Absolute joy was palpable as I watched Marcela Pardo Ariza take portraits of the back of folks’ heads for a theatrical composition. Wrangling strangers
for a photo and earning trust in a split second is challenging, so the relative anonymity proved to be a magical incentive. Even more compelling was how Marcela radiated empathy as people smiled and posed, backs to the camera, most a bit stunned at the unexpected surreality of momentary reverence. Marcela is a charming cynosure with a knack for encouraging others to kindle their own special souls. Pushing against the history of representation and gaze, it is a boundless practice that incinerates expectations with a warm, sweet fire.
Kristin Farr: Imagine yourself as a still life with three objects—what are they?
Marcela Pardo Ariza: Leather shorts, a persimmon and a tiny portable speaker.
What was your journey to becoming an artist in SF?
I moved to San Francisco from Brooklyn in 2014 to do my MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute. I was drawn to the Queer legacy of San Francisco and the photographic history of SFAI. Six years have passed now, and I have met longtime friends, mentors and collaborators and worked with multiple artistrun spaces, bookstores, galleries, museums and organizations. I now consider San Francisco part of my artistic home.
Tell me about This is Weird Without You, your new public art project.
This story is from the Fall 2020 edition of JUXTAPOZ.
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This story is from the Fall 2020 edition of JUXTAPOZ.
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