Favianna.com

Merging my art printmaking process with Processing code. In Simplicity there is Complexity - NEW ART

I'm writing this from Aspen, Colorado where I'm taking a one-week intensive class in Processing with acclaimed artist, Joshua Davis. This is my second class in Processing, an open source programming language for people who want to create images, animations, and interactions. I regularly use digital tools in my practice, but I have rarely integrated code into my creative process, until now.

Joshua is teaching us how to use the code by starting with a grid. We began with a simple structure and started building out from there. The code pulls shapes from vector files, which are files that are based in points and lines. For me, this is where it gets very interesting. I already convert many of my shapes, characters, and compositions into vector-based graphics, so using code was very similar to me doing monotyping (a printmaking process that I would call "analog").

While I was here, I had the realization that my printmaking practice (when I do monotypes) and digital practice fundamentally are based on the same steps.

Shapes make up the composition - I start out with shapes and constructions that will make the whole. These shapes are usually really curvy and as they begin to layer one above the other, they create new shapes.

Being open to what happens - When I do monotypes, I have to be open to accidents, to surprises, and to things not working out. You have to let the ink and the paper talk to you, and slowly things take shape. But you can't plan out too much. The beauty of monotyping is that things happen accidently.

The scripts I'm working on in Processing are also accidental - we have designed them that way. The code arranges the shapes in random orders, it tweaks the sizes, and randomly modifies the scale. In the chaotic randomess, you can find beauty.

And finally - through Simplicity, you can develop Complexity. My instructor said this to us the first day, and it rang so true after hours of coding. The code took my shapes and compositions, and generated random chaos, that then I was able to manipulate to make something beautiful.

Here's some of what I'm working on. I'm really happy about how things are turning out.

You can find my art on the cover of PROCESS Magazine! Plus an interview!

You can find my piece, Separación, on the cover of Process magazine, along with a 10 question interview.

This piece is especially meaningful to me, as I completed it after a rocky separation from my lover of seven years. The piece depicts the two sides of my person, one side being the self-centered, neurotic, workaholic artist. I created this piece as I was undergoing the physical and emotional separation. In those conditions, one finds it hard to be motivated...the hours pass very slowly.... at that time my energy to make art  was extremely low, however, I managed to create this piece, which became one of the most beatuful pieces I ever made! So odd to see it on the cover of a major design publication.

You can also find a Q&A with me in the magazine. Here are some excerpts of the interview they did:

Q: What’s on your iPod?
A: On my iPod I have a blend of salsa music, new age, rock & roll, hip-hop, Spanish rock, classical and a whole lot of 80s music. Yes, I love the 80’s! I also have a tremendous amount of inspirational lectures, podcasts that give me advice about running a business, and radio shows such as “This American Life.” Because I travel so much, I try to have a variety of content that is not just keeps me entertained, but it’s also teaches me something.

Q: What’s in your refrigerator?
A: Kale, bakchoy, squash and a variety of organic vegetables, non-hormonal and free range meats and eggs, sprouted organic bread, and a big variety of non-dairy yogurts and cheeses, some carbonated water, and of course some good Tequila. No beer because I’ve never acquired a taste for it.  Eating for me is one of the most important sources of energy so I’m very meticulous and selective about what I eat. I believe in having a diet that is organic and locally-produced as much as possible. Food that doesn’t have GMOs, hormones or preservatives is very important. In fact, it’s a huge topic I approach in my work.

Q: What is your philosophy when it comes to design?
A: My primary aim is to touch the viewer’s heart. I do that through educating or inspiring them to take action,  or through exposing a truth that they may not have been aware of. I speak to people’s humanity and I want people to remember that we are all interconnected, and that we must all be advocates for social justice. Whether we are talking about the economic devastation inflicted by the big banks in this country or whether we are talking about immigration or women’s rights, I make work about how these issues affect all of us and about how we all need to be a part of the solution. In my designs, I am hoping to depict an inspirational story that will allow the viewer to be rapidly impacted and touced by what they see. When I design, I am really trying to elevate the voices of those who are affected by a particular law or a policy and I try to promote the ideals of social justice that are important to me.

Click on the image below to make it bigger.

Heading to Tucson to participate in Freedom Summer! Pop Up Art Exhibit on Fri. July 27

Resistance. Many of us talk about it our activism, but many of us are not in a daily battle where we must actively resist the repression by the state. In Tucson however, for many families of color and migrant familes, resistance is the order of the day. The recent elimination and shut-down of Mexican American Studies classes at the Tucson Unified School District did not mark the the end of a battle. On the contrary, youth of color, their teachers and their families have opted to resist this war on their minds by organizing a month of radical teach-ins. This month of art, culture, activism, voter registration, education forums, and - my personal favorite, a poster-making session - all make up the Tucson Freedom Summer.

"Also on the lineup are sessions about bilingual education, the educational inequities Latino youth face, and the school-to-prison pipeline. They’re all going to be taught by people who used to teach Tucson’s Mexican American Studies classes, including the recently ousted director of the program, Sean Arce," explains Colorlines Magazine.

On July 25 & 26, I will be co-facilitating a 2-day art workshop with undocumented queer artivist, Julio Salgado, and Oakland based artist, Oree Originol, where we will talk about the history of social justice posters, teach students how to make quick prints and how to distribute them into the community.

The following day, on Friday, July 27, from 7-10 pm, I will be having a pop-up art show with Julio, and will be showing lots of my recent works, alongside works done by our students. It's a one-day only event so please come!

POP-UP ART EXHIBIT featuring Favianna Rodriguez & Julio Salgado

Friday, July 27th, 7-10 pm @ Studio One

197 E. Toole Ave. Tucson, AZ.

I'm happy and honored to be bringing my art practice to Tucson, and later Phoenix. Art offers a way to share a vision for the kind of community we want to create. Art can be a tool to expose an issue and fight back. And art can serve to mobilize others.

 

There is No Shame in Having an Abortion. Share Your Story. Break the Silence. - NEW POSTER Download

Women from all sides of the political sprectrum, from all backgrounds, from all races and all classes have the shared experience of having had an abortions. There is a power in this shared experience and that is why I created this poster encouraging women to come out about their abortions and to share their stories. 

My piece is a call to speak out against the shame, the isolation, and the secrecy surrounding abortion. By not telling our stories about abortion, and by endorsing a code of secrecy, we are giving into the right wing machine that shames women who have abortions. 

1 in 3 women in the United States has had an abortion, yet the stigma attached to it is so great that many of us are silent about it, hence giving up our power to organize and allowing conservative anti-choice powers to control the narrative, and ultimate pass laws. I recently ran into the "1 in 3 campaign" whose website read:

As we tell our stories and support our family and friends as they come forward with theirs, we begin build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support. It's time for us to come out in support of each other and in support of access to legal and safe abortion care in our communities.

This poster was inspired by a conversation I had at Netroots Nation with Levana Layendecker, who had just come from a talk featuring an elected official, Darcy Burner,who said, "We are not alone. Nobody should be allowed to shame us into silence, to demand we live isolated and unable to talk about the decisions we’ve made, whether easy or hard." I've also been greatly inspired by the movement of UndocuQueer youth who come out about their immigration status, refusing to live in the shadows and refusing to be kept silent.

A friend posted a comment on this image which I think sums up the way in which we DO talk about abortions - that is - only in the context of shame and pain. But that also ends up affecting us in negative ways. She writes:

So many assume that the circumstances surrounding an abortion are supposed to be emotionally, socially, and physically painful. I'm sure that's the experience of some women, but for those of us who didn't have that experience, we feel like we're being shamed. As if those feelings were supposed to arise and because they didn't, there is something wrong with us. Sometimes an abortion is a blessing. Sometimes it's a relief. Sometimes, it's not painful at all. Sometimes it's the best decision you've ever made and you don't feel that way in retrospect, but as you're making the decision to have one.

You can download my poster by clicking here.

New Bus-Ad Art Campaign Against Predatory Payday Loans

I recently collaborated with the Coalition Against Payday Predators (CAPP) to design an image for their "Don't Get Trapped Campaign." The ad will be shown on buses throughout Santa Clara County.

I was excited to work on this campaign, which is targeted at Latino families, because I wanted to help call attention to the predatory practices of the payday loan industry. A recent study revealed the shocking fact that Latinos have lost 2/3 of their wealth in this recent economic crisis, and our families are constantly being targeted by predatory lenders. 

The organization I collaborated had this to say about the art piece:

The bus ads come on the heels of our recent victory when the San Jose City Council voted 9-1 to approve a land use ordiance banning new payday loan operations from opening in low-income neighborhoods ... As a result, San Jose became the larges American city to restrict payday lending through local ordiance. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors also unanimously adopted a permanent moratorium on payday loan business in unincorporated areas of the county.

It's exciting to see victories like this! I'm honored that my art was a part of this campaign.