Oswaldo Vigas: "The destroyers of my work deserve nothing of what they left"
Jolguer Rodríguez Costa
El Nacional
Caracas, Venezuela. July 28th, 2013
-I would never reflect those shadows, what for?
-How long did it take you to do the work for the UCV?
-In Several months, in Paris.
-After being destroyed in seconds, how did you feel?
-The ones who destroyed it deserve it. They deserve nothing of what they left behind.
-Is Venezuela a country of exhibition?
-Of exhibition of tragedy.
-A title for a national painting?
- Screwed Country.
-A consistent style?
-Surrealism, without the magic.
-What is your muse?
-I do not have one.
-A lasting memory?
-Been born ... I still remember.
-At 87 years old, would you marry a girl 60 years younger?
-Yes, although it would be suicide for me.
-If 20 years is nothing, what needs to be done in the next fifth of your life?
-All.
-In this country, “With age comes wisdom”?
-I think being older, but I'm still not sure.
-The secret for a long life?
-To work a lifetime.
-They say that old age is like a shipwreck...
-I do not believe it, I'm alive.
-What do you regret about?
-Of everything. And I do not regret anything.
-An admired painter?
-Reverón.
-A shared "madness"?
-He once put his hands on my ears to extract the imaginary bugs that tormented him.
-Are you tormented?
-Every day when I wake up and see life.
-Another famous friend?
-Picasso.
-Did he influence your work?
-A little, I learned from him not to show my work to him. When he told me that he wanted to see it, I told him that I was not carrying it with me. You know why? I feared that he could copy me (laughs).
-Modest?
-Not at all.
-Do you accept a criticism?
-I do not care about them, and I do not criticize others.
-A childhood memory?
-My mother, a heroin.
-A leader?
-I.
-A revolutionary painting?
-It does not exist.
-And yours?
-I still have not found a name for it.
-A reading?
-Doña Barbara. There is none left nowadays.
-What do you miss of the women of other times?
-There is no difference from those of today.
-What do so many awards bring to you?
-Comfort.
-If the government requests a mural from you...
-It would seem bullshit for me and a waste of time.
-As a physician, would you work in Barrio Adentro?
-I did it with another name, 60 years ago. I never charged for it because I lived from painting.
-Did Venezuela fell by the wayside?
-Yes, and it twisted off towards a cliff.
-A counterfeit of your work sells well?
-Sometimes more expensive than the original.
-What was your most recent satisfaction?
(Laughter) -What I am thinking about has no substitute. Sex is the most important thing for the human being.
-However, you look relaxed...
-Because I paint every day.
-The same as before?
-Better than before.
-What do you do when you are not painting?
-I do cartoons.
-Do they reflect the Venezuelan faces?
-They reflect the same anguish.
-A bad mood?
-To be hungry and have nothing to eat. I love to eat.
-Bourgeois?
-Totally. Without bourgeoisie there would be neither art, nor science nor religion.
-And the proletariat?
-It exists for working.
-And this government of proletarians?
-It is neither fish, nor fowl.
-Alfredo Boulton claimed that all artists were "abnormal", is there anything strange for you?
-Everything is strange in me.
-If Vincent Van Gogh ate the yellow paint...
-I would eat the red, but without revolution.
-From the book The creature of habit, a Venezuelan counterpart?
-I.
-What do you say when you first look in the mirror?
-Give me a smile!
-What does your painting smell like?
-Fried eggs (laughter).
-What is the golden age of the Venezuelan painting?
-The present.
-And of the country?
-The Medina Angarita age.
-Between Perez Jimenez and this?
-Pérez Jimenez. He left too early. He must have stayed about ten more years to build a great country.
-Did you ever imagine this?
-Never. But everything can change from one day to another.
-A nostalgic?
-I am not nostalgic as long as I paint.
-What would you be without the canvas?
-90% Less.
-Will you celebrate you 100th birthday?
-Yes, although I'm not ready. You are never prepared for whatever comes in life.
-After this life...
-Start with another.
-Between being a woman or an animal...
-To be a woman is the most important; more than being a man. I want to clarify: I'm not gay (laughter).
-Your best moment?
-The present.
-A constant?
-To be happy with everything.
-A loss?
-What I have not done.
-A hope?
-Everything that can be.
-Do you cry?
-Sometimes I like to
-Is there joy in sorrow?
-Yes, it is part of existence.
-Do you believe in God?
-I do not.
-If you meet him, what would you tell him?
-You screwed me.
-How would you like to go to heaven?
-In underwear.
-The painters’ best friend president?
-Medina Angarita. He gave scholarships to a lot of people.
-Can you imagine an artist in Miraflores?
-The Country would end up going to hell (laughs).
-A clear insight for the events?
-With my favorite color: yellow. Red does not suit you, I would rather think Orange.
-A sketch for the future?
-Continue working.
-What would happen in Venezuela if the arts bother the revolution as did the cartoons?
-Dog that barks does not bite.
Oswaldo Vigas, Venezuelan painter and muralist. He was born on August 4, 1926, in Valencia, Carabobo state, Venezuela. He studied Medicine in ULA of Merida and Caracas and ended his career at the Central University of Venezuela.