Pavel Acevedo Interview

I got in contact with Pavel Acevedo, a printmaker and interviewed him through phone call on the 27th of March. It was a short 30 minute conversation we had as he was busy with a mural project.

I first heard about him through an Art 101 course all about artists presenting their work. He presented his printmaking work on the topic of immigration and the impact of borders. Flash forward to now, I wanted to write an essay about his work. I decided to get in contact with him through a professor that happened to be friends with him.

I lead the interview with three questions.

Who is the audience that you hope your artwork reaches and how do you wish for your artwork to be perceived?

What are the stories that influence your work, what drives you to create art about immigration?

What role do you want your printmaking to take on in contemporary culture and what current issues are you passionate about tackling?

Pavel Acevedo began talking about the audience, he stated that he actually does not have a specific target audience in mind. Acevedo hopes that people sympathize with his work and that people who relate to the work are inspired. Acevedo focuses on the story of his work. He loves collective effort of people working towards a common goal. He thinks that community is important in the creation of his work. I recall in his lecture where he worked with students to create the design of a work titled "There's No Borders for Birds."

Pavel Acevedo is an immigrant himself which is where his passion on the topic of immigration comes from. In his own experience, "there is not always one story" so there is a lot of variation of experiences to create art on. I really loved his description of a capitalist society, that we are in the nest of capitalism. I added on to this with the idea that in order to be free, we have to learn to fly out of the nest. Acevedo tells his experiences working with other immigrants, they felt like assets being used just to make numbers. Acevedo has been finding ways to separate the self from that notion. Being an artist, he loves meeting new people and engaging with the community that all relate to each other.

Pavel Acevedo says that he is passionate about the process of image making, to create graphics about social and environmental justice. He is more into the feel of making rather than caring about the role his art may take. He mainly wants to deliver a message to organize groups and unite them together.

I loved everything he had to say in response to my questions and I was happy to write and learn more about printmaking. We last talked about the 2006 Oaxaca riots against institutions. Pavel Acevedo described to me the events of teachers risking their lives to simply protest for better wages and conditions for students. They were met with violence from the police despite the peaceful protest. This is an event that inspires Acevedo in his work. Artists filled the streets with art after the riots, continuing to support the teachers fight and to remember the lives lost to the police. He thinks that there was an emphasis to do things without permission in resistance to a corrupt power.