Grimanesa Amorós Has Something to Say About Hope
Four decades ago, the Peruvian light artist arrived in New York with just two bags. Now she's illuminating some of the city's most iconic parks and structures.
Hello all,
I’m sure everyone is more than a little stressed about tomorrow’s election. Since I have nothing new to add to the conversation, and am more than a little nervous myself, today’s send is focused on an incredible artist I’ve been privileged to know for several years. Grimanesa Amorós moved from her native Peru to New York City in the 80s with a dream of living the artist’s life and then did everything in her power to achieve it. She has been a source of inspiration since I first interviewed her for the Times in 2014 and continues to be fearless — whether she’s layering long strands of LEDs under the hot Arizona sun or scaling one of the city’s most iconic hotels to give it new, alien dimensions. I hope you enjoy, and see all of you on the other side~
Laura
Slow Ghost logo: Tyler Lafreniere. ARGENTUM, The Bronx Museum of the Arts | Manhattan, NY. Image courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
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Grimanesa Amorós Doesn’t Give Up
The Peruvian-born artist has created acclaimed light art, sculptures, and installations across the globe, often in some of the most inhospitable climates. But each time, it still feels like the first.
Grimanesa Amorós is a Peruvian-American light artist whose work draws from South American cultural legacies and the communities surrounding her sculptures. She has exhibited and created works in Finland, Venice, Paris, Beijing, and New York's Times Square. Amorós has received the Bronx Museum of the Arts: AIM Alumni Artist Award (NY), The National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowship (Washington, DC), (among others) and has collaborated with top musicians and creatives, including Grammy-nominated Meshell Ndegeocello, actress Maya Hawke, and the World Monuments Fund.
OCUPANTE, Ludwig Museum Koblenz. 2016. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
Slow Ghost: You have been doing so much lately. I'm happy you were able to make this interview work before your next project.
Grimanesa: Luckily, I had the month here in New York, so my studio trumped everything. I had four lectures; I am so grateful to have work I could share with others. That's the important part!
Someone once told me, "work begets more work", and it's stuck with me.
For me, it's about recommendations. I am selective about the proposals we choose to participate in. Imagine if we spent all our time making proposals that didn't go anywhere. Like many architect friends, you would be required to have a studio section dedicated to proposals.
Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
Not enough people know that it's not just about endlessly applying – most is your network.
Many of my projects come from people seeing my work in a space and liking it or something that made them think. Sometimes, they call from different states and countries, and I ask how they heard about me. Many, if not most, say, "Well, I saw your work at XYZ, and it made an impression," or something like that.
AZURE, 2021. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
I’d love to hear how you got into art.
I want to share that part of my practice in my lectures. It provides people with a clearer understanding of where my work is coming from. For example, I'm obsessed with domes and bubble shapes and the organicity of my work – it is because I grew up in Lima, Peru. Peru is a very biodiverse country. It's the desert, the mountains, the Andes, and then you have the Amazon. The jungles have these incredible, different types of biodiversity, not only in the plants but also in the types of animals. Growing up by the Pacific Ocean, I experienced its ferocity; the waves and, at the shore, these formations of sea foam became very sculptural and moved and reflected with the sun. When I was little, I started poking them. I studied them and was fascinated by how the light reflected on them.
Later, I made an incredible trip to Iceland, where I encountered the Northern Lights. It changed my life. I started thinking, "If I could only share this with others, wouldn't it be amazing?" It took two years to come up with ideas on how to share this ephemeral part of life. I had a moment when I thought, "Should I take my camera and take pictures? Or should I just leave the moment absorbed?"
Looking behind the lens detaches you from being totally immersed in yourself. Of course, I chose to live in the moment. I don't have any pictures, but that's how I started working with light in 2000.
ARGENTUM, The Bronx Museum of the Arts | Manhattan, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
What was your journey from Peru to New York? Did you come here for school or your own personal fulfillment?
I knew since I was 11 that I would not live in Lima. Don't ask me why. I would walk the streets and say, "I have to memorize the names of the streets and everything because I know I'm going to live abroad." I grew up with all these movies set in Manhattan and came away with romantic visions of these artists' bohemian lives in New York City. I started fantasizing, and when I arrived in 1984 when I was 21, I went, "This is my city." Then, I began actualizing the dream with just my two bags and started my life as an artist.
I moved around a lot, which became a great way of knowing each part of the city. "I live on the West Side, then on the East Side, Downtown, the Bowery." And then, of course, I had the typical jobs we all did when we started. I mean, you name it, I did the job. In those days, I saved my money, and fresh paints were the first thing I would buy. There are many wonderful stories from my time in New York when I was young.
Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
It's important to know that you didn't immediately move to New York and have a practice in your beautiful Tribeca space. A lot came in between.
It was a journey — even having a studio — a journey. Imagine a mountain — my career has been step by step. I didn't go up quickly, but going up slowly and solidly gives you a particular understanding, which is essential to knowing what you want as an artist and how you want to share your creativity with others.
When did you feel like you started to hit your stride?
I realized I wanted to be an artist when I was very young. I said, "Grimanesa, I prefer to live on $50 a week, maybe not even eat, but to focus on doing my work. I felt I wouldn't be able to develop my work further and move forward if I didn't practice. It's like with musicians that they have to practice every day for six, maybe eight hours. I have a friend who's an incredibly noted classical guitarist, and even now, at a certain age, she still practices six to eight hours a day. If you don't focus, you don't progress. So live with less and do what you love because at least you are fulfilling your purpose.
LIGHT BETWEEN THE ISLANDS 4, 2013. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
What was the first commission you were passionate about?
There have been a couple. I always feel like I'm still 21, and every time I have a new commission, it's like it's the first one. I'm grateful I have this space and location to share the work.
But the one I remember being very excited about because it was important on many levels was Times Square. It was about technologically sharing my cultural heritage in such an incredible space. Hundreds of thousands of people were coming every day, at all times, even until four or five in the morning. I remember going to install it in Times Square. You have to go after 12 o'clock at night because there's just too much traffic. You could only install the piece from one to five AM because once again, starting at 5:30 AM, the city comes back to life. Of course, this was way before the pandemic.
UROS HOUSE. The Armory Show, Times Square Alliance | New York, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
Then another one I did that I loved was Prospect Park in Brooklyn. At all times, I saw people engaging with the piece, putting towels under it, looking up and taking images, and even families having picnics embraced by the piece. I never realized how interactive art was and how people's experience of it could the work. It was amazing.
HEDERA. BRIC | Prospect Park Brooklyn, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
When you begin working on a project, do you visit a space and then see what would be a good fit or do you look at what you are already working with and go from there?
It depends. It would help if you went as much as possible when it's a permanent installation. I remember I had to go to Mumbai for two days for one project, and I'm so glad I did. I couldn't have done that piece otherwise. The piece in Mumbai is so large; if I hadn't gone, even to see how enormous it was and how the piece would occupy it, I wouldn’t have been able to make it happen so perfectly, as it seemed to belong to the space. That gave me a lot of information about how I would need to work.
But even when it's a place that might be temporary, depending on the piece's scale, it helps. For me, it facilitates the conciseness of your ideas for the space.
IUGO. ODA Architecture, Nexus | New York, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
You work on such a large scale. I imagine there's many more things to consider than if someone is just doing a painting or a mural. You have to think about the light, the weather, and the overall climate.
Oh my god, yes. For example, imagine the engineering behind a project like the one I did on the water in Scottsdale! And 118-degree weather! We had the challenges of space and the weather, which played a massive part.
I also did a large piece in Saudi Arabia, and I remember squinting my eyes at one point because we were in the desert, so when the wind blows, you get wind storms. I had to secure glasses because my eyes hurt. But that's what I love. That's my romance with the process. I embrace challenging situations because they awaken me and make me think quickly. I always say, "I'm never afraid of anything except rats." But planning is essential for these difficult situations.
GOLDEN WATERS. Scottsdale Public Art | Soleri Bridge Scottsdale, AZ. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
You have to be so physically fit to do these installations. There is so much energy and manual labor involved, and you don’t have a team of 15 doing it all for you. You still are very physically a part of the art making.
In my time as an artist, the physicality part has played a vital role. The hours I work have not changed since my twenties, but what has changed is how much weight I can carry. I'm very aware of my health. I don't deprive myself of anything, but I believe in balance. You have to stay active and fit. I meditate. I have been doing that since I was maybe 15. Mornings and nights. And that makes me release any stressful circumstances or long days you have when you install because when you're installing, there are deadlines, and it's like being on Broadway – the show must go on. There will be a day that's an opening for the press. There's another for the VIPs and another for the public. You have to be ready no matter what. So sometimes it's very long hours.
But it's important because I don't want to have a side business of maintaining these pieces. Again, it comes with the choices you make as an artist. By being there, I make sure everything is done correctly from the beginning. Each element is checked one by one. We have to. I prefer to do that, but it's part of maintaining your reputation. So people know that if they're going to commission the work, you're going to be able to handle it. That's why I cannot have so many projects a year.
Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
It's interesting how you managed to keep your practice both small, headcount wise, and still impactful. How do you choose what is worth your time?
When I did the Peninsula Hotel, the facade of the landmark building on 55th Street, I can't tell you how many hotels called me right after. That was a very successful project. You have to think about what you want as an artist! I like to balance public work, museums, exhibitions, collaborations, and lectures because that's the whole of what I'm trying to share and communicate with the world.
It's easy to pick who you want to work with in some ways because you'll notice a style from the first email. When a person is responsive and professional, the whole project will go that way. We artists sometimes need to realize that as much as we want to do a project, the other side has to want it to match, to do it as much. So, if that synchronicity doesn't happen, you must be strong and say, "No, this is not for me. I don't want the headaches."
There's no drama in my practice because I am very good with my choices.
PINK LOTUS. The Peninsula Hotel, New York, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
What are you working on in the coming year?
There's one project I can't wait to do with the city of New York. It's called FLEXUS. I'm doing something differently with my work. For me, it's essential with each project to ask myself, "Can I challenge it to do something differently, even though it's in the electronics or the electrical hardware technology or in the physicality of the actual sculpture and material?"
I'm constantly researching and developing. However, working with the city takes a lot of work and its a slower process. It takes a couple of years, but I have learned a lot and you'll see it soon because it's going to be permanent.
AZULIN New York, NY 2022. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
Are you doing any traveling?
I'm going to London because I collaborated with a fashion brand that does couture. We've been working on this project for two years, which is quite interesting because the material is leather. It's not clothing or lighting but an innovative and different piece. With art, you’re always creating and thinking of new ways to communicate with your audience, creating your language, sharing your message, and shifting your practice, allowing it to be seen differently.
So I'll go to London and Miami for Art Basel, then wrap up my year in Germany and Tunisia. Travel balances me, and the world has so much to offer. When I travel to a country, it often inspires me. I'm traveling the whole country from north to south, east to west. Tunisia has UNESCO sites, interesting architecture, and deserts.
AMPLEXUS, Cultural Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 2022. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
What would be a dream project?
I'm interested in public outreach projects like Prospect Park. With the right partnership, you can find innovative ways to embrace the public and make them think more creatively in their own lives.
I'm also interested in projects collaborating with different sectors, such as an outdoor opera. I would love to create a sculptural lighting piece, which has to be a collaborative process between the director, the performance, the singers, the actors, the costume designers, the artist, and, of course, most importantly, the story. There are a lot of elements for it to work, and not just having the piece be something exterior, but how you involve the audience and see the performative part of it with the sculpture is challenging.
But I'm always careful about more gimmicky things, like sensors. "Interactivity" has become very popular. But ensuring a piece doesn't lose value over the years is important to me – the universality of it. So that when you see it 20 years from now, it still resonates.
ARGENTUM, The Bronx Museum of the Arts | Manhattan, NY. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
During this time when things feel dark and it often feels like we're going to be in this moment forever, what are some things giving you inspiration?
As an artist, you believe in humanity and have ideas about freedom. Freedom goes along with universality. In a way, it's parallel. Since I work with light, that also helps because you have to be authentic and transparent, and somehow, you parallel your life with what you do with the work.
Authenticity and communication are essential for all artists, not only visual artists. If I'm working with my collaborator and there's an issue, I clarify it and make it a point. This way, we are all on the same page.
GOLDEN ARRAY, Mumbai, India, 2021. Courtesy of Grimanesa Amorós.
Is there anything that you wish people knew about you and your work that hasn't already been covered?
Since I was in my teens, LPP has been very important to me, as it consists of love, passion, and perseverance. We have to be hopeful; we still have to persevere; we cannot give up. You have to keep at it. LPP has helped me throughout my career.
Sometimes, young artists are required to realize that when they receive a rejection letter, why waste their time feeling sad? These are the thoughts of six judges; the world comprises billions of people. You must do more than just work to please or that everyone will like. Some people like abstract, some like figurative or minimalist, who knows? You have to persevere. Tears and feeling bad about yourself will sink your spirit, which will not help you keep going and have the energy to be creative.
It's important for people to know. Confidence is important when discussing a project because other individuals or companies are required to feel comfortable with what you're going to be able to manage.
I would like to finish my thoughts with a reminder to be humble and open.
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Slow Ghost is a newsletter covering the next wave in culture, brought to you by writer Laura Feinstein.