Franco Fasoli Interview

RESEARCH AND INTERVIEW WITH FRANCO FASOLI aka JAZ

One of Argentina's most internationally known street artists, with a well developed classic style heavily informed by the folklore and culture of the places he visits to paint. He subsitutes human characters for animals as he says it allows him to demonstrate some of the issues covered in his work in a way which is suitable for the public space. Particularly issues such as violence and conflict, which are reccurent themes in his grand scale murals. The purpose behind this subsitution interests me, as it suggests that perhaps the use of animals here makes concepts more paletable, and reception more willing if we are not confronted with these issues on the home turf of our own species.

His classical training is easily visible in his style, which references his background in ceramics, sculpture and observational drawing with dramatic compositon and heightened awareness of anatomy and form. Symmetry is also a repeated motif in his practice.

I interviewed him during my work for VNA as he was one of the artists who proactively approached me with examples of my work, as I became a more centralised writing figure with the magazine. With monthly drops into my inbox of ever bolder, bigger and more provocative works, I eventually was so intruiged I had to ask him for an interview to hear more, so it was quite an effective tactic really! Find my interview with him below. We conducted this interview over email which was an unfortunate format for him, as English was not his first language and although he spoke with great passion, his sentances stuggled to convey the true depths of his knowlege, such is the limitations of online communication. However even in this simple interview it was clear to hear how deeply contextual referencing comes into play when creating work.

So obviously one of the most obvious things to spring out from your work is the great use of symbolism and themes, how important is this meaning to you when creating a piece? The symbolism are so important as the materials and the context in my work , they are very connected to the place . I like introduce popular symbols and popular rituals especially in Latin american culture , and re create new myths with those elements , but in the end are very simple and popular themes , like for example the wall i made in Dominican republic , has many different items and symbols of the local culture . Or the one in Puerto rico where i create like a altar of myself with lots of diferent icones of my own life , also some times i use particular materials founded in the space and in that way i create other connection with the context . What do you use to decide on what to represent and how? The final idea comes once i am in the place , when i knew a bit about the local culture and local traditions or some local issue that is happening , i choice douring the time i am working in the place . the connection with the local people , is fundamental and is one thing that i really enjoy of be a urban artist , travel and knew the places in a very different perspective . You often use either whole animals or animalistic features or body parts as representatives for people, scenarios and themes, what do you achieve with this? I started using the animal representations of the violence because the violence represent in the public space all ways was a very carefull issue , so i use the animals as a methapore of the human violence condition some times , and with the time the animal figures become a important part of my work , and also reminds old times of my childhood . Out of all the symbolic messages you have achieved in your work, which has been your favourite or the meaning which is closest to you personally? Specifically with the representation of my , was the mural in Puerto Rico , where every image are part of me , as a old graffiti writer i still got that idea of the self promotion and the double life , the nick name , so that mural talks about that . You use symmetry, a mirrored effect or occasionally entire bodies combined at the waist, what does this represent? The symmetry is a good tool to create tension , is other way to work the violence in the images . Your painting style is very individual, almost expressionist with thick heavy strokes yet also shows a huge amount of change as you move back to your older work, over a decade ago now. Can you describe the developmental process hat has led you through until today I try to keep my process all ways changing , i started as a graffiti writer but with a classic artistic background in ceramics , sculpture and drawing , that's makes me try with all kind of materials and techniques , i one away from the graffiti years ago , as i start to use also a lot of my old job background as a Escenograpy, The kind of painting created for the distance viewing , rough materials , ephemeral materials , and now i am working a lot with paper , creating collages on canvas an walls . What led you to street art initially? The idea of the scale , the big scale , the ephemeral aspect , and the contact with the street and the common people , after also the travelings become a big part of my motivation to work in the public space

As a multidisciplinary artist, Fasoli experiments in many areas of creation as a wide experimental exploration of matter, however as well as his street pieces, he is also heavily inspired by collage works of coloured cut paper which he uses to craft images not unlike those in paint. These collages seem to in turn have inspired a new style of painting like the above example with the tiger. It got me inspired however thinking about how these collages would fare directly on the street themselves. Undoubtably these pieces would weather differently, the induvidually stuck sections peeling away piece by piece. I also think they would have a different power as images in themselves, alternatively to traditional pasteups where the image is printed onto the substrate material, in this case the piece itself is comprised directly of the material. 

 

It seems he uses thin material such as tissue paper to lay down block colour which is also semi translucent, and allows for an almost painterly overlay and gradual buildup of colour.  I also think on the street this could look particularly effective as it would preserve some of the base qualities of the outdoor surface. It is something I would like to try, although the process is fraught with potentially difficulties. I feel like experimentation is key to seeing if this process could work with my practice, but it is something I would like to consider, as I think working in collage could allow me to practice some of the layering techinques and styles I attempted with the plastic film, without getting bogged down in non biodegradble unethical materials and wastage.