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Santiago Galeas, Visual Artist and Muralist · philly has heART

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This is Robert Marsh, and you're listening to
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Philly Has Heart podcast. In this podcast, we
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sit down with artists, gallerists, educators,
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curators, and other creatives who comprise the
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Philadelphia art world to discuss upcoming performances,
0:29
exhibits, and other events and initiatives that
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are not to be missed. The art scene in Philadelphia
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is so rich that it can seem daunting. Consider
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this your weekend cultural recommendation. With
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me always is my producer, Lucinda Daggerlin.
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Hello. And today we have Santiago Galeas of Magic
0:49
Garden Show. Entre Raices y Ala. Otherwise known
0:52
as Between Roots and Wings. We're so happy to
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have you today. I'm so happy to be here. We tend
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to ask guests if they knew they were going to
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pursue an art program upon arriving on college
1:03
campuses. But you graduated from the School of
1:07
Art and Design at Montgomery College. Patho with
1:11
your BFA and New York Academy of Art with your
1:14
MFA. Yeah. It's a lot of art. It's a lot of art.
1:19
A lot of art institutions. A lot of academies.
1:22
Yes. The best of them. Can you fill in the blank
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from your hometown of Silver Spring, Maryland
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to every step of art school? What moments can
1:33
you recall directed you? Yeah, so I'm a product
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of community college, and I'm proud of it. I
1:39
tell everyone. Like, when I was working in high
1:42
school, specifically, I'm like, hey, community
1:44
college is a very real option that can, like,
1:47
open the doors for you. Yeah, I started at this
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incredible program, the School of Art and Design
1:51
at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Maryland,
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which was close to where I grew up. As a stepping
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stone, I wanted to do art, but I wanted to see
1:58
what my options were. And I think before diving
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into, like, a full art program, I mean, back
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then I was, like, 18. You know, and like, how
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do you decide what you want to do with your life
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at 18 years old? I thought I wanted to be a found
2:10
object sculptor, you know? And I was, that's
2:13
what I went into the school. My portfolio was
2:15
full of things that I mostly did in high school,
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which were. Found object sculptures. I was making
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backpacks into carnival masks. Crazy stuff like
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that. I had an interest in drawing and painting,
2:25
but that's where I thought I was going. Yeah.
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Again, I was 18. Right. Exactly. Who knew? Your
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frontal lobe is not fully formed. Why are they
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letting us take out loans? Right. Exactly. Yes.
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So I'm a huge champion of community colleges.
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So that was a really intense program. I found
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my love for drawing and painting there. I refined
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it a little bit, and then I applied to PAFA,
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which they had a strong relationship with. Philly
2:49
wasn't too far, so I went to Philly, went to
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PAFA, honed in on my painting skills, and yeah,
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it just kind of kept going. When you get to New
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York, then, we have specifically found our medium
3:02
of choice. Yeah, yeah. It's usually oil. on canvas,
3:07
doing portrait paintings. That's kind of where
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I landed. Still there. And I think my work was
3:11
getting more political, I'd say, like more queer
3:15
-focused, more unapologetic. I think that my
3:19
time in the Academy really refined there. I had
3:23
a voice, but I was able to refine it and learn
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how to talk about my work and also be more intentional
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about the things I'm putting on my painting.
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What brought you back to Philadelphia? So many
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things. It is not cheap to live in New York City,
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especially as an artist. Yes. My partner lived
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in Astoria in Queens. And I did it for a little
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bit. I made a living as an artist for a bit.
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It just wasn't sustainable. And, oh, God, we
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just left so much behind in Philly. You know?
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Friends. My brother lives here. My sister -in
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-law lives here. It's also closer to both of
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our hometowns. He's from Harrisburg. I'm from
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Silver Spring. And so it was just a place for
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us to come back to and be closer to our people,
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relatively and just in very close proximity.
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So it just made a lot of sense. Plus, we miss
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the city. We love Philly. We met in Philly. We
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met in West Philly. We're in West Philly again.
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It's kind of hard to get away. I'm so happy to
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be back. I feel like as soon as I move back...
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things started happening again. It reopens doors,
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but also you have connections here. I was able
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to sort of like reignite those connections. I
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think people are still finding out that I'm back
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in Philly because I only moved back in like the
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beginning of 2025. He's here, guys. I'm here.
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We heard about you through our past guests and
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friend of the pod, Chelsea Luster, who recently
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curated your show Between Roots and Wings. Entre
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Raíces y Alas. Thank you. At Philadelphia Magic
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Gardens, on view through mid -July. In your own
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words, how would you describe the show? Entre
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Raíces y Alas is an exploration of the general
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work that I do, which is portraits of first -generation
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Latin Americans, as well as immigrants, who are
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in the New York, Maryland, Philadelphia area.
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Detailed portraits of who they are, and landscapes
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of two different... I'm using sort of two different
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painting languages. There's the sort of more,
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slightly more realistic local color, general
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landscape of deciduous forests, like North American
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deciduous forests, and then this kind of like
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hazy, hot, pink, more dreamlike Latin American
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background, right? And I like that juxtaposition
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sort of like surrounding this person who is from
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both worlds, essentially. So the title being
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Between Roots and Wings. alludes to where a person
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comes from and where they're going as well. The
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foundation, their existence, the roots, and then
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the potential for travel, for dreams, for whatever,
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like the wings. How many pieces are in the show?
6:03
That's a good question. I want to say there's
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like six large and about, I don't know, let's
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say like 15. Do you remember something Chelsea
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said about curating the Magic Gardens? The small
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ones might be relatively small compared to your
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large ones, but there's no real small artwork
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on the walls, she mentioned, to keep people from
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stashing it and running off with it because there's
6:31
so many schools that cycle through. Yeah, there's
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a lot of visitors. What is the scale of your
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drawings? I want to say they're like 16 by 20
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framed, so they can be pretty small, 16 by 20
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inches. Yeah, I would say they're around there
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slightly bigger, slightly smaller. They're drawings,
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but also, like, these sort of collages that I
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do of, like... Like, there's a series that I
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did in Ireland when I was there. I had to sort
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of focus on small works because I was traveling.
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It was for a residency. I was staying at an abbey
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for, like, a month, which was amazing. Wow. I
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got to hang out with the nuns. Yes. Yeah. There's
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a Catholic influence in my work, for sure, having
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grown up Catholic. But that's besides the point.
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I was there. There was a beautiful garden, so
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I did a series of flowers there. Very nice. Yeah,
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it was really cool. Sidebar, this is not the
7:21
first time Catholicism has come up in today's
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conversation. Yes. It's hot right now. I'm just
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kidding. That's what she's been saying. It's
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true, though. There's like a certain sect of
7:33
Manhattan white man who has rediscovered the
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Catholic Church and is going around to services.
7:41
But that's neither here nor there. Let's get
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back to you. Yeah, I know. Something's happening.
7:45
Yes. Something's in the air. Hopefully, yeah.
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What do you think? I don't think it's unrelated.
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Yeah. Yeah. The Peruvians love him. I work at
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Villanova. They're so happy with Leo. Oh. Gigantic
7:59
poster of him. Yes. Right outside of Basie Hall.
8:03
Father Peter is going to get that man on campus.
8:05
I see it. It's coming. You see how many Villanova
8:08
hats he's been wearing? Yes. The propaganda is
8:12
like, it's going to be a V. He's going to have
8:16
it. We're going to see application numbers skyrocket.
8:19
Admission percentages will go down. Do you know
8:23
what their next... Capital Campaign looks like?
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No. $1 .2 billion. Good. Hopefully some of it
8:31
can go to Becker and Frondor. Go Nova. Go Wildcats.
8:38
Okay. So you are a fellow at the Center for Emerging
8:43
Visual Artists. Yeah. For those who are listening,
8:47
who are interested, can you share about the application
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process? The fellowship has been incredible.
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I got this show. because of the fellowship. So
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I met Chelsea Luster through the Philadelphia
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Open Studio Tours. So she came by to where I
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was presenting my work. I don't know if you guys
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are familiar with the Open Studio Tours, but
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it's like a weekend or two weekends in Philadelphia
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where one weekend is east of broad. All these
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studios are open to the public and people are
9:12
able to go and visit these different artist studios.
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There's a map. It's a very organized system.
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And then the next weekend, the other side of
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Philly. It's an incredible resource that SIVA.
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So my studio, as a fellow, I was able to participate
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totally free and be a part of it. And then Chelsea
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stopped by. We chatted. We hit it off really
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well. She had been following my work. And then
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we talked about doing the show. Yeah, and then
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that started to solidify later on. Anyone can
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apply. I encourage anyone to apply, anyone in
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the Philly area. I was living in the Poconos
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when I applied. And then I ended up moving to
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Philly. Second person that we've recorded with
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today. Talking about the Poconos and living in
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Poconos. Yes! Guys, this is a small world. I
9:55
love it. How long does the fellowship last? It's
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two years, but as other alum from the program
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have told me, it's longer than that. Your program...
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Once you're an alum, you're in the family. You
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know, other opportunities are, like, shared with
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you as well. Like, you are brought in for, like,
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other things. You're on the listserv. Essentially.
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Right, right. And can you speak of how are you
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supported by the organizations? There's two types.
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One in your first year, one in your second year.
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As well as just, like, a series of different
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professional development opportunities. So, like,
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we're talking, like, meeting with gallerists,
10:27
going on, like, collection tours. Generally meeting
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with... your advisor and just like talking about
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your plan and like what you want to do and like
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what's next. You know, it's a really guided experience,
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which I've really appreciated and benefited from
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a lot. Right. We heard you are making your mark
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on the Gaborhood via a mural featuring five LGBTQ
10:47
plus leaders to be unveiled on Friday, June 26.
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How did you select the leaders to be featured?
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Was there... public outreach for this. Can you
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tell us more about your process through this
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mural? This mural, before I designed it, it had
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a history. If you're familiar with the Gloria
11:07
Casares mural that was taken down on 12th Street,
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that mural was designed to honor Gloria Casares,
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and that was done by Michelle Angela Ortiz, who's
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an incredible artist. Her family was involved,
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Gloria's family was involved, the community was
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involved. It's like any mural, any mural in Philly
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that's done through mural arts, the rounds and
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rounds of... design reviews that have to be done
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that are like publicly approved by one the family
11:31
members to the community and then to like the
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administration through mural arts it's a lot
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of work for the artists but also like everybody
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involved including project managers that went
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up and it was this big moment for philly for
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queer philadelphia and queer philadelphia here's
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history and then when it was taken down it was
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like a tragedy it was almost like losing her
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memory again which obviously we can't really
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do because of the lasting impact of her actual
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work but it hurts still. It was a massive tragedy.
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So I think this mural honoring Gloria, but it's
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also including four other honorees. It's going
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on the back of Boyer nightclub outdoors. So it
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is a way of sort of like bringing her memory
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back onto like a visual marker of who she was,
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as well as like other really important Philadelphia
12:17
icons in the city. So that was the spiel essentially
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for like, this is what we want. And it was an
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open call. for artists. I had heard about it.
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I did not apply because I had a lot going on
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in my personal life. But Conrad Benner, who is
12:32
the project manager behind it, messaged me and
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was like, hey, I think you should apply for this.
12:36
And I was like, thanks, Conrad. I'll think about
12:38
it. And I didn't. And then the deadline comes
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and he's like, hey, seriously, I think you should
12:44
apply for this. I showed the panel your work
12:46
and they loved it. I was like, okay. I was hesitant
12:52
at first because it's a massive responsibility.
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It's not just like a mural, you know? This is
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a mural holding the memories of a lot of people
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who were loved in this city. If I'm going to
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do it, I need to honor it, you know, and like
13:02
fully be in it. And I didn't think I had the
13:04
capacity at the time. But he convinced me. We
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talked on the phone. He was like, seriously,
13:09
it doesn't mean we'll pick you, but like give
13:12
yourself a chance here. And I did. And then they
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picked me. It was complicated. I was like, okay,
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this is amazing. And very scary. Because I have
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a couple of small murals in the city. I'm mostly
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a painter in a studio who shows in gallery walls.
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And I have a few in the city, which I'm also
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really honored to have. But this is a big one.
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This is the biggest one I'll have ever done.
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What are the measurements of the mural? Another
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good question. You keep asking me number questions.
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No, it's okay. I'm just like not a numbers person.
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It's like the back of Boyer. How many stories
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is Boyer? I think it's three stories. Okay, that's
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a good number. It's two walls. There's three
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stories. Yeah, you can fit like two SUVs back
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there. Okay, okay. And is that on the, if it's
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on the back of Boyer, is that on the north elevation?
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It's in the alley. South. Yeah. South elevation.
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It's facing south. It's facing south. It'll face
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south. So there's two walls. They're perpendicular.
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One is facing south. The other one is facing
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east. I don't think I know where the front door
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is to Boyer Nightclub. That's why. Well, usually
14:23
by the time you walk in there, nobody knows where
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the front door is. Okay. And definitely by the
14:28
time you walk out, no one knows where the door
14:30
is. Okay. No, it's down the alley. Like when
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you're walking on Locust, you look at it through
14:36
a parking lot, right? Yes. The surface lot. Yeah,
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the surface lot's right there. And the doorway
14:41
is right along the alley. Oh, that is the front
14:43
door. Yes. Understood. Yes. Okay. Got it. That
14:47
just peeks open at a certain time of night. Okay.
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Don't eat the hot dogs. Well, people do. You've
14:56
been practicing art throughout the majority of
14:58
your life. Can you share how your artwork has
15:01
evolved over that time? Yeah. I mean, I talked
15:04
a little bit about it at the beginning. I was
15:06
a found object sculptor. And then I took a figure
15:09
drawing class and I loved that. There was a project
15:12
I did when I was like 19 years old. It was this
15:15
sort of an installation of paper towels that
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I drew on, like from the bathroom, like the brown
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roll of paper towels that you rip off. I just
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like had these long segments of them and I would
15:27
draw people that I found online on these obituaries.
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And it was, like, the idea was that this is,
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like, a piece that, like, floats and it kind
15:36
of moves as you walk around and it's, like, on
15:38
ephemeral material. It's, like, not meant to
15:40
last forever. Very, like, 19 -year -old Santiago's
15:43
thoughts at the time. It's, like, you know, nothing
15:45
lasts forever. And that's where I was exploring,
15:50
like, how to make meaningful art with, like,
15:52
meaningful materials. I think what that pushed
15:54
me to realize was I really, like... portraiture,
15:57
and I really like representation. So I think
16:00
from then on, I started to do more portraiture.
16:02
I switched to painting, went to PAFA, and then
16:05
I was really interested in, well, really honing
16:09
my technical skills. I think for me personally,
16:12
I think my work, I want it to be easily digestible.
16:16
I want it to be accessible. I want it to be challenging,
16:18
of course. I think the subject matter should
16:20
be challenging, but I think that... The barrier
16:22
that I don't want is the readability. I want
16:24
the person who I'm painting to look like that
16:27
person. That's important to me. I understand
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it's not important to everybody. So, yeah, I
16:32
think a couple different experiences from, let's
16:36
see, there's the Pulse nightclub shooting was
16:39
a really heavy one that gave me a sense of urgency.
16:42
No one is safe. Our representation is really
16:45
important. It hurts to see. communities that
16:48
I'm a part of like be targeted in that way. I
16:51
also went on this residency in Ecuador for like
16:54
10 days. It was like a celebration of the decriminalization
16:58
of homosexuality in Ecuador for queer Latino
17:01
artists and That was really eye -opening. We
17:04
talked to survivors of protests who lost people.
17:07
Very intense. It was mostly research. And then
17:09
we had to make art in the last couple days. I
17:13
didn't process this for a minute. It's like,
17:17
go sit down. No, but they loaded you with history
17:20
and real history and real people in front of
17:22
you. And then it's like, okay. Make something.
17:25
So I think, yeah, a combination of things. I'm
17:29
like, I obviously like the political state of
17:31
the country today. A lot of things have pushed
17:33
me towards making my art queer and visible and
17:37
unapologetic and louder and brighter. I think
17:40
my color palette changed as well. In my undergraduate
17:43
program, I was like pretty monotone. I think
17:46
like today I'm like full of really bright colors.
17:48
I think your stories of your. subjects are also
17:52
getting deeper. Yeah, that's something I picked
17:54
up in grad school, which I'm so grateful for
17:57
because it's grad school for painting. It's like
18:01
I better pick something up. But it was a really
18:05
valuable lesson. I had this professor, and I
18:07
didn't even do this series at the time, but I
18:09
was like, I'm going to do this series of couples
18:11
in bed sleeping, and I want to show the intimacy
18:14
between them. Again, I didn't end up doing this,
18:17
but I had a professor tell me, okay. But I want
18:21
you to be like really intentional about everything.
18:23
Like be intentional about like how their hair
18:26
is made that day. If it's messy, if it's neat,
18:29
be intentional about the bed sheets. And like,
18:31
is it covering them fully? Is it not covering
18:33
them fully? And I heard that and I like took
18:38
it into the process of. connecting with these
18:41
people. So rather than, like, focusing on what
18:43
they're wearing, I focused on, like, why I'm
18:46
doing this. I started doing this, like, inter...
18:49
I keep calling it an interview. It's more of
18:51
an exchange process where I talk to my subjects.
18:54
Like, you are talking to me now with, like, questions,
18:57
and I, like, start slow, just, like, trying to
19:00
just generally understand, like, who they are
19:01
as a queer person, dive into, like... how did
19:05
you come out? Like, tell me about your relationship
19:07
with family. Like, how did you move to Philadelphia
19:09
or New York or whatever? As we're talking, I,
19:12
like, tell them about myself, too, so that there's,
19:14
like, a shared vulnerable space where it's not
19:16
just me, like, you know, trauma, like, you know,
19:20
like, diving for trauma. I'm, like, I'm interested
19:23
in who you are. Right, and, like, I will also
19:26
give you some of mine. Because I think that I
19:30
did that to... also like I think inform the process
19:34
of like capturing the person so like I'll often
19:36
take a ton of reference photos of my subjects
19:39
if it's one person I will take 1500 photos minimum
19:43
and that's just like click click click click
19:44
click because I'm trying to replicate life as
19:46
close as I can because that's how I prefer to
19:47
paint but you just cannot because of the world
19:50
we live in you know so I just take a ton of photos
19:52
and I think the interview process makes it so
19:55
that we're a little bit more comfortable with
19:57
each other there's a level of like comfort that
19:59
we've passed having had this like really deep
20:01
conversations the question of an artist representing
20:05
somebody are they representing who they think
20:08
you are or who you are right and like how do
20:11
you get there yeah you know and it doesn't have
20:13
to be like one road this is my this is the way
20:14
i do it you know they're often like sometimes
20:17
they're they're friends already sometimes they're
20:19
friends of friends and sometimes they're complete
20:21
strangers you know sometimes it's like someone
20:23
i like asked on a trolley with like my hands
20:25
shaking and my voice trembling. You know, like,
20:27
let me do this. Can I please paint you? Here's
20:31
my card and I'll like run away. That's how it
20:34
started, you know? That's great. What advice
20:37
would you give to an aspiring artist from your
20:41
perspective and as an established one? Oh my
20:44
God, thank you. Am I? Yes. Yeah, I appreciate
20:49
that. I'd say don't. make art your lifeline.
20:56
Like, I think it's important to have a balance
20:59
between making art for a living and making art.
21:05
I've tried it. I've done it. I've lived as an
21:08
artist full time. I have lived paycheck to paycheck.
21:11
I've had paychecks not come through. I've had,
21:15
like, really high highs in the art world, and
21:18
I've had really, really low lows. And this is
21:20
the last 10 years of my career. And I just recently
21:24
kind of found myself with a full -time job at
21:27
an office. And just also, like, now my big task
21:32
is to, like, renegotiate my relationship with
21:36
my art. And that is new and scary, but it's also,
21:40
like, I'm not worried about my bills this month.
21:43
It's a nice foundation to have. Yeah, you know,
21:45
if I have, like, a weird lump somewhere, I can
21:48
check it out and not worry about the bill later.
21:50
I have health insurance, you know? Like, I think,
21:53
and it's, like, it's so, it seems so simple,
21:57
but just, like, make sure you're taken care of.
21:59
Find a way. It's, I think the dream is to, like,
22:03
be able to work as an artist full -time, and
22:05
many people do do that. I had a professor in,
22:08
like, undergrad tell me once, like, Tell a classroom
22:11
full of people once, like, hey, there's like
22:13
20 of you in here. Maybe one of you is going
22:15
to be like a professional artist. And I just
22:18
want to tell you that, honestly, because it is
22:21
so hard out there. I don't tell you to discourage
22:23
you. It's more that I want you to look at this
22:26
realistically. Now let's paint. I heard that
22:32
at the time and I was like, oh, that's me. I'm
22:34
the artist. But it's like, maybe I'm not. But
22:39
it's okay. I think it's important to be realistic
22:43
about the world we live in. This world isn't
22:44
made for artists. This country is not made for
22:46
artists. Work with what you have, you know? Yeah.
22:50
As an artist, you have so many skills that are
22:53
transferable to other places of work. That need
22:56
that. Yes. That need those skills. Yeah. Because
22:59
they just have potentially the academic side
23:02
in that office and they need the creative there
23:05
as well. Yeah. Creatives are so valuable in the
23:08
workplace. I have found myself. saying, like,
23:12
what if we did this? What if we did that? And
23:14
everyone's like, oh, my God. That's a brand new
23:18
idea. Yeah, like, whoa. Not that I'm, like, this
23:20
genius coming up with an idea. It's just, like,
23:21
occasionally, like, a little thing here and there.
23:23
Being scrappy enough to get through to the next
23:25
great success. Absolutely, yeah. And that includes,
23:29
like, my artistic practice, but also, like, the
23:31
10 years I've had as an educator. Right. And
23:33
I've worked with so many different populations.
23:35
I've worked with middle school, high school.
23:38
Prison populations, homeless populations. I've
23:40
just recently worked with special needs. I've
23:43
worked in various different universities as an
23:46
adjunct professor with various different cultures.
23:48
And all of that has made me an extremely adaptable
23:50
person who can just kind of see the thing, adapt
23:53
on the spot, and just kind of go for it. Well,
23:56
what topics are you teaching or did you teach?
23:58
Because we haven't touched on that. Yeah, yeah,
24:00
yeah. So I just recently taught a general art
24:03
class. I've taught art appreciation. done art
24:07
history painting one watercolor figure drawing
24:11
a little bit of everything yeah yeah what's your
24:15
favorite population to teach that's a good one
24:19
i would say maybe it's a tie i love my um my
24:25
college students are great specifically my scrabby
24:29
ones you know because they react really well
24:32
to like when i tell them like hey if you don't
24:34
have any experience here Congratulations, you
24:36
did the hard thing. You know, you did the vulnerable
24:39
thing of putting yourself in a room to learn
24:41
a new thing. You have no, like, history of doing.
24:44
That's already a really difficult step, and you
24:47
already did that. You know, now, like, let's
24:49
work on that. And they've always surprised themselves.
24:51
I love that population. But then I also love
24:54
my restorative justice population because they,
24:57
like, they really wanted to be there. So it was
25:01
a mix of different, like, people who were currently
25:02
incarcerated or on parole. I have taught both
25:05
populations. And the ones that were, like, currently
25:07
incarcerated, just, like, they just wanted to,
25:09
like, be there and make art. Because a lot of
25:11
them, there was, like, their passion to it already.
25:13
Like, they found this with doing that sort of
25:15
work in the system. And I have to think that
25:17
maybe there's a component to it that feels kind
25:19
of therapeutic to them. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.
25:22
It's often, like, something is... They're saying
25:25
something without saying something in the work
25:27
that they're making. And my only job is to facilitate
25:30
that because they've got a lot to say. Santiago,
25:36
thank you so much for your time and your session
25:38
today and your vulnerability and sharing your
25:41
story with us. Thank you, guys. Where can our
25:44
audience find you online and in real life? Yeah,
25:48
I am on Instagram at Santiago Galeas. My website
25:52
is just SantiagoGaleas .com. It's not a very
25:54
common name. And everyone check out the mural
25:58
being unveiled on Friday, June 26th in the Gabriel
26:01
Hood. And check out Magic Gardens. Entre raíces
26:06
y alas. A .K .A. Between Roots and Wings. We'll
26:10
be right back with Rapid Fire Questions. And
26:15
we're back with rapid fire questions with Santiago.
26:18
Favorite restaurant or bar in the Gabriel Hood?
26:21
I'll be honest, I don't get to the Gabriel Hood
26:23
much. That's perfectly fine. Make it West Philly
26:26
then. Oh my God, yes. There is an incredible
26:28
Ethiopian fried chicken place called Dorobet
26:32
in West. It is so good. There's also like my
26:35
go -to Vietnam cafe. Dottie's Donuts, you know,
26:39
like there's so many good places in West Philly.
26:41
I have a Dottie's Donuts in my neighborhood.
26:44
Yeah, they're good out there. Oh, nice. Okay.
26:47
Vegan Donuts. Wait, Vegan Donuts? Yep, that's
26:48
right, Vegan Donuts. Oh, excellent. Has there
26:50
been a particular gallery, show, or exhibition
26:53
that stretched your work? Oh, that I've been
26:57
a part of? Yeah. That's a great question. I think
27:01
my first solo exhibition in New York. was at
27:05
a gallery called John Horton Presents. That was
27:08
in 2022. That was the first time that a gallerist
27:12
came into my studio and kind of, like, had full
27:14
faith in me and was like, let's make a solo.
27:17
Like, let's do this. Let's do the real thing.
27:19
Let's get your work in, like, a gallery in Chelsea
27:20
and, like, go for it. And that was unbelievable
27:24
to, like, have someone, like, have that much
27:26
confidence in me and also, like, have this...
27:30
He wanted me to make big work. And I was like,
27:33
I don't really do that. He was like, do it for
27:35
this. And I did. I kind of never went back. Nice.
27:39
Nice. Do you have a bucket list venue where you
27:42
would like to show your art? I don't know that
27:45
I do. Because I told you, I'm in a weird place
27:48
with my work right now. We can kill this question
27:51
if you want. Yeah, I think I just want to survive.
27:53
I like it. If you could pick any artist dead
27:57
or alive to produce a portrait of you, who would
27:59
it be? Of me? Yeah. Oh, gosh. I'm more of a painter
28:03
than a painted. Yeah. Okay. All right, let's
28:07
think. I would, oh, my God. My first thought
28:10
is Frida. What an icon, you know? Yes. And to
28:13
see the world the way that she did, if it was
28:15
just, like, me covered in parrots, like, with
28:18
cactuses behind, like, come on. Yes. Incredible.
28:22
I love that. I love that. This is a Lucinda question.
28:26
Set the scene. PMA is on fire, and you have the
28:29
ability to save one piece of art. What are you
28:32
saving? The people are safe. Sure. You know what?
28:36
You're the first person to ask that, so. Everyone's,
28:41
like, it's just the artwork in danger. It's just
28:43
you. It's human artwork. Okay. There's a Henry
28:47
Osawa Tanner painting in the PMA. It's called
28:51
The Annunciation, and Henry Osawa Tanner is an
28:54
amazing. artist, one, because of his technical
28:57
ability, but two, he was a black artist working
28:59
in the 1800s who was mentored by Thomas Eakins.
29:03
Beautiful, stunning work with his own style to
29:06
boot. And he did this painting of Mary being
29:09
told by the angel Gabriel that she's giving birth
29:13
to the Messiah. And I think so many paintings
29:18
depict that scene in this kind of, like, glorious
29:20
way where there's, like, halos behind them and
29:22
she's, like, full of peace and, like, staring
29:24
in the sun. But, like, Henry Osawa Tanner's painting,
29:27
like, Gabriel is a giant ray of light. It's just
29:34
light and intensity. Mary is, like, this young
29:38
girl and she's, like, a little scared, you know?
29:42
Yeah, I don't blame her. Yeah, I know. And it's,
29:44
like... Of course she is. Of course she is. Wouldn't
29:49
you be if you were just told that you were, like,
29:51
randomly pregnant in the middle of the night
29:53
by a flashing light? And I think that, like,
29:57
spoke to his perspective, too. He was, like,
29:59
really empathetic of, like, the stories he was
30:01
telling. So, again, he's, like, trying to, like,
30:03
find my way into, like, the mind of this person
30:05
rather than, like, an idea of this person, you
30:07
know? I would save that painting. What are you
30:10
most excited for this Pride? The unveiling is
30:13
going to be a really big moment for me. Yeah,
30:17
I'll say it. I'm having a moment. I'm having
30:20
a moment this year. There's a lot going on, and
30:23
I'm going to enjoy it while it's happening. So
30:27
yeah, that's going to be a big moment because
30:28
so many people that I've grown to know and care
30:32
about in this process, including loved ones of
30:34
the honorees, are going to be there. My assistants
30:37
who are painting the mural and doing so much
30:39
of the work of this mural. I can't take all their
30:41
credit. They are going to be there. They're going
30:43
to be celebrated as well, as well as, like, my
30:47
friends and family. So it's just going to be,
30:48
like, another, like, big event. You know, I just
30:51
had one at the opening at the Magic Gardens,
30:52
too. So, yeah. And I'm getting married in August.
30:56
You're having a big year. Pile on. It's my year.
30:58
I love it. I love it. A round of F. Mary Kill.
31:03
Okay. Jackson Pollock. Willem de Kooning. Roy
31:10
Lichtenstein. Can I kill more than one? I'm telling
31:18
you, I'm a fan of the era and the genre, but
31:21
these were like terrible people. Sometimes it
31:24
makes it even more fun. Yeah, yeah. All right.
31:27
You could do it more as the art than the artist.
31:30
All right, let's do that. Which art do I want
31:33
to have? Let's see. I would marry Lichtenstein.
31:41
I would kill de Kooning and F. Pollock. Good
31:46
choices. Yeah. Good choices. I was going to say,
31:48
Pollock looks like semen everywhere. Thank you
31:51
so much, and check out Santiago's work at the
31:54
Philadelphia Magic Gardens on view now through
31:57
mid -July, as well as the mural debuting this
32:01
June. Thanks for tuning in to Philly Has Heart,
32:26
your weekly cultural update. Until next time,
32:29
keep creating, keep connecting, and remember,
32:32
Philly has heart. And art!