Latest / Inside West Palm Beach / Color From Darkness: Artist Harold Claudio

Transcript

Color From Darkness: Artist Harold Claudio · Inside West Palm Beach

• 13:08:07
  Welcome to Inside West Palm Beach. I'm
• 13:08:09
  Gerry Marcelo. Art can be the glue that
• 13:08:12
  brings a community together. Today we're
• 13:08:14
  going to meet an artist who's striking
• 13:08:16
  work and unusual technique create images
• 13:08:19
  that are thoughtful and create
• 13:08:21
  perspective and discourse throughout our
• 13:08:23
  community. You'll meet this artist next.
• 13:08:35
  And joining us today is Harold Caudillo,
• 13:08:37
  a multidisciplinary artist and designer
• 13:08:40
  who lives in Palm Beach County. Harold,
• 13:08:42
  welcome to the show.
• 13:08:43
  Thank you for having me.
• 13:08:44
  We're gonna have a long discussion about
• 13:08:46
  your art, what it means, how you came
• 13:08:49
  about creating it, but for me I think
• 13:08:52
  it's important that we spend a little
• 13:08:54
  you. What's your story? How did you get
• 13:08:56
  here? What's your past? Hmm. You know
• 13:09:03
  honestly it took a lot for me to be here
• 13:09:04
  today, you know, because just a few days
• 13:09:08
  ago I lost my father. So you know that's
• 13:09:13
  the foundation of everything for me. Like
• 13:09:15
  my father, like the creativity, just
• 13:09:18
  resilience, the humanity, the grace, all
• 13:09:21
  that came from my parents. So you know
• 13:09:25
  born and raised here in West Palm Beach.
• 13:09:27
  We lost my father. It was a very tragic
• 13:09:30
  incident happened in
• 13:09:31
  Haiti. When they go visit
• 13:09:32
  Haiti and we actually just got him back
• 13:09:35
  to the States yesterday. So now we're
• 13:09:38
  preparing to let him to rest and honor
• 13:09:41
  him. Well first of all, our
• 13:09:43
  condolences and I'm very sorry to hear
• 13:09:45
  this the first time that I'm hearing it
• 13:09:46
  as well. What a tragic shock for you.
• 13:09:48
  This is, it must be, we appreciate you
• 13:09:51
  being here to talk with us today. For
• 13:09:53
  sure. My dad would have, you know, my dad
• 13:09:55
  always told me to be strong and you know
• 13:09:57
  for me the work is not about me. It's for
• 13:09:59
  showing up for you know everyone else.
• 13:10:01
  You know it's like the legacy that we
• 13:10:05
  we want to leave behind is not. It's just
• 13:10:08
  about you know leaving it here for
• 13:10:10
  everybody else that comes after me and
• 13:10:11
  after my father, you know. So that's what
• 13:10:14
  that's what drives me. Do you feel that
• 13:10:16
  your father was a driving force behind
• 13:10:18
  your choice to become involved in art?
• 13:10:22
  You know in some way in my DNA yes. Yeah.
• 13:10:26
  Like because you know he was creative. He
• 13:10:28
  was a tailor. He was a young tailor at
• 13:10:29
  age of 14. You know just figuring out his
• 13:10:32
  way through life like just doing creative
• 13:10:35
  work with clothing. So and I just found
• 13:10:39
  this out like because I'm going
• 13:10:40
  through all his stuff right now and I
• 13:10:42
  read his journal and I'm reading his
• 13:10:44
  life story that I've never heard from his
• 13:10:46
  mouth. So yeah in many ways I feel
• 13:10:50
  like it's in my DNA because of that but
• 13:10:53
  you know tragedy for me is what
• 13:10:56
  drove me and just color just helped me be
• 13:10:59
  resilient throughout life. Like color
• 13:11:00
  just I don't know it's always inviting to
• 13:11:03
  me to you know kind of break down
• 13:11:06
  life through color. So that's how I got
• 13:11:08
  into you know art myself. So to sort of
• 13:11:13
  amplify on that the the actual physical
• 13:11:16
  colors the vibrancy of the world those
• 13:11:18
  are things that that that inspired you.
• 13:11:21
  Absolutely like you know my purpose is
• 13:11:23
  just to help others like I helped myself
• 13:11:26
  find color in dark moments. Yeah. So with
• 13:11:28
  this dark moment that's going on like you
• 13:11:30
  know I have to find color in it. So
• 13:11:34
  you know meeting with you like you know
• 13:11:36
  meeting with like the mayor just being
• 13:11:38
  here like you know you guys all have a
• 13:11:40
  color that I can take away I can take
• 13:11:42
  something away from that. So that's what
• 13:11:44
  drives me you know. So you make an
• 13:11:48
  important statement and I know that it's
• 13:11:50
  like right in front of you right now
• 13:11:53
  the that in a dark moment a moment of
• 13:11:55
  trial a moment of tragedy locating those
• 13:12:00
  pinpoints of color are it's part of a
• 13:12:03
  salvation it's part of a rebirth.
• 13:12:05
  Absolutely like for me you know it
• 13:12:07
  started with you know the Trayvon
• 13:12:10
  incident like that's what that's when I
• 13:12:12
  found my purpose in art like I was born
• 13:12:15
  creative I was I always did art
• 13:12:16
  throughout you know throughout Palm Beach
• 13:12:18
  County Sunfest I was constantly there
• 13:12:20
  doing art but when I found a passion in
• 13:12:23
  it is the tragedy of Trayvon I wanted to
• 13:12:25
  use that kind of incident and use it as
• 13:12:28
  a way to disarm and have people come
• 13:12:32
  together then divide. So just the
• 13:12:35
  Skittles like you know he had Skittles in
• 13:12:36
  his possession and I was like you know
• 13:12:38
  kind of turn that tick that and and use
• 13:12:42
  it as a way to invite people in rather
• 13:12:44
  than push them away. Right so and you and
• 13:12:46
  for those of us for those of us are
• 13:12:48
  listening and not seeing these images
• 13:12:52
  what we're describing is a you took the
• 13:12:54
  the classic very famous photograph of
• 13:12:57
  Trayvon and you've turned it into a
• 13:13:00
  mosaic. Yes. And what's important though
• 13:13:03
  is it's not just a mosaic of light and
• 13:13:07
  shape but the colors the intensity of the
• 13:13:11
  colors the colors that come from the
• 13:13:13
  Skittles that was actually in his pocket.
• 13:13:15
  Exactly. To create its own message.
• 13:13:18
  Exactly. Tell us more about that tell us
• 13:13:20
  what that what that felt like. For me you
• 13:13:22
  know like like I said like I was in a
• 13:13:24
  very dark moment and you know I was
• 13:13:26
  going through a situation with my son at
• 13:13:29
  the moment at the time that happened and
• 13:13:31
  I was just trying to find my purpose my
• 13:13:33
  place and you know I felt like my life
• 13:13:37
  was broken at the time I felt like it was
• 13:13:38
  shattered shattered but you know
• 13:13:40
  looking around I just seen pieces of my
• 13:13:42
  life everywhere and I was like you know
• 13:13:43
  what like let me take these pieces and
• 13:13:45
  start adding color to them. So I was just
• 13:13:49
  putting you know in my mind I'm putting
• 13:13:51
  color to all these you know dark places
• 13:13:53
  like you know tragedy or whatever like
• 13:13:55
  heartbreak and I just want to add
• 13:13:57
  definition to that and every color came
• 13:13:59
  together and it created Trayvon. It's an
• 13:14:03
  amazing image. Thank you. It is truly we
• 13:14:07
  obviously it's a photograph that
• 13:14:08
  everyone has seen it's been in the it's
• 13:14:10
  been in the news but the your
• 13:14:13
  interpretation of it adds so much more
• 13:14:16
  not only to his figure but also the
• 13:14:18
  surrounding area the white you know the
• 13:14:20
  light areas around him are full of the
• 13:14:23
  same colors and the same kind of patterns
• 13:14:26
  that create a vibrancy that's
• 13:14:28
  really really special and once again to
• 13:14:30
  make it clear to the folks at home the
• 13:14:32
  the media you use was the actual Skittles
• 13:14:36
  candy. Yes. And that that is
• 13:14:39
  that brought a lot of attention to it but
• 13:14:41
  beyond just it being a very novel
• 13:14:44
  way of using a media it spoke to people.
• 13:14:47
  The image was very vibrant and very
• 13:14:49
  important. I think one of the things that
• 13:14:51
  I see a lot is young people today very
• 13:14:54
  young people are capable of absorbing a
• 13:14:57
  tremendous amount of information very
• 13:14:59
  quickly. The challenge is to make them
• 13:15:02
  stop and stare. Bingo.
• 13:15:04
  And look at something and
• 13:15:06
  really really interpret and create their
• 13:15:08
  own meaning from it and work like that
• 13:15:11
  portrait and your other works do that you
• 13:15:14
  people stop and they start looking
• 13:15:16
  at it. That's that's what you're after.
• 13:15:18
  That's that's literally that's my purpose
• 13:15:20
  in life like is to create those spaces to
• 13:15:22
  where you know like you said like
• 13:15:24
  media and content is is important but
• 13:15:27
  what happens after like people get off
• 13:15:29
  that. So my thing is for people to come
• 13:15:31
  together and you know strangers might
• 13:15:33
  not speak you know on social media or
• 13:15:35
  they might you know bicker back and
• 13:15:37
  forth in but in those spaces like we're
• 13:15:39
  all in that moment together like those
• 13:15:41
  colors impact us together like those
• 13:15:43
  colors remind us of like nostalgic
• 13:15:45
  moments throughout our lives. So I'm
• 13:15:46
  using like material like glitter yarn
• 13:15:50
  right now I'm working with water you know
• 13:15:52
  things that just that's inviting
• 13:15:53
  that's disarming and just have us just be
• 13:15:56
  you know find common ground in one
• 13:15:58
  place. We've talked a little bit about
• 13:16:00
  how the art will affect individuals I
• 13:16:02
  think part of your goal as well as to
• 13:16:05
  talk to the entire community. Absolutely
• 13:16:07
  that's that's that's literally the goal
• 13:16:09
  so you know I feel like say take for West
• 13:16:12
  Palm like West Palm is beautiful like the
• 13:16:14
  development like all that's that's
• 13:16:16
  going on but you know my thing art is is
• 13:16:19
  culture so art for me is culture and you
• 13:16:22
  know without culture it's like there is
• 13:16:24
  no heartbeat to the community without
• 13:16:26
  culture so that's my purpose with art I
• 13:16:29
  just want to just you know keep culture
• 13:16:31
  here in everywhere else. What is your
• 13:16:33
  opinion of the
• 13:16:34
  culture in West Palm Beach?
• 13:16:35
  Is it something that is healthy or is it
• 13:16:38
  something that needs in your opinion
• 13:16:40
  there's something that needs to grow?
• 13:16:42
  Absolutely I feel like it it
• 13:16:44
  everywhere like a lot of our parts and
• 13:16:46
  and you know just me like even like me
• 13:16:48
  like I need to grow like you like we all
• 13:16:51
  deserve some type of growth and the
• 13:16:53
  opportunity is here in West Palm so I
• 13:16:56
  feel like there is a lot of opportunities
• 13:16:57
  for growth but I think it's going into
• 13:16:58
  the right direction it just takes a
• 13:17:00
  visionary like the mayor when we spoke
• 13:17:03
  like you know that's what I that's what
• 13:17:06
  we spoke about like just him being a
• 13:17:08
  visionary like it it has to be
• 13:17:10
  challenging to make these to make these
• 13:17:12
  type of decisions that reshape a
• 13:17:14
  community that I grew up used to seeing
• 13:17:17
  one way but seeing it go another in
• 13:17:20
  another direction so. You speak of Mayor
• 13:17:22
  James to the folks in you were
• 13:17:25
  commissioned to create a portrait of the
• 13:17:27
  mayor yes himself that was presented at
• 13:17:29
  the gala earlier this year yeah how did
• 13:17:32
  how is that work received? Very well like
• 13:17:35
  um you know with him it was very well
• 13:17:38
  received because he understood the
• 13:17:40
  intention behind it I got a chance to sit
• 13:17:42
  down and talk to him and and you
• 13:17:44
  know really define what this piece meant
• 13:17:46
  like it's not just art on the wall for
• 13:17:48
  me you talked to him before you actually
• 13:17:49
  did it no oh you did it cold but I did
• 13:17:53
  it live at the convention center you know
• 13:17:56
  private center that you actually did it
• 13:17:58
  during the event absolutely yeah amazing
• 13:18:00
  yeah I finished that event I started it
• 13:18:03
  and then finished it at the event well
• 13:18:04
  yeah that speaks a lot because you
• 13:18:05
  earlier you mentioned that some of the
• 13:18:07
  some of the art that you worked on or
• 13:18:08
  did I see this on your website that some
• 13:18:10
  of the work that you work that you
• 13:18:12
  put together take several weeks to
• 13:18:13
  prepare absolutely ready absolutely what
• 13:18:15
  was it like to be under the the crush of
• 13:18:18
  a deadline like that and slam something
• 13:18:19
  together like that and what was the
• 13:18:20
  experience who you know for me from my
• 13:18:25
  philosophy is you got to become water so
• 13:18:29
  you know life taught me like when
• 13:18:31
  there's a rock in my way I could push
• 13:18:33
  against it and stress myself out or
• 13:18:35
  become water and flow around it so for me
• 13:18:38
  that's just you know there's no
• 13:18:40
  pressure for me so you just you just had
• 13:18:43
  you had your your art to create you took
• 13:18:47
  every bit of energy and what with the
• 13:18:50
  flow of the moment and created something
• 13:18:52
  absolutely because I'm you know it's
• 13:18:53
  coming from an intentional place like I
• 13:18:54
  don't do anything without intention it's
• 13:18:57
  there's nothing I don't I don't do it
• 13:18:58
  for a plot yeah I've did good morgue
• 13:19:00
  Americas and you know been on all kinds
• 13:19:01
  of TV shows and high-end collectors but
• 13:19:04
  that's not what drives me like it's the
• 13:19:06
  intention behind what my message is to
• 13:19:08
  try to bring people together so so what
• 13:19:12
  we we were talking a little bit about the
• 13:19:14
  culture in West Palm Beach and how
• 13:19:17
  as you point out you never stop growing
• 13:19:20
  if you're actually in a healthy
• 13:19:21
  community the community is always
• 13:19:23
  evolving and always changing if you could
• 13:19:25
  wave a magic wand and make this the
• 13:19:28
  culture of our city head in a certain
• 13:19:31
  what would it be that's a really good
• 13:19:33
  question I love that question you know I
• 13:19:39
  have this vision where you know how you
• 13:19:41
  know there's the Met Gala yeah for
• 13:19:44
  people to feel proud of West Palm Beach I
• 13:19:47
  feel like there's a way to you know
• 13:19:49
  kind of create that culture around like I
• 13:19:51
  said art so like you know the Norton
• 13:19:54
  Art Museum like we can do annual gala is
• 13:19:57
  there that impact and benefit the
• 13:19:59
  community to where everyone's involved no
• 13:20:01
  one's left out so that's like my
• 13:20:04
  magic wand moment like I wanted to work
• 13:20:06
  with the Norton Art Gallery and you know
• 13:20:09
  kind of do like an annual gala that
• 13:20:11
  benefits the community as a whole like
• 13:20:14
  no one no one's left out because some
• 13:20:16
  people sometimes people feel left out
• 13:20:18
  but if we create a space where like I
• 13:20:21
  said where everyone can just find common
• 13:20:23
  ground yeah I think the Norton Art Museum
• 13:20:26
  is the perfect place for that it
• 13:20:28
  perfect sense in your opinion you'd speak
• 13:20:30
  about finding a place where people
• 13:20:32
  can have common ground in the terms of
• 13:20:35
  your art and other other artists work is
• 13:20:39
  that common ground place indoors or is it
• 13:20:42
  outdoors in nature nature is probably
• 13:20:45
  the best place you know to get
• 13:20:48
  inspiration but also humans like you
• 13:20:51
  know this interactions like this is the
• 13:20:54
  best best place for us to get you know
• 13:20:56
  find that common ground so it's both like
• 13:20:59
  I told you earlier like you know
• 13:21:00
  I've said I wanted to do an exhibition
• 13:21:01
  outside as well like it's not in just one
• 13:21:04
  spot like I think it's everywhere it's
• 13:21:06
  outdoors it's inside it's wherever the
• 13:21:08
  community you know could congregate you
• 13:21:12
  talked earlier about the the difficult
• 13:21:15
  moments you're currently experiencing
• 13:21:17
  with the loss of your father and there's
• 13:21:20
  there's obviously darkness and pain and
• 13:21:23
  sadness in that moment is it your hope
• 13:21:25
  that you will be able to use and harness
• 13:21:28
  those emotions to create even
• 13:21:31
  greater work express yourself through
• 13:21:34
  your work you know I'm not I think so but
• 13:21:38
  I'm not I'm not thinking like that yeah
• 13:21:40
  but naturally pressure is what got me to
• 13:21:44
  where I'm at now like you know if you
• 13:21:47
  know people see the art and they just
• 13:21:49
  feel like you know you just create art
• 13:21:52
  you just colored it and put it up on the
• 13:21:53
  wall but it's you got to sit with these
• 13:21:55
  people like when I'm when I'm doing some
• 13:21:57
  somebody like the mayor like I'm really
• 13:21:58
  deep diving into his life like what
• 13:22:01
  adversities he had to go through like you
• 13:22:04
  know just pieces of him in every
• 13:22:06
  color like I want to tell a story about
• 13:22:07
  every every part of his life through
• 13:22:10
  color so you know like I said like you
• 13:22:13
  know just the opposition from maybe
• 13:22:15
  community people not my see his vision so
• 13:22:18
  yeah it's just you know doing that
• 13:22:20
  to work yeah I noticed also in my
• 13:22:23
  observations of the things that you
• 13:22:25
  created which are many and varied you've
• 13:22:27
  done you've done inanimate objects as
• 13:22:29
  well you've done other things which are
• 13:22:31
  very very very attractive and very
• 13:22:34
  involving but I've noticed in your
• 13:22:36
  portraits you have your portraits often
• 13:22:38
  are very tightly it's you know a face and
• 13:22:43
  I think that's for me just speaking
• 13:22:45
  from my own point of view that's what
• 13:22:47
  draws me in I'm looking into this face
• 13:22:50
  and looking into those eyes and then I'm
• 13:22:52
  interpreting your interpretation of
• 13:22:55
  shadow and light and color on the face
• 13:22:58
  and it just is so
• 13:22:59
  deep do you intentionally
• 13:23:02
  do as opposed to a full body you do this
• 13:23:05
  sort of thing is that do you look for
• 13:23:07
  that in your work absolutely because like
• 13:23:09
  you said like you know the eyes the
• 13:23:10
  eyes is the most important part for me
• 13:23:12
  yeah the eyes are the windows to our
• 13:23:14
  soul right so with that like you know
• 13:23:17
  people slow down and if you could catch
• 13:23:19
  good eye contact with someone like that's
• 13:23:21
  powerful yeah so I try to do that
• 13:23:24
  within my artwork for sure young people
• 13:23:27
  there got to be there's going to be
• 13:23:29
  people kids who are going to see your
• 13:23:31
  work either on like this episode or have
• 13:23:34
  the opportunity to go to your website
• 13:23:36
  which we'll give an address for shortly
• 13:23:38
  and have an opportunity see your work and
• 13:23:40
  they're going to be inspired is that
• 13:23:42
  part of your plan is that part of our
• 13:23:44
  evolution of our of our communities
• 13:23:46
  culture to ignite the same interest in
• 13:23:49
  our young people for sure and it's not
• 13:23:51
  just people that look like me you know
• 13:23:54
  like I thought my story started with
• 13:23:56
  Trayvon Martin but you know when I
• 13:23:58
  started to share my story and share my
• 13:24:00
  artwork I've had people from China Russia
• 13:24:02
  like you know North Korea
• 13:24:04
  everywhere they're all fighting their own
• 13:24:06
  stories within artwork and it's it's
• 13:24:09
  just shows like you know like it's that's
• 13:24:11
  my purpose like you know just to
• 13:24:12
  bring everybody together especially to
• 13:24:14
  the youth because that's our future I
• 13:24:17
  can't agree more I mean and in oftentimes
• 13:24:21
  I see young artists who will
• 13:24:23
  come and tell their their story and the
• 13:24:25
  story begins with I was at the museum
• 13:24:28
  and I saw this more I saw a photograph
• 13:24:31
  and it inspired me to tell this story
• 13:24:34
  and take my own photographs and it must
• 13:24:37
  be a certain very satisfactory
• 13:24:42
  feeling on your part to know that your
• 13:24:44
  work is igniting that same passion in
• 13:24:47
  other people not just here but around the
• 13:24:49
  globe for sure like for sure that's
• 13:24:51
  literally what kept me going like you
• 13:24:53
  know it's been a lot of dark moments
• 13:24:54
  throughout this entire journey but I had
• 13:24:57
  to constantly keep finding color and
• 13:24:59
  that's one of the ways that I could find
• 13:25:00
  color like hearing other people's
• 13:25:03
  stories that have nothing to do with me
• 13:25:05
  just relating the same type of way that
• 13:25:08
  I would bet that that came from me to
• 13:25:10
  create artwork was powerful like I can't
• 13:25:13
  just you know ignore that yeah so that's
• 13:25:16
  literally what drove me so if you have
• 13:25:19
  an opportunity to talk to people at home
• 13:25:21
  and to share a message about anything
• 13:25:24
  you'd like about your art about community
• 13:25:27
  about culture what would that
• 13:25:29
  message be at this point in time my
• 13:25:31
  message is that you know even within the
• 13:25:34
  darkest moments like there's still color
• 13:25:37
  there that's that's my message
• 13:25:41
  that's very powerful especially at this
• 13:25:43
  moment in time for you it's it's it is
• 13:25:46
  very meaningful to have you on our
• 13:25:48
  program today in light of light of what
• 13:25:52
  you're going through and taking the time
• 13:25:54
  to speak with us and rest assured that
• 13:25:56
  what you've created already is made an
• 13:25:59
  impact on this community on our leaders
• 13:26:02
  and on just the residents here and for
• 13:26:05
  that we thank you for all you've done
• 13:26:07
  I'm honored to be here like and yeah it's
• 13:26:09
  bigger than me that's why you know
• 13:26:12
  my energy to be here was it wasn't that
• 13:26:16
  much of a you know debate like my voice
• 13:26:18
  needed to be heard in this conversation
• 13:26:20
  needed to happen so I'm honored to be
• 13:26:22
  here with you Harold thank you thank you
• 13:26:25
  and thank you for joining us inside
• 13:26:27
  West Palm Beach is the product of the
• 13:26:29
  city's communications department I'm
• 13:26:31
  Jerry Marcello we'll see you next time