Artist FERNANDO CARPANEDA - INTERVIEW

EYEPUS brings you here an exclusive interview with Artist/Painter/Sculpturist FERNANDO CARPANEDA. Fernando has done some mind-blowing and Provocative works since 1980. His works take us to an underground carnal world of sexuality and cadaverous horrors.

EYEPUS: So, Fernando tell me about yourself and your works?

FERNANDO CARPANEDA: I am Fernando Carpaneda, an artist born in Brasília, Brazil. I work with clay sculptures. My main theme is always the human being. I make portraits of rent boys, punks, goths, junkies, thieves and outcasts. All my portraits are like a relic, a holy place, a moment caught in time. My connection to the art work is important to any creative process. I believe that the artist is a piece of art itself. I have been going to places where the portrayed people use to go for over 25 years - like bars, concerts, cemeteries and places where people sell their bodies. Remembrances are part of my work. Every little thing is part of me: my lovers, my disappointments, my experiences with drugs, my life in the streets, and so forth. I depend on all of this to create art, I do not exist without these people.

EYEPUS: How long have you been doing sculptures and paintings?

FC: Since 1980

EYEPUS: When and how did you become interested in art?

FC: Well, I started to do paintings when I was a kid and I did my first art show in Brasilia, Brazil`s Capital when I was 13 years old. I always liked to do portraits of people and figurative stuff.

EYEPUS: Can you tell me all about your "GOTH" sculptures?

FC: The Gothic culture always interested me and I was into the Gothic movement in the 80s. I always love Siouxie and The Banshees and several related bands with the Gothic movement. Until now the Gothic culture has the biggest influence in my works. In the'80s I began to make sculptures in real life size, showing mutilated bodies and body parts. Those works were usually painted in black and reminded me of burned bodies.


EYEPUS: What was your inspiration in making the "GOTH" sculptures, especially CEMETERY OF THE LIVING DEAD, DIVAS, AND JACK?

FC: The first Gothic sculptures I made were Gothic portraits of my Goth friends. The "Jack" or "Jackolanterne" is one of my favorite sculptures because "he is forced to wander the mortal world for eternity" also he is a Halloween icon. The "Cemetery of the Living Dead" sculpture was based on the Italian film "Cemetery of the Living Dead" from 1965 by director Massimo Pupillo and is a classic movie. The "Divas" sculpture I did in honor of selfish people and people who believe that beauty is everything.

EYEPUS: What artists inspired you?

FC: Ron Mueck, Francis Bacon, Caravaggio, John John Jesse, Naoto Hatori, Slava Mogutin and Lucien Freud.

EYEPUS: How long is the procedure in making your sculptures?

FC: Around 30 days in each sculpture.

EYEPUS: Any favorite horror movies?

FC: Yep, I have lots of favorite horror movies: Nosferatu (1928), Dead Alive (1992), Evil Dead (1981), Return of the Living Dead (1985), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Friday the 13th (1980), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), Halloween(1978), Night of the Living Dead (1968), etc...

EYEPUS: Who are your favorite horror filmmakers?

FC: John Carpenter, James Cameron, Sam Raimi, Wes Craven.

EYEPUS: Did any horror films inspire you for some of your works?

FC: Yes, I always get inspired when I watch vampire movies. And I like to create horror sculptures listening to the Goth band Bauhaus. I also really like "Return of the Living Dead" movie cause the punk guys in the cemetery are hot. That movie is a big turn on and inspiring.

EYEPUS: How does horror and sexuality blend into your artwork?

FC: When I was Goth in the 80`s I used to go to the cemeteries in my city to drink red wine and have sex. The old cemeteries was a big inspiration to create my horror sculptures. Sex and horror are always intertwined.

EYEPUS: I saw your whole website, I think your works is more than amazing, I must say is a "SCANDAL" with all the nudity and eroticism (And I love it), do you have problems in getting your work out there because of the content matter?

FC: Sometimes I have problens to show my works, especially in Brazil. Most Brazilian gallery owners and curators are homophobic and are declaredly afraid of naked men and underground art. On the US and UK I never had problems with that.

EYEPUS: Do curators and many other people consider your work controversial?

FC: Yes, most of the curators and regular people consider my works controversial.

EYEPUS: With the shady economy we are all living in, do you think artists are having a bad time in the art world?

FC: Yes of course. The economy is affecting the art world.

EYEPUS: What advice and sweet encouragement do you have for other artists such as yourself out there?

FC: Is not easy to be an artist. Because if you are a real artist the art are deep in your soul and you never give up. But is better to be a real artist than go to the Army to kill people, or be a Cop to take control over peoples lives or kiss the curators asses to get famous. Im happy in the underground and I don`t care about the art world.

EYEPUS: Do you have any new projects in the horizons? Any new horror sculptures and paintings for the future?

FC: I'm working on new sculptures for a future art show and writing my second book about my works.

VISIT WWW.FERNANDOCARPANEDA.COM For more of his great artworks