician/painter they correct me and say: "no, you are a painter/mathematician/programmer".

Please, don’t tell my boss.    

2-What is it about your work that makes it speak to people or to the community at large?

I would rather ask the people.

3-How do you let people know about your work?

I usually invite the people around me, people I know, to see my work on a one-on-one basis since I consider art to be an important part of a personal relationship. Then those people who get to see and enjoy my work tell others about it and hopefully it becomes a chain. I have also a site in www.artistamundo.com.

4-What do you feel inspires you to make art in the particular medium you have chosen?

Who knows?

5-Why Miami?

Why not Miami?.

6-Do you have a favorite artist from the past or present?

Every single piece of art I have seen in my life has influenced me in one way or another. Every creator of a good piece is my favorite when I am in front of his/her work. Either a renamed master or just a high school student, if they are genuine, they become my favorite artist at that moment.

7-How would you compare the art scene in Miami to other cities you have lived or worked in?

Art is part of the city’s environment, so art belongs to the city itself. No two cities are alike. I have seen good contemporary art here in Miami, as well as in New York, Paris, Mexico, Madrid and other cities as part of the city itself. I would say that art is an important part of the city’s soul. It is impossible to compare souls.

8-If someone wanted to get into being an artist, what would be your first suggestion to them?

Be genuine. Create art for yourself and not for the public. That is what the public loves the most.

Interviewer:

Annette Peikert

www.lifeisartfest.org