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April 2016
Interview David and Paulo Perino Perinos' Studio Arivaca, Arizona |
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David and Paulo Perino
David and Paula Perino are the artists of Perinos’ Studio in Arivaca, Arizona. They are a husband and wife team, both native Arizonans, who work together to create art. They say of their art, “We are committed to producing art that provokes and inspires.....”
SAN: Tell us a little about your background. What were you two doing in Tucson before you moved to Arivaca and opened Perinos’ Studio?
David: I worked with mesquite most of my career, both designing and fabricating mesquite furniture, and then importing it from Argentina and manufacturing products made from the wood.
Paula: I spent 30 years in marketing, advertising and public relations as well as arts administration for Tucson Airport.
SAN: There most certainly have been artistic collaborations, but in reality, most artists work alone, and many prefer to work alone. Do you collaborate on all your series of works? Or does one of you focus on one series and the other on another? If so, how do you divide up the work?
David: We collaborate on most everything, discussing concepts, ideas, and then evaluating the work as it progresses. I do most of the constructing of large pieces and Paula will provide feedback and sometimes a direction as we work together.
Paula: It is a wonderful gift to have a partner with whom you work in a creative pursuit. We spend a lot of time talking and brainstorming about what we want to do, especially with large sculptural projects and public art proposals. With smaller pieces, one of us may take the lead and the other will step in to add details, like framing or painting.
SAN: Tell us a little about your background. What were you two doing in Tucson before you moved to Arivaca and opened Perinos’ Studio?
David: I worked with mesquite most of my career, both designing and fabricating mesquite furniture, and then importing it from Argentina and manufacturing products made from the wood.
Paula: I spent 30 years in marketing, advertising and public relations as well as arts administration for Tucson Airport.
SAN: There most certainly have been artistic collaborations, but in reality, most artists work alone, and many prefer to work alone. Do you collaborate on all your series of works? Or does one of you focus on one series and the other on another? If so, how do you divide up the work?
David: We collaborate on most everything, discussing concepts, ideas, and then evaluating the work as it progresses. I do most of the constructing of large pieces and Paula will provide feedback and sometimes a direction as we work together.
Paula: It is a wonderful gift to have a partner with whom you work in a creative pursuit. We spend a lot of time talking and brainstorming about what we want to do, especially with large sculptural projects and public art proposals. With smaller pieces, one of us may take the lead and the other will step in to add details, like framing or painting.
SAN: Tell us about your two bird series – Bird Brains and Flutter? Bird Brains in particular seems to have a strong element of humor. It’s not often we see birds in the role of tourist at destinations around the world.
Paula: These birds took over our life a couple of years ago, influenced in part by where we live. Arivaca is a birdwatcher’s paradise. We did a series of paint and collage pieces on canvas that we called Flutter. I made the birds and David made the frames. Then we created Conference of the Birds that was accepted to the Tubac Art Center Flight exhibit last year. Last summer we started Bird Brains. Flipping through design magazines and seeing over the top homes and interiors, the birds reacted and insinuated themselves into the settings. And then, they started to travel. They are hysterical because they tell us where they are going.
Paula: These birds took over our life a couple of years ago, influenced in part by where we live. Arivaca is a birdwatcher’s paradise. We did a series of paint and collage pieces on canvas that we called Flutter. I made the birds and David made the frames. Then we created Conference of the Birds that was accepted to the Tubac Art Center Flight exhibit last year. Last summer we started Bird Brains. Flipping through design magazines and seeing over the top homes and interiors, the birds reacted and insinuated themselves into the settings. And then, they started to travel. They are hysterical because they tell us where they are going.
Perinos'Studio_Lost in Margaritaville_
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Perinos'Studio_Taj Mahal_
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Perinos'Studio_Manchu Pichu
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Perinos'Studio_Corazon de Oro_
SAN: Your work "Bluebirds Arriving Through a Stargate on the Music of the Spheres" won first Best of Show in the Tubac Center for the Arts “Flight/Vuelo” exhibit. What inspired this work?
Paula: That piece began with noodling on the idea of multiple birds coming in from somewhere. When we saw them coming in from the ethers, of course they would arrive on this planet via a stargate, bringing love and harmony with them. Being sound creatures, they had to arrive on the music of the spheres, the vibration of the universe.
(See the review of this exhibit by Karon Leigh in this edition)
SAN: Your From the Heart series takes castings of hearts from an original clay sculpture and puts these cast hearts in different contexts. Are these meant to represent different forms of love?
David: We believe love is why we are here as humans. The role it has in our lives. To learn what it is, how it expresses itself, how to access it, how to share it. For us, art is a physical expression of love.
Paula: That piece began with noodling on the idea of multiple birds coming in from somewhere. When we saw them coming in from the ethers, of course they would arrive on this planet via a stargate, bringing love and harmony with them. Being sound creatures, they had to arrive on the music of the spheres, the vibration of the universe.
(See the review of this exhibit by Karon Leigh in this edition)
SAN: Your From the Heart series takes castings of hearts from an original clay sculpture and puts these cast hearts in different contexts. Are these meant to represent different forms of love?
David: We believe love is why we are here as humans. The role it has in our lives. To learn what it is, how it expresses itself, how to access it, how to share it. For us, art is a physical expression of love.
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San: Your Icon Art series suggests a long-standing interest in spiritual symbols. Is that the case? Paula: We honor all spiritual traditions. We believe each of us has a unique and personal journey, whatever form and direction that takes, and exploring that is a constant source of wonder and entertainment. The first piece we collaborated on was Tower of God, literally, a tower of altars stacked on top of each other containing various religious symbols. SAN: The On the Record series is a throw-back to a time when music was played on vinyl records. Are these nostalgic remembrances of an earlier time? David: The On the Record series dovetails with our love of and exploration of materials. We inherited a record collection and knew we had to incorporate them into our art. We have a considerable resource pile and ideas kept suggesting themselves as we rummaged through the pile. Then the title of the records and the stickers provided inspiration. They make us laugh. |
Perinos' Studio_Ganesha_
Perinos' Studio_On the Record_ Series
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Perinos' Studio_Moondog III_
Perinos' Studio_Sundog IV_
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SAN: Your very much tongue-in-cheek sculptural pieces in the series Unearthed are particularly intriguing. You are the first artists I’ve met who claim an artistic heritage left to you by with off-planet beings (though admittedly there may be more such artists!)
You say of these “found” pieces: “It was obvious to us when we purchased our property in Arivaca that an alien race had crashed landed here some time ago. We unearthed many components that were obviously parts of space ships torn apart on entry into our earth’s system. We looked at these newly discovered parts and saw immediately the relationship to the components we had found in other sites and carried with us for years. The time is right to begin to provide an archeological exploration of left behind objects. Why us? Why is it our responsibility to reassemble these found parts into such clearly alien craft? Have you found an answer to this question, “Why us?” David: Why not? SAN: Do you intend to continue producing these alien-originated sculptures? Or have you moved on to greener pastures (so to speak)? David: There are definitely more alien craft in our future. What appeals to us about the sculptures is they give us a opportunity to recycle objects in a creative and artistic way. It is also a commentary on who or what is alien? Who says we aren’t all aliens? SAN: You recently participated in the Santa Cruz Valley Spring Artists’ Studio Tour in Green Valley. How did the tour go for you? Why do you participate in studio tours? Paula: We really enjoyed the tour in Green Valley. It was the third year we participated in the tour, and the first time in Green Valley. We met really wonderful people and had an opportunity to network with other artists. There are many living there. SAN: What are your artistic plans for the near-future? David: We are interested in exploring public art opportunities. We feel that this is the next natural step to support the scale at which we want to work as well as extend our creativity. See more of the Perinos’ work at: http://www.perinosstudio.com/index.html |