Check out Andrew Caruso’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Caruso.

Andrew, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have been working on art since I was a young child. My childhood revolved around creative projects, whether they were fine arts or creative endeavors not traditionally associated with the arts. I have spent the entirety of my life and artistic career producing work in Arizona, and have much love for the Phoenix Community. Aside from five years spent in Tucson, I have spent most my time in Central and Downtown Phoenix. Over the years my direction has changed due to my exploration of different creative fields. For much of my life I had the intention of working in the field of communication arts as an illustrator of graphic designer. It was not until much later on that I shifted my focus onto the contemporary art world. As I have moved on to more conceptually driven work, elements of a design background are very much a part of my aesthetic foundation and can still be seen in the work I produce today. I am currently working on my graduate thesis at Arizona State University and with that completing my MFA.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My current work examines education inequality both in Arizona and the rest of the United States of America. I consider myself a multimedia artist with a deep love for the traditional printmaking processes. I have spent over a decade refining my skills in a variety of printmaking processes. One in particular that I have a deep admiration for is Lithography. Lithography has a rich history and is a process you could spend a lifetime trying to master. It is truly a labor of love. Aside from the printed work I make sure to have time for sculptural work. More important to me than the process and form is the reason behind why I make the work that I do. A professional art career is not an easy feat and not a life where one path fits all. With that considered, I am cautious giving much advice. One bit of advice I do have, is to spend time finding what your calling is and then develop your voice to answer that call. I kept activism and social projects separate from the art I was making for many years until I realized to combine the two passions. Printmaking and printmaking presses have been synonymous with community for several hundred years. A practice closer to the people is one of the main driving forces that attracting me to printmaking even in the design years. My intentions for many years have been to open a community press in Phoenix. This is one of the reasons why I am pursuing My MFA in printmaking. I believe my place to make a positive impact in this world is within my content of my personal work and projects with the community. The nature of such polarizing times separates people further from each other. When people of different ethnicities and cultures find common ground the realization that we share far more similarities than differences, and the differences don’t need to divide us. Much of my research and personal experiences have led me to the realization that many of the walls that divide us have foundations laid in our public school system. Which inspires my work on Education inequality. A broad topic, imbued with complicated dynamics. And with that said, a subject difficult to cover in a short interview. However, one important thing to note is that Arizona policy makers have not just historically changed the educational landscape of Arizona but have also influenced public education policy throughout the United States. What I find compelling is the Impact has been both positive and negative depending on the era. Whether it’s DACA, the Red for Ed movement, or segregated education, as a community we are becoming more and more aware of many issues with our public education system. How we educate our children sets the foundation for how we will treat each other in our community and the overall social wellness of such community. As far as what I expect people to take away from my work is up to them. I try to work with symbolism, material with meaning and metaphors to get my message across. It’s not my intention to force-feed the message, I have an agenda but I also appreciate people having their own interpretation. I am not trying to chastise or bum people out with such emotionally heavy work. My intentions are to create awareness on a topic that I personally believe to be critical to a healthy community/nation. Albeit, a great deal of my concerns live in the work, there is also bits of hope and positivity which is a reflection of recent progressive moves forward in education equality, both at the state and national level.

Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
Not necessarily the biggest challenge facing artists, but one worth mentioning is a term called famine thinking. Famine thinking refers to when a person subconsciously believes another person’s success detracts from his or her own success. It is as if there is a limited supply of opportunities. Instead of working on yourself, this perspective promotes a desire to take people down to your level. Famine thinking is a projection of insecurity and thrives in competitive environments. It’s a fear state that feeds on your creative energy. It is both negative and draining to yourself and other creative people around you. Some people boil it down to being a state of envy, jealousy or just being a hater, I believe it to be a bit more complicated than that. Best advice I have is to pay attention, often it is hard to recognize. Many people do not see themselves around it or perpetuating it, while it is very common. I recommend staying away from people, cliques or scenes where famine thinking is running rampant.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can find my work on my Instagram.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @andrewjcaruso

 

Image Credit:
Branden Davis

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