PABLO RUBIO INTERVIEW

"This interview was via telephone in Spanish"

Why do you do sculptures and not drawings or paintings?

Drawing is fundamental, really its part of the entire plastic.

To be a good painter, you need to draw. To be a sculptor you need to draw.

Drawing is not a way of expression, but a need for all artists.

The main fundamentals, the base of an artist is the drawing.

Drawing is at the head of everything.

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What was the special moment in your career?

I would say it was when I did my first exposition in the

"Ateneo Puertorriqueno- San Juan, P.R." in the year of 1966.

I worked in many collective expositions before that,

but this was my first individual one.

I worked big formats, the new expression of what

I call figurative-abstract.

Sculptures as: Attacking the invader, Mercy, The Dead,

where pieces of art that filled me during that time. This was my first exposition.

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Your favorite material Is...?

All of them. How ever I express myself frequently stainless steel,

in all it's stages it talks about that important historical moment.

I think that if Michaelangelo where alive, he would be doing the same as myself.

He would be cutting with laser and working with stainless steel.

"We are the result of the historic moment we live in."

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How did you start your career as a sculptor?

I was going to be a painter, all my life I have painted.

At the age of fourteen, while I was traveling with my dad,

I saw a huge amount of red clay on a mountain and my father

allowed me to take some home in a bag.

I started to create 3-D works and that is when I understood

that there was another world different to painting.

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Favorite Themes?

Topics of the time, positive, nothing negative.

If you couldn't do sculptures ;

What other artistic ways would you work?

I would do painting and drawings.


If in the process the sculptures gets ruined, what do you do?

I keep it . Sculptures are never ruined I have kept sculptures for five years,

then all of sudden take them out, and in less then ten minutes I resolve the problem,

actually I have kept sculptures longer until I decide what to do. It's like I punish them.

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What are you giving to the community?

We are seeing the results already.

Monumental Abstract Sculptures are new in Puerto Rico.

It's been around for thirty years.

I was the one who began this Modern sculptoric explosion.

I have opened up the way for young Abstract Sculptors .

We have more the one hundred monumental sculptures.

The knowledge of the enterprise and people accepting public sculptures.

We have the assurance and talent that we have shared and that

we can compete with others sculptors from any part of the world.

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If you could do or remake a piece of art, would you?

No, I have never repented of any public piece of art.

I see sculptures of mine that are thirty years old,and I still like them.

"Each on in it's space."

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Obstacles and limitations you found in your art road?

Ignorance is the biggest limitation in Art.

People that have everything new, but art does not evolution,

they want all new models ,but do not want modern sculptures.

They want everything realistic that they can understand.

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What is your process of making a sculpture?

I do the process at night. I like the peacefulness of the night. There is not a topic, there is a space, I need to invade that space.

It needs to harmonize with what is there and the viability of the project. If it's possible or not, materials, money, if the design is doable or not,

are all things to take into consideration. I have canceled pieces of art because I do not have the money.

They have wanted to eliminate something of my piece, but I never let them. I prefer to not do it.

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What is sculpture for you?

"Time,space,light and sincerity"

Sincerity is the most important because you can fool other people,

but on the long run who you can fool is yourself and everything is discovered.

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Good luck, I have enjoyed answering your questions.

You have a wonderful Teacher in Jesus Marin,

I know because he was my student.

Good luck in your project!

Pablo Rubio, Sculptor
Monday, February 26, 2001
Rio Grande, PR (Puerto Rico)

My contact in USA is Jesus Marin

marinj@ocps.k12.fl.us

Pablo's Gallery