Prototypes, Cardboard & Emotions: An Interview With Cristian Diez Sanchez
Based in Spain, he grew up working in a family art and craft business that introduced him to sculpture. He studied architecture in Chile before moving to Spain in the late 70s.
At the core of his work is the human figure and how expressions and movements relate to their environment. Often it is about the confrontation between him and his environment that always arrives at violence, repression and cruelty of power against the people. History has a tendency to repeat itself. Working in a series, isolation and loneliness, lack of dialogue and misunderstanding are recurring themes.
Cristian Diez Sanchez.SAH: Can you use 3 words to describe your work?
CDS: Prototypes for a second phase.
SAH: What are you working on at the moment?
CDS: Interesting because right now, together with the continuation of the two Series that I have been working on in recent months (“The Dancers” and “Al Tramonto”), which are two songs with a much more cheerful, positive spirit and longing for better times, to remove a little the heaviness of these last two years of the Covid Pandemic and the restrictions that have been.
I have returned, as a result of the war in Ukraine, to one of the themes that I have been developing for years because it seems not to have ended; the need for human beings to impose their will by force, whether for religious, political or economic reasons. It always ends with a powerful government destroying everything in front of it, with a destructive desire that I have called "God’s will or the madness of man".
And we have to continue keeping in mind the brutality of men against their fellow men. In my work, there is this constant of man's relations with himself and with his fellow men and the emotions that these relations produce. Starting with a feeling of loneliness, quite usual in our actual world, going through different emotions like anger, happiness, fear, sadness, surprise and all that are recurrent in normal daily life.
SAH: How do you go about transforming an idea into a physical piece?
CDS: In general there is no pattern. Really depends on the moment and how much I have worked, and have cleared up the idea in my head before. Sometimes I have to wait and rethink and make preparatory drawings. But it’s getting more frequent to go directly to draw over the cardboard and revise it in the process.
This means that it can happen that the previous idea has evolved in the process and the result may not look like what I had in my mind, for the better or the worst. As and when I realize that I have lost part of the meaning of my previous idea I force myself to get to the end, as it is a way of learning.
We always keep learning till the moment that you die.
Image courtesy of Cristian Diez Sanchez.
Image courtesy of Cristian Diez Sanchez.
SAH: Your figures are closely linked to the concept of Arte Povera, have you always been interested in using basic materials for your work?
CDS: I’ve always been a great admirer of the work of El Anatsui and his impressive tapestries with crushed metal bottle caps.
So when it was my time to get back to sculpture and as I was not sure what could come out of it I started using materials that I had close to me and that were not expensive. Easy to use and also quick to have results not depending on anyone. Also converting my previous designer studio into the simplest workshop was a challenge easy to accept.
And the concept of using recycled cardboard boxes was an added challenge that made the work more interesting.
Learning to use the limitations of the materials as a way of expression.
So every step carried me deeper into the Concept of Arte Povera and also to the idea of ephemeral art. That’s why I call all the work done all these years prototypes and they are not meant to be sold; too fragile and easy to get damaged.
SAH: Where do you get your inspiration from?
CDS: From going out and looking. I studied architecture and one thing that we were taught at school stuck with me. It was going out to look at everything related to the behaviour of the human being. How it relates to his fellow men, his needs, his moods, his feelings, what hurts him or produces sadness, or even the loneliness in general that you see in these crowded cities in which everyone needs to survive by himself.
Be always receptive to what you see and then to transform it into your work leaving emotions on the surface so that the viewer can react according to what he sees.
Image courtesy of Cristian Diez Sanchez.
SAH: What kind of impact do you hope that your work has?
CDS: This question is directly related to the previous one. Since my work is linked to human emotions, I also want the viewer to react in front of my work.
I don't want people who are seeing my work to remain indifferent because what I do are not decorative objects but expressions of human feelings that hopefully make the viewer think and react. I like it, I hate it, I cry with it or I feel happy but not indifferent.
In this second phase that I mentioned in the first answer, I am thinking of large volumes, human-sized or larger so that the viewer will have a greater impact on what they are seeing, since it is, in a way, being in front of oneself, walking by his side or spend time underneath to feel protected.
I don't want my work to feel like something foreign, on the contrary, I want that when one of my works is installed within a community that the viewers participate in some way and interact; and if it turns out that my work is damaged it will be a pity but it is there and people have to make it theirs in some way. You have to educate the audience but we know it takes a long time and we need to deal with that.
SAH: How do you define success as an artist?
CDS: Complicated question with a complicated answer. What is success and how can it be defined?
The most important thing is to be happy, enjoy what you do, be able to laugh a lot and constantly, and want to work and keep working.
Feel comfortable in oneself and be sure of what one does.
Art is completely commodified and the most expensive pieces at auction are constantly talked about as if that added special value to them or if the person who made it moved up a notch.
Today's art is completely linked to galleries and dealers, and galleries compete at fairs, not necessarily artists; if you don't have a good sponsor, it seems that you are worthless and if you decide that what you do are prototypes to which you don't want to give commercial value, you are out, you don't exist. If you want to set up an exhibition to show your work, it's not interesting, but if you want to sell then you've earned points.
So we go back to the beginning; success is being happy and enjoying what you do, feeling creative, having things to say and also maturing at work. Work constantly and work more, keeping your head busy with projects and new ideas.
It’s important to think that there is still everything to do in front of you and to be able to constantly enjoy and laugh at everything and everyone starting with oneself; it is not necessary to feel important, it is more interesting to feel alive.
We could also have to ask if success is in the money that one may have made with his work; is it really success?
You should never lose sight of what makes you happy, alive and creative.
Image courtesy of Cristian Diez Sanchez.SAH: Art school vs self-taught, what’s your thought?
CDS: The art school can be important to the extent that it teaches materials and explains the trades necessary for each one to develop.
The titles at the end will be useful if one wants to have an office career but they do not influence the creativity of the student.
The self-taught have a different speech because they often lack the discipline and self-criticism necessary to know how to progress in their work.
In both cases, the important thing is to know if one has the necessary creativity to get ahead because in the end, it is what will make the difference. Creativity cannot be bought, you either have it or you don't.
I am an absolute defender of trades, which unfortunately have been disappearing (and it appears difficult to have them back).
At the end of the last century, there were few left and in this century they have been replaced by technology that can generate brilliant results but from my point of view, they are baseless. As computers improve systems, there are many people who feel creative putting together what programs offer.
And now we have this new type that is neither school nor being self-taught but learning to use the programs that exist and that can give great results.
The important thing is not to discuss it now but to let the years go by and fashions go by and time will put everyone in their place.
And then it will be possible to see that probably there will be a school of Excellency and self-taught Excellency.
Machine Excellency sounds more complicated but time will let us know.
Discipline is good for work; feeling free can add a point, machines may help, but creativity is basic and you either have it or you don't.
SAH: Where can people purchase your work?
CDS: And back again to the need of selling. Clearly, it is something that has not worried me at all; since I feel that all my work is a unit and should be shown together. My major interest (clearly seeking the most difficult) has been to find a place where to present all my works together, and I continue to be in the same range.
For me is so clear that the different Series that I have worked on in the last 9 years need to present themselves together as prototypes (that is what they are), fragile and related and dependant on each other. Not to be sold but to be seen.
I have talked about the second phase and I am getting closer to it.
Hopefully in some weeks more I will have my first work real size (200cm height) to be placed in the garden of a house.
And clearly, I am open and willing to develop special projects for people or entities that have a space where to place them, preferably on the exterior, garden, park, the entrance of a big building or an urban square. Nothing could make me happier.
So there is no rush, still planning a big exhibition of my prototypes, impatiently waiting for this first big project to be finished so I can show it and clearly with open arms to whoever has an idea to where place one of my works (in big size) or to develop a special project for a special place.
Image courtesy of Cristian Diez Sanchez.
SAH: What advice would you give somebody who has just started their artistic career?
CDS: The first and better advice to anyone is clear: work, work, work.
The muse does not come down alone so it is useless to sit and wait for it to come, it doesn’t.
On the contrary, it is necessary to think about working and working and with work, new ideas and new projects always come out.
Self-discipline to accept critics from others, understand the critics and use them to grow. Never ignore advice.
It is interesting to hear opinions and helps also to mature the work.
Never wait for anyone to give you anything because it usually doesn't happen and again it is only your work and your creativity that will put you on the right path. If it is in an art school learn as much as you can so you can forget it after but it will have developed your way of structuring your work.
Never forget that it is a work as any other work. If it is self-taught think that it is not better not worst and that you will need to build your own discipline to manage your work; clearly, you will need to use much more of your creativity to gain some respect and keep working.