Daily Inspiration: Meet Juan Cardenas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Cardenas.

Hi Juan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My artistic work has been slow in its development, having to balance it with a professional career that pays the bills, and which I am equally passionate about. However, I soon discovered two things, that there was no rush to achieve success, and more importantly, that you don’t have to achieve “success”; by that I mean fame. Then I slowly began to develop both my poetry and my photography, and I have continued to do so, even today, with so many different projects, I continue to discover what I want to express as an artist. The writing was more natural, I always had it in me and I even started writing stories as a child. Has not stopped.

Photography came later, perhaps because I couldn’t draw (which I tried), I don’t know, but it conquered me too, and I started little by little, continuing to experiment. Nowadays for my photography and my poetry I like that they are raw, not so pretty, not so cute, not so digestible; although I also like that they pretend to be, that they pretend to be basic and “normal”, and have a twist, a sudden curve.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My path has been simple, I am not someone who has a tragic story behind me, dramas that I had to overcome, or accidents that stopped me. I don’t think the only obstacle has been life itself, which happens while we dream and plan, and sometimes for the same reason, it delays us and frustrates us.

But I’m aware of my rhythm, I don’t feel frustrated because many times I preferred to be a gourmet artist, and I didn’t put in the necessary work. Now I do, but I have to balance my “adult” life with it, consider costs, plan for the future, think about my family, etc. That is the biggest “obstacle”.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I don’t believe in people who say what separates them from others, we all believe in something special and unique, unrepeatable that no one else knows or has. I don’t think it’s prudent to say it, maybe I think so, but I shouldn’t say it. If someone else says it about me or more importantly about my art, that’s great, I’ll appreciate it and it will be motivational. Art however is not like sport or competition, although there are art contests. But no, it is not something where the best should be defined, the best.

Art is not to find the best, but the best for me. In a race, whoever is faster wins, regardless of my opinion, and my tastes, and whoever I go for, the winner is the winner. In art, one finds what suits us best, what speaks to us, what shares with us something special about who we are, for the moment we discover that art. It is what I look for, to produce artistic pieces through which I can share something, and then expose them, throw them out there waiting for someone else’s reactions. Hopefully emotional, aesthetic, or even spiritual reactions, but most of the time just wait for something I produce to get minutes or seconds of pleasure for those who look at it and appreciate it.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
There are many, and I like that they are changing, nowadays I know it. Memories and memories depend on ourselves, they are not movies or photographs, in memories our ability to remember details and keep them is involved, as well as everyday values, ideas, and beliefs. We changed as human beings during our existence and the person we are today can remember a memory in a different way than I remembered it myself 5 years ago. A special one for me was when my parents were in a supermarket, their credit card was rejected when paying at the checkout. They had times of great lack and they struggled to achieve economic stability for me and my sister, At that time they were buying a lot of things, it was a large pantry, and when the card was rejected it was disappointing and humiliating, something difficult for me to understand as a child, but easy to feel.

However, with the cash they were carrying, what they did buy were a couple of toys that I had chosen. It was magical, without understanding it, they made me understand how important my happiness was to them, they have always been naturally wise people, and now I think that this type of experience with them made me a human, empathetic person, despite my adult reasoning has made me reactionary to many ideologies, I am tolerant and empathetic. I think thanks to them.

Pricing:

• Boudoir services. Starting at $500.
• Photography services. Starting at $500.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.desautomatas.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/desautomatas
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/desautomatas/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/desautomatas/

Image Credits
@Desautomatas