Arrogance puts us on the edge of stupidity
Viclamar Torres León
Últimas Noticias
Caracas, Venezuela. November 16th, 2000
You're in prehistory! someone told Oswaldo Vigas long ago. The comment did not bother him, but he did not understand it until he saw some parietal graffiti in a French cave.
-There I understood that images preceded any language- says the artist. I think that the archaic feeling is the most vital part of contemporary art.
-And why is that?
-I feel closer and closer to that same primitive impulse that impulsed those cavemen and I think how much we have lost because we have bowed to the mandates of our civilization. Perhaps the most transcendent aspect of modern art is that it has opened us the way to go back in time.
-On your way back, what have you found?
-A lot of different things. I have found joy and sorrow. But mostly I have learned not to believe I know a lot. That is arrogance. Arrogance is the first enemy of creation and the creation involves humility because that is the best way to conquer new fields. Arrogance puts us on the edge of stupidity. All that favors life, creation and success is humility.
-And where does the spontaneity of the artist stand?
-In the forefront. Spontaneity is everything. It is the impulse that makes you act without thinking. One has to get rid of formalities. Spontaneity makes you make mistakes and take hits. Honestly, I would rather be clumsy by being spontaneous, because afterwards I have the chance to apologize. I do not understand those people who say: "I have experience. I do not stumble again with the same stone." They are wrong, it is preferable to take a trip up, put on a bandage on the wound and continue. That enriches life.
-Does spontaneity stand for creative freedom?
-More or less. One is truly free when you do not have to answer to anyone. When you are not thinking about whether you are going to win a prize or sell a picture.
-Do you feel free?
-Every day more. I believe as a free being. Indeed, we older men are freer because we have nothing to lose. I always acted and worked as a free being. Without ever thinking of the consequences and without fleeing from disappointments. There are two kinds of art: the free and the prisoner. The latter is what is done with a specific purpose: to decorate a building, or to win a prize.
-Have you been a prisoner?
-I have done some things by commision, but I always contradict that commision. The last thing I did was a painting that was to accompany a poem. It was an exhibition organized by a Japanese television company. I painted the painting and they exposed it. The poet sent me a beautiful letter. I went to meet him. He lives in southern France. The only body part that this boy can move is his index finger, with which he writes his poems. That moved me. I think it has been one of the most pleasurerable moments of my life in the last twenty years.
While he finds other pleasant moments, he keeps on painting, sculpting and watching his spontaneity.