VINCENT PACHECO - MAY 2020
Photo courtesy of Patrick Hyun Wilson
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a mixed media artist, a graphic designer, and educator currently living in Northern California’s Tahoe National Forest. I live in a small cabin surrounded by bears, mountain lions, gold miners, hippies, Tesla-driving yuppies, and meth addicts.
I’m a mixed media artist, a graphic designer, and educator currently living in Northern California’s Tahoe National Forest. I live in a small cabin surrounded by bears, mountain lions, gold miners, hippies, Tesla-driving yuppies, and meth addicts.
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Where are you and what are you currently working on?
Right now I’m in between two spaces; I live in the forest, but I’m also an artist in residence in Sacramento through the Ali Youseffi Project and Verge Center for the Arts. I feel really lucky about the residency— its given me the space away from the cabin to think about my upbringing, and its given me a welcomed moment of pause.
At Verge, I’m mid-way through a body of work that is confronting my cultural upbringing. Im a 3rd-generation Mexican-American, and I was born into a family of criminals and outlaws in San Francisco’s Mission District. We sold heroine for money. We joined street gangs. We robbed people with machetes. We stole steaks from grocery stores because we were hungry. I was lucky to escape that life at a young age, but the stories and memories are still pressing and on my mind. Right now Im unpacking my family history and Im using a lot of cultural symbols and traditional Mexican crafts in my work… I don’t have a fancy answer as to why I’m doing this work, but all I know is that this process has helped reveal certain realities about my family’s crime-ridden past, and where I fit into that larger narrative. Its been a process of discovery, and a process of reconciliation.
Right now I’m in between two spaces; I live in the forest, but I’m also an artist in residence in Sacramento through the Ali Youseffi Project and Verge Center for the Arts. I feel really lucky about the residency— its given me the space away from the cabin to think about my upbringing, and its given me a welcomed moment of pause.
At Verge, I’m mid-way through a body of work that is confronting my cultural upbringing. Im a 3rd-generation Mexican-American, and I was born into a family of criminals and outlaws in San Francisco’s Mission District. We sold heroine for money. We joined street gangs. We robbed people with machetes. We stole steaks from grocery stores because we were hungry. I was lucky to escape that life at a young age, but the stories and memories are still pressing and on my mind. Right now Im unpacking my family history and Im using a lot of cultural symbols and traditional Mexican crafts in my work… I don’t have a fancy answer as to why I’m doing this work, but all I know is that this process has helped reveal certain realities about my family’s crime-ridden past, and where I fit into that larger narrative. Its been a process of discovery, and a process of reconciliation.
What’s your studio routine like? Any zany habits?
I get really nervous before exiting my car. I tie on my face mask, put on my Nitrile gloves, and I fumble with my keys. Verge Center for the Arts has a key fob, so I scan the fob and it opens the back door for me. They make me sign a sign-in sheet, so I write down my name, and I wonder how many people have also touched the pencil I’m holding, and I start to freak out a bit. I then go upstairs to my studio and put my stuff down. My studio is #16 and I think of Joe Montana every time I see that number. I look at what I did yesterday and I’m usually happy with the work. But then I go down the hall to wash my hands for the prescribed 20 seconds. I have to use the Women’s restroom because its the only one up there, so the whole process is nerve-racking and I hope a woman doesn’t walk in on me and scream. After I’m done, I walk into the storage room and steal a roll of toilet paper to take home with me, because I can never find toilet paper in the stores and Verge has boxes and boxes of individually wrapped industrial rolls. I tuck the roll under my shirt and walk back to my studio and quickly put it into my backpack. Then I try and calm my ass down. “I promise I’ll reimburse them one day,” I say to myself as I start working. “I ain’t no criminal.”
I get really nervous before exiting my car. I tie on my face mask, put on my Nitrile gloves, and I fumble with my keys. Verge Center for the Arts has a key fob, so I scan the fob and it opens the back door for me. They make me sign a sign-in sheet, so I write down my name, and I wonder how many people have also touched the pencil I’m holding, and I start to freak out a bit. I then go upstairs to my studio and put my stuff down. My studio is #16 and I think of Joe Montana every time I see that number. I look at what I did yesterday and I’m usually happy with the work. But then I go down the hall to wash my hands for the prescribed 20 seconds. I have to use the Women’s restroom because its the only one up there, so the whole process is nerve-racking and I hope a woman doesn’t walk in on me and scream. After I’m done, I walk into the storage room and steal a roll of toilet paper to take home with me, because I can never find toilet paper in the stores and Verge has boxes and boxes of individually wrapped industrial rolls. I tuck the roll under my shirt and walk back to my studio and quickly put it into my backpack. Then I try and calm my ass down. “I promise I’ll reimburse them one day,” I say to myself as I start working. “I ain’t no criminal.”
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What are your favorite materials to work with?
So many! But I recently bought a MacBook Pro and a projector. And that has saved me a lot of time with my paintings— I can mock things up on the computer and project it and get a trace down. I know its cheating or whatever, but I have work to do and no time. I am also falling in love with masking tape, which I’ve never really appreciated before, but its one of the best tools ever. And I’m experimenting with paint markers and I’m trying to figure out if I like Molotow, Krink, or Copic markers the best. So far I’m leaning towards Krink.
So many! But I recently bought a MacBook Pro and a projector. And that has saved me a lot of time with my paintings— I can mock things up on the computer and project it and get a trace down. I know its cheating or whatever, but I have work to do and no time. I am also falling in love with masking tape, which I’ve never really appreciated before, but its one of the best tools ever. And I’m experimenting with paint markers and I’m trying to figure out if I like Molotow, Krink, or Copic markers the best. So far I’m leaning towards Krink.
How has your work changed over the years?
Before all this work related to family and heritage and culture, I was creating work from a completely different head space. I bought a cabin in the middle of the forest back in 2012, and began creating work to help me process my newfound surroundings. Initially I was interested in how the forest was affecting me, and how I was influencing it in return. But soon enough, I began questioning my motives for leaving it all behind and moving toward isolation, I thought a lot about idealism and the mythical pursuit of happiness. I incorporated sticks and rocks into my work. I chopped down trees and filmed it. I tried everything to get to the bottom of it. Eventually, and without any answers, I stopped trying to figure it out and I just came to terms with being. The act of being. And like magic, I solved that immediate question of “where am I?”. Now, having answered that question of place, I’ve had the capacity to move onto the next logical question— “where do I come from?”. And the work follows suit, and moves with me.
Before all this work related to family and heritage and culture, I was creating work from a completely different head space. I bought a cabin in the middle of the forest back in 2012, and began creating work to help me process my newfound surroundings. Initially I was interested in how the forest was affecting me, and how I was influencing it in return. But soon enough, I began questioning my motives for leaving it all behind and moving toward isolation, I thought a lot about idealism and the mythical pursuit of happiness. I incorporated sticks and rocks into my work. I chopped down trees and filmed it. I tried everything to get to the bottom of it. Eventually, and without any answers, I stopped trying to figure it out and I just came to terms with being. The act of being. And like magic, I solved that immediate question of “where am I?”. Now, having answered that question of place, I’ve had the capacity to move onto the next logical question— “where do I come from?”. And the work follows suit, and moves with me.
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Who else do you recommend we look at / read / listen to / cook with?
I’ve been fascinated by Mike Tyson lately. I read his autobiography (“Undisputed Truth”), I’ve seen his broadway show a few times (“Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth”), and I listen to his podcast all the time (“Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson”). I also like the cartoon that he’s in with Norm MacDonlad (“Mike Tyson Mysteries”).
I’ve been fascinated by Mike Tyson lately. I read his autobiography (“Undisputed Truth”), I’ve seen his broadway show a few times (“Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth”), and I listen to his podcast all the time (“Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson”). I also like the cartoon that he’s in with Norm MacDonlad (“Mike Tyson Mysteries”).
Any exciting projects on the horizon?
I just got hired at Sierra College here in Northern CA, and I’ll be teaching in their graphic design department beginning this Fall. Its a full-time tenure track position, and these things are really hard to come by, so I feel supremely lucky to have landed it. I’m excited to teach students about the grey area between art and design, about the power of personal work, and how we all have the inherent ability to shape our paths in life— no matter our circumstance or upbringing. I also got a couple of art shows in the works; one at The Garage on the Grove in Sacramento this fall, and another at Verge Center for The Arts in December. Who knows if these shows will come to fruition because of the pandemic, but one can only hope.
I just got hired at Sierra College here in Northern CA, and I’ll be teaching in their graphic design department beginning this Fall. Its a full-time tenure track position, and these things are really hard to come by, so I feel supremely lucky to have landed it. I’m excited to teach students about the grey area between art and design, about the power of personal work, and how we all have the inherent ability to shape our paths in life— no matter our circumstance or upbringing. I also got a couple of art shows in the works; one at The Garage on the Grove in Sacramento this fall, and another at Verge Center for The Arts in December. Who knows if these shows will come to fruition because of the pandemic, but one can only hope.
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website: http://vincentpacheco.com | instagram: @pacheco_vinny
