Art and The Politics of Geography

"I started painting bananas to exoticize myself; it started as a joke and developed into a commentary on belonging.' Gonzalo Fuenmayor is a multi-disciplinary artist who has worked in painting and photography, but is best known for his charcoal drawings which, in their precision, resemble black-and-white photographs. He is also a 2014 CHF Grant Finalist. His comments on the role of the artist in an emigre environment (and in general) are fascinating.ContentsArtist as foreigner/diaspora: exoticizing oneself & belonging to a placeArtist as historicist: the banana trade between West & Central/South AmericaArtist as commentator: the role of the artist in politics and art as vicarious subversionArtist as tease: playfulness and deconstructing the phallic imageMarketing yourself in an environment of creative misunderstandingA public internal conversation vs. dialogue with your audienceThe fear of prostituting oneself by entering the marketplaceDiscipline and Ambition - the habits of consistencyFor more info on Gonzalo and his work, visit gonzalofuenmayor.com