CONVERSATIONS IN LIGHT WITH GABRIEL PULECIO

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: Artists as Alchemists: Just as an alchemist transforms led into gold, do you feel that being an artist relates to that of being an alchemist? Do you view the artist journey and your creative expression, as alchemy?

GABRIEL PULECIO: Definitely, the artist, as a transforming agent, by juxtaposing or overlapping different materials or concepts, can bring new ideas and shapes into the world. The same can be said of always looking for “inspiration” or ideas to find that “perfect” result which lies within every person creating for the good of expression. Also, analyzing how sometimes things don’t quite work takes a lot of experimentation, discipline, exact measurements, and several processes to find the perfect balance between the elements. It’s as much science as art.

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: The Evidence of the Journey: Artists are often labeled as “stars.” Just as a star radiates light and the planets then reflect this light, do you see your work as an artist like that of a star? Is this “light” that stars radiate merely the evidence of this journey of becoming a star/learning to radiate light?

GABRIEL PULECIO: I can see several relationships between an artist and stars. First, the fact that stars are grouped into constellations and asterisms, in this case a constellation, could be a group of artists working in the same movement, or in a trend, call it expressionism or electronic art. Especially nowadays, in this new globalized era we live in where the connection between the stars is more evident. We can all see them in a “virtual” sky. Also, I feel how an artist or his work can be compared inversely proportional to the life of a star in the sense that the stars we see are so far away that most of them have ceased to exist but being so far takes light years for their light to stop. The light of an artist will keep shining after it’s dead and even become stronger than when alive. This can especially be true when a star is pinned into a constellation, depending on its relationship with the other stars of that constellation and the point of view of the “astronomer.”

THE MUSEUM OF LIGHT: The Courage to Create: When an artist is not “creating” it is often labeled a “creative block.” How do you navigate this space, how do you find the creative spark in the dark, and does it require courage to create from this unknown space? Describe this process.

GABRIEL PULECIO: I found this quite interesting. I don’t think there is such a thing as inspiration “per se,” as somebody once said, “Every work is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent ‘transpiration.'” And this is definitely my case. I start every single project with the idea that it’s going to be good, that eventually that “inspiration” will come, but I can’t sit and wait for that great idea to come. Normally it never comes. It is the action of connecting the dots. The process is almost always the same. I start with an idea of what I’m doing, either a sculpture, installation, painting, whatever it is, and after working on it, not necessarily with very clear direction, I find something I think is interesting, and I start developing this idea. As you work on this, you start feeling how the original idea began to unveil itself. Towards the end of the project you really see what it is. It’s in that last push where you finally see the whole image — after all the research and tests, and trial and error — you see something interesting that surfaces. Normally this happens towards the end of the process, and now you have this very clear direction. All you need to do is to produce it and make it happen. The best way to deal with the “creative block” is to work, work, work. And have a mindset that at the end everything will present itself in front of you, not by some miraculous inspiration but by experimenting and testing and trying and failing. Also fails are great to find inspiration. Sometimes what you think is going to work, fails, and then you realize what you are really trying to do and another door opens that you can enter.

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