’89 domande a Maximiliano Rosiles – Artist
Name? Maximiliano Rosiles.
What’s your job? For money I teach and design, but I am a visual artist.
What did you study? Architecture, Visual Art, and Economics.
What do you think about cloning? Would you get cloned if you had the chance? In some ways we are already clones of each other with the global flows of ideas and culture. We constantly overshare, copy, remix and are so easily influenced by one another. No I don’t think the world needs another one of me, I think one is already enough.
What is the meaning of life for you as a human being? I don’t think there’s a definitive answer and it seems like an impossible question to answer. But for me it would be something along the lines of trying to find happiness and loving as hard as I can even if it hurts. Making great memories with great people and impacting those around you positively. Finding something to live for, a passion, that has the potential for a life of joy.
Your favorite classic movie? Napoleon Dynamite, is that a classic?
If the films of the past were made again in the present, would these be better or worse in your opinion? Remakes usually miss the mark. Nostalgia feels displaced from memory nowadays, people don’t always know the original references, just the recycled versions and this leads to now knowing where we are in the present. I think it feeds into the desire of reproduction where pastiche and nostalgia are the main components of image production and reception. And as we come across new technologies while simultaneously fetishizing 70s art, 90s clothing, early 2000s music, and filling our interiors with mid-century furniture etc, culture becomes remixed reruns where whole eras get flattened into trends. I think Jameson was right when he linked the politics of nostalgia to the postmodern commodity sensibility. There is this kind of substitutability for entire periods in the cultural style of advanced capitalism. I would like to think that the US is no longer the controller of the world system of images but a part of a complex transnational configuration of the imaginaire. I think there needs to be a constructed landscape of collective aspirations and representations, mediated through modern media that is not built around reruns or center-periphary models.
What you cannot stand on people? When materialism becomes the only way someone identifies with them selves. When being cool is more important than being nice. When someone chews with their mouth open. When someone doesn’t recognize their own wins. The inability to self-reflect on their wrong doings and take accountability. People who point the finger on everyone else but themselves.
What’s the thing that makes lose your patience the most? When I’m stuck in a conversation I’m not interested in being in.
Do you think Hegel was right to put music as art at a higher level, or do you think the figurative arts, especially at an emotional level, are on the same level? Yes. I think music is the highest art form, it is so connected to the body and soul. Its immediacy is something that no other artform can achieve. I always say music is the best sculpture. It is more physical than any sculpture I’ve ever seen.
Can you give us a definition of art? I can try. A timely expression, an endless pursuit, an obsession, something that needs a lot of care. That thing in your head that you need to get out. A release.
Your favorite style icons? Adam Sandler and Bob Marley.
The best party you’ve been to? Probably a high school party with people I grew up with, on a farm, with a bonfire, kegs, a lot of trucks, and a DJ set up in the middle of it all.
Do you think exist an objective aesthetic value or you think aesthetic value is just subjective? Established systems have always tried to rank aesthetic value, but for me it’s subjective. At the end of the day what moves someone depends on their cultural background, experience and exposure. I find beauty in the ugly, the mistakes, the poorly made, the unexpected. Objective value often just ends up being an institutional echo chamber.
If you could have a super power what would you choose? Time travel.
When, in your opinion, can you define a person as an artist? When they define themselves as one.
Who is in your opinion the best artist in history? Hmm maybe Louise Bourgeois, I always find myself going back to her work.
Who do you think is the best right now? That’s alive? This changes a lot but right now maybe Nairy Baghramian.
The most underestimated? Cosa Rapozo.
Do you think that believing in God and not believing in God start from the same presumption about something that in itself we have no possibility of knowing, thus reducing even atheism to an act of faith toward the unknown? That sounds about right.
If you could do a crime, or an action in general, without anyone ever knowing about it, what would you do? Rob a bank of course.
What work would you have wanted to do if you were not in your profession? I like the idea of being an athlete, rigorous training everyday, playing a game, being healthy, and being one with your body. Its similar to being an artist I would say.
If you could go back in time and kill a few, who would it be? I don’t kill.
What do you think people say about you? I don’t care, I don’t want to know.
Can you tell us when you think a person is cool and when is not? To me a person is cool when they are unapologetically themselves, it doesn’t matter how they look or what they do, if they are themselves, honest and sincere to who they are, that’s cool to me. Also someone who can be outside of themselves and be present with people.
What’s your favorite artist? This is always changing but Magdalena Abakanowicz, Franz Erhard Walther, Eva Hesse, Rebecca Horn, Nairy Baghramian, Senga Nengudi, David Hammons, Phyllida Barlow, Rosemarie Castoro, Aki Sasamoto, Monika Sosnowska, Jannis Kounellis, Louise Bourgeois, Giacometti, Bacon, Francis Alys, Leonora Carrington, Leonor Atunes, Ana Mendieta, Lee Krasner, Marc Chagall, HA Chong-Hyun, Joseph Bueys, Ruth Asawa, Abraham Cruzvillegas, Jacob Lawrence, Rachel Whiteread, Edward Hopper, Doris Salcedo, Noguchi, Fred Sandback, etc… There’s too many.
If you could choose which historical era to live in, which would you choose? The roaring twenties in Paris.
If you could spend a day with an historical figure who would you choose? Ozzy.
Who are the people that inspired you the most? My mother. She’s been through so much and still seems to smile everyday. She’s a total badass.
If you could choose a famous person for a night, who would it be? Nobody.
And for a relationship? Not interested.
What is the best work you have ever done? I think my best work is always ahead of me. That’s what keeps me going, it’s a constant pursuit. It has yet to be made or might not ever be made.
The one you are most proud of? The first one.
Favorite movies? I’m pretty basic when it comes to film but Porco Rosso, Amores Perros, The Revenant, Pulp Fiction, No Country for Old Men, Inglorious Bastards, Lost in Translation, Pan’s Labyrinth, Blow-Up, Toy Story, Kill Bill, Ghost in a Shell, Shrek etc…
What’s the topic you are most expert in? Nothing really, I dabble in too much.
Do you think it would be correct to create a place where a man can live in the state of nature, making him free from a choice of social belonging that is instead taken for granted? Yes, why not?
Is there anyone you don’t get along with? Not really.
Have you ever been in love? Yes.
Where do you live? New York City.
Which neighbourhood? Uptown.
Where are you from? Mexico/Texas.
Other cities where you’ve been living and how long? Ciudad de México, 8 años.
Which languages do you speak? Spanish and English.
Favorite authors? I’m reading a lot of theory right now so Arjun Appadurai, Ananya Roy, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Edward Said, Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, Frantz Fanon, Achille Mbembe, Giorgio Agamben, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Hannah Arendt, Judith Butler, Gloria Anzaldúa, Wendy Brown, Jane Bennet, Saskia Sassen, The Frankfurt School, Homi K. Bhabha, Raymond Williams, Graham Harman etc.
Favorite songs? Recently: Blinkmoth (July Mix) – james K; 1969 – Boards of Canada; Bengali Skank – Mad Professor; Pleasure is Everything – mark william lewis; Soft Tissue – downstairs J; Eyes Without a Face – Billy Idol; Born Again – Black Sabbath; Marriage – Descendants; Tiene Espinas el Rosal – Grupo Cañaveral; Si No Es Contigo – Cris MJ; Me Metas – Eslabon Armado; Everyday – SahBabii; Carefully – Voice Actor; The Girl Who Lost the World – YULLOLA; Know Who You Are At Every Age – Cocteau Twins.
The quality you would like to have and don’t have? Chef level cooking. I can hold my own in the kitchen, but I’d love to plate like it’s Michelin-starred.
What do you think about influencers? I don’t think about them. But I suppose some people need them? Not sure.
If you were an animal which one would you like to be? A sea turtle.
Your favorite dish? Bistec en chile negro.
How important is it for you to be rich from 1 to 10? Not sure of a number but rich enough to do what I want.
And fame? 1.
How important are fame and money to impress a partner? Not sure.
And what about beauty? Beauty is nice.
And intelligence? Most important.
The smartest person you know? I know many smart people.
Do you consider yourself smart? Yes, but mostly because I stay curious and love learning. I will always be a student of something.
Favorite fashion brand? @DEMMO, @KrystalPaniagua, Kiko Kostadinov, Ann Demeulemeester.
Do you have some phobias? When I was a kid I used to cry at the thought of being trapped in heaven for billions of years.
The most precious material thing you own? Family photos.
What do you usually drink at the bar? Negroni, or a beer and mezcal.
Any advice you can give to someone that wants to do your job? It is not easy to be a good artist. If you’re doing it to be cool, save yourself the trouble. If you are passionate and not afraid to be vulnerable and fail over and over again then there might be something there. Don’t lose your intuition, protect your work, and try not to compare yourself to others.
What’s your best talent? Spacing out.
Favorite restaurant and bar in the city where you live? Dim Sum Palace in Chinatown, lots of seating for your friends and great service.
Do you think that in certain environments, especially those in which we find fame and money, there is a lack of certain values? Probably.
Does the current concept of democracy make sense to you? No.
Do you think it is fair to say that the art market defines what is considered art and what is not? Maybe for people that don’t have their own taste.
Can you tell us a number from 1 to 89? 21.
