VICTOR HUGO ZAYAS

WALKING L.A.

LATINO ART MUSEUM

NOVEMBER 4- DECEMBER 27

OPENING RECEPTION: NOVEMBER 8, 6PM-9PM

PRESS RELEASE

 

What compelled you to create this new series?

I was simply walking in my neighborhood here in downtown Los Angeles , and I became observant of all activity that surrounded me. I remembered the first time I discovered the urban bridges and became inspired to paint them. I found myself in a similar situation when I saw the infinite possibilities that surrounded me and became intrigued with the folklore of the city. Los Angeles is not a place people often walk in. Yet in the streets you can find everything. It is an underground economy, full of business people, merchants, junkies, preachers, prostitutes, and clowns. All just ordinary people trying to survive.

 

Do people become self conscious when you draw them?

No, when I draw people I try to be discrete. Most are in a different place psychologically. Like the woman carrying a blanket in the middle of the street with cars passively avoiding her. There are a few who do posses a greater understanding of life, modern say shamans who have chosen poverty for higher aspirations. Yet the majority are either too busy to notice me or just too lost to see anything that's in front of them. The importance id to capture what is human. We are all part of this condition, and for most of people the possibility of becoming homeless is just one rent check away. Those who suffer from psychological problems are a different story, one that is not often told. Another important thing however is to experience the vitality of life and to simply know that everything and everyone has a unique purpose.

 

What moments can you share that had a great impact on you?

I remember this crippled man with his crutches, completely twisted and hunched over. I must have done thirty drawings of him alone. He stood there forced to beg in order to survive. I became so involved in my drawings that I did not notice him in front of me. He wanted to see what I had done, so I showed him. And when he asked me if that was him, I was silent. It is so amazing that through simple lines on a piece of paper you can express the full rage of human emotion.