Manuel Gamboa
Artist Statement
At an early age I understood that I loved creating things; putting things together. Something about drawing, building, and spawning new ideas kept me busy for hours. As a child, there was an innocense that came with this passion that I didn’t understand, but I knew there was something inside of me that kept me seeking creation. This love for creativity kept growing with me and has evolved with me to this day. It wasn’t until my teenage years when I started to look at creation as art; to me it was never that, it was always just the birth of new ideas. Calling my creations art never felt adequate, as if art was something only real artists could create and I was not one. Now, when I look out into the world, the tittles of “art” and “artist” are strange to me and often feel overused, or handed out carelessly. Nowadays everybody is an artist, and if thats the case, what makes me any different.
When I sit and think of myself as an artist and who it is I want to become, I often have trouble finding answers. Over the years as a student I have produced lots of work of which I can be truly proud of today, however when I look at myself in the mirror, I still do not see an artist; I see myself for who I am and not what I have created. This leads me to wonder what it is that I really seek as a creator; is it status? money? recognition? Much reflection over this topic has led me back to where it all started, my childhood. When I sit and think about all the things that little boy loved I don’t remember a purpose, a goal, or an expected outcome; it was all for the fun, and the joy creating brought me. What happened along the way where I lost the innocense and curiosity for joy and creation I once had. When did I begin to overthink every decision as if the world depended on it? When did I stop being a kid?
I now know that art, much like life is meant to deliver life and emotion, and it does this in many many ways. Rick Rubin said an artist is simply a filter for life. As creators we interpret our view of the world and put it through this “filter” of ours to give the world something truly unique. This filter is in all of us and it is our perspective, experiences, and beliefs that mold the source that is life into a product for the world to receive. While I appreciate the perfectionist who lives inside of me, I now approach every project with the innocense of a child and let my filter guide my creations.
