Laura Menchaca
Artist Statement
Human experience. Very complex but the only thing that really connects us. We don’t only communicate with words (the verbal world) but we also have sounds, images, colors, expressions, and anything our senses can experience (the nonverbal). There are a thousand ways of communicating that you are scared, happy, or angry and a thousand ways of communicating you want to jump, dance, or sing.
The latter is the world that really makes sense to me. I was told that when I was 8 months old I used to grab a pencil and draw circles all around the house not caring if it was under a sheet of paper or an important book, or if I was standing up or laying down. With time I understood that I was better at communicating through the nonverbal world than it was through the verbal. It took long studying days, group projects, and my love of books to understand that everything that had drawings not only looked better but made a lot more sense, at least to me.
Now, the nonverbal world is both very complicated and immediate. It, of course, changes depending on culture and location, but at the same time there is something universal about it. I fell in love with how the bridge between nonverbal and visual communication is very intricately connected.
If you really pay attention the process to create something is to take something you feel deeply connected with and try to put it into a tangible piece. This is the process a communicator needs to be aware of, and I called it the “CODERE conceptual method.” It is short of “Conceptualizing – deconceptualizing – and reconceptualizing.” In essence, you take an experience and through your eyes you give it meaning and this is an automatic and unconscious process. You then give it some thought and from the unconscious, you take it to a conscious level by asking the right questions that makes you really wonder, "what makes this unique?". Finally, from your research, you transform it into the tangible, really focusing on the key points of what makes the concept essential. You will have a visual in its simple and neatest form
This is what I want to bring into my designs. I want people to learn how to make simple connections that will help them learn and connect with the world more easily. I want people to feel how outside-the-box my work is. My work needs to be relatable, simple, and inspiring.
