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what do art students worry about?
THE truth BEHIND BEING AN ARTIST TODAY
what do art students worry about?
THE truth BEHIND BEING AN ARTIST TODAY
Feistiness. Intensity. Curiosity. Meet Aïsha Piquer. The most fascinating self-made illustrator and designer I have ever met. Born and raised in Catalonia, Spain, Aïsha is to tell us in this month’s issue the struggles of being a black, queer artist amongst the creative industry.
Before Aïsha moved to Cambridge to undertake her master’s in Art and Design at the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts, she studied a BA in Psychology. “I entered psychology for a number of reasons, but the main one was that I feared disappointing my father. He had been always convinced that I would study a ‘worthy’ career, whatever that means”, says Aïsha. “I wanted to do art before that, but I figured that I could just do a Masters afterwards, which is obviously what I am doing now!”
This is one of the main issues we get as artists. Most people equate serious work with a 9-to-5 office job that pays a monthly salary and includes healthcare. But who is to dictate what is a ‘real’ or ‘fake’ job, anyways? Our profession is as serious as any other: we are talented, skilled, and accomplished in many creative ways. “As an artist myself, I think being an artist doesn’t make you more or less influential socially" says the artist. And the older you get, the more aware you become of that. It is true that art is used to communicate the same way someone writes a piece in a newspaper or of a singer who writes about their struggles in music. In that regard, I think young artists have the duty to communicate properly and learn what it is they are communicating. So maybe, our role is to become motors, those that impulse society forward one way or another? Or maybe we are the ones that spark the flame for others to follow? Or simply bystanders of society, making a point of avoiding it – a thing I would never do, I would think it highly irresponsible of me, but some do. Young artists can be anything, why give them a role before they even know who they are?”
As an artist you are often taught that the main functionality is self-expression.
Art is a language. A visual language; and its purpose is communication, as Aïsha has said before. But, what the challenge is for an artist is how to meet their needs for self-expression while still remaining in contact with their chosen audience -while still consciously communicating- “My artwork represents a lot of things. First and foremost, it represents me and the way I interpret life. I am a vocal anti-racist, LGTBQ+ artist. I am a black, queer woman and, as such, I cannot live apart from politics (because politics have decided to mess with me the moment I was born in this world 🙄)" she says. "My art is an extension of my life experiences; all of it us full of politics, social movements, religion and environmental views. Sometimes I represent dreams and aspirations, frustrations, or literal meltdowns. I find it funny that when I am emotionally exhausted and at a breaking point, I will literarily draw melting people. I don’t realise I’m doing it because of that until the drawing is done through.”
As author and activist James Baldwin says, “artists are here to disturb the peace.” As the world continues fighting anti-racism through the 'Black Lives Matter' movement, influential black artists, who confront race and systematic oppression within their work, seem to be struggling with the exposure of their work. “I can so relate to this!" says the 23-year-old.
"I have no idea if it’s because I am black, or a woman, or queer, or just because I’m not knowledgeable enough or or my art isn’t good enough; but my art hasn’t reached as many people as a white cis-straight male artist reaches; nor does it get as much exposure online. I don’t know if I will reach my dream job. I don’t even know if that is really my dream job. Maybe it’s something that every young artist feels."
WHAT'S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN AS AN ILLUSTRATOR?
"Don’t be lazy. If you don’t know how to draw hands, not drawing them and saying that it is “your style” is an excuse for mediocrity. Strife for excellence, even if that word doesn’t hold the same meaning for everyone; and don’t half ass it just because you can’t deal with frustration."
At the end of our interview, I was feeling emotional and proud of such a talented young woman as Aïsha and felt like asking what does 'success' mean to her. Keep this in mind, guys. She said to be happy where you are, know your place, earn your keep and have a cat. Guess who’s waiting on the line to adopt a kitten rn! (jokes, my landlord stated clear that I was not allowed any pets, boo-hoo!) *insert death stare to all annoying, middle-aged, bald landlords* ANYWAYS, MOVING ON. Aïsha will be exhibiting her latest artwork ‘Otherness’, a sequence of four sculptures that represent situations she's lived through where such concept applied to her life, at the Shoreditch High Street gallery from the 4th till the 7th of September. Make sure to go and say hello!
As a journalist myself, I question whether it is in the intention of the maker than a piece of artwork is created; like how does that piece of work become a piece of art? It makes me wonder if art is more of a means of reflection or exploration. “I will be honest with you. I hate all my drawings. Maybe hate is not the word, but they do frustrate me. Some less than others," tells us the frustrating talent. "Right now, the one that frustrates me the less is ‘Liberation.’ In it I’m portraying myself, the day I realised I was ace. I don’t expect anyone to understand, especially if you don’t have identity issues like I do, but finally figuring out one piece of me that made me feel worthless when I didn’t know of it, was like coming back home. I spent a week in the clouds, literally floating and crying of happiness."
As you can see art isn’t only a painting in a canvas; or words put together in a book. It’s more of a revelation; a true story of who you are and how your art has helped you become the person you are today. But as hard as it is being an artist, try filling in that void when you keep getting rejected from one job to another because, apparently, your uniqueness and talent ain't enough. No one tells you how difficult it is to get a job in the creative industry. Low-key expectations incoming... “Art students have always been undervalued", says Aïsha. "Like they say in Spain, art is a “maria”, that thing everyone does because it’s easy and gets you a good mark without doing anything. Of course, nothing further from the truth, but it shows how people view art. If a company is struggling, the first to go is the art department. That is like that everywhere. Personally, I think the worse that happens is that art departments usually can afford newbies. Limited budgets make it impossible to mentor a newbie and give them the learning curve they need. As such, they only hire experienced artists, leaving those without experience without a job and with no opportunities.”
