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Joe Raymond Vega
The works of artist Joe Raymond Vega focus on the implementation of multimedia and how it intersects in our everyday lives through elusive technology.
The artist’s background reflects on a heavy exploration of performance though music and sound. Early in the development of their art, their focus was split into visual and audio spheres, pulling at both sides of creativity. Torn by these isolated paths, Vega chose to bridge the gap by fusing these two disciplines and creating works fluent in open and public space.
Through creativity and experimentation, Vega finds affirmation, achieves joy, and experiences wholeness and restoration. In creating work, their hyperfocus takes over, relying on intuition and spontaneity to drive the flow state.
Vega uses sound, film, drawing/painting, and 3D modeling as a descriptive language to translate empathy and sensorial-based artworks. Vega’s work gives the viewer a sense of the tangible, leaving an impression that invokes feelings of accomplishment and community.
Resume (PDF)
MORE ABOUT THIS ARTIST
Artist Style: Music: Dance/Electronic, Experimental; Visual Art: Abstract, Conceptual, Contemporary, Dream Imagery/Ethereal, Environmental, Experimental, Expressionistic, Figurative, Focus on Color/Light/Movement, Interactive, Minimalism, Non-Objective, Representational, Site-Specific, Still Life
Artist Medium: Acrylic; Audio/Sound; Drawing Media; Film; Gold Leaf; Photography
Artist Statement of Work
Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):
1745 San Antonio was a darker place where natives were often murdered, forced to convert to Catholicism, or pressured to assimilate. 1745 was also the year that the historic Espada Acequia was completed, a canal system used to bring water from the San Antonio River to the Missions and irrigate crops. The construction and operation of the Acequias was supervised by the Franciscan Friars and labor was completed by native slaves and Spanish soldiers.
I wanted to create an interactive piece that reflects the trauma of genocide and forced labor and the submission of sustainability, innovation, and community. The audio samples I generated, as well as working in the key of D-flat Major, help the listener envision an eerie, dark, and foreboding environment. I was also inspired to include nostalgic Cicada songs, to give a glimpse of what it may have been like to be outdoors in San Antonio in 1745, and connect Then to Now.
Lastly, for me, it is imperative that the viewer engage with my piece by directly communicating with the machines. I created this piece by-hand, drilling and soldering, so that they viewer may experience a personal, one-on-one, interaction with the sounds of the Espada Acequia and 1745 San Antonio.
Culturally Specific Art Category
Select Culturally Specific Art Category:: Hispanic or Latino/a/x