Today we’re joined by Robin Luigi. Robin is a wonderful visual artist from New Zealand. He’s currently studying in art school. Robin does both traditional and digital art. It’s clear he’s a dedicated and passionate artist with a bright future ahead of him, as you’ll soon read. My thanks to him for taking the time to participate in this interview.
WORK
Please, tell us about your art.
So, I’m a Visual Arts student and I make art that ranges from: Traditional illustrations and Paintings to Digital works. I try to include LGBTQIA+ themes and content when I can.
What inspires you?
I get inspiration from a range of different sources, most often from something I see in the world. I have a fondness for colour theory and I usually get inspiration from a colour I see. Sometimes it can be a number of colours and I use them as a starting point for the tone of my work. One of my favourite places to get inspiration is from the people in my life (be it in person, or over the internet via selfies or photos) and if I meet a new friend, making art of this person helps me to understand them better.
What got you interested in your field? Have you always wanted to be an artist?
I’ve always enjoyed making things with my hands and because I find it a lot easier to draw/illustrate things, than I do with writing/calculating things and that became quite obvious to me, that this was where my strength was.
Having said that, I never really considered myself as an Artist and, though I guess there isn’t really a better description than that, I don’t always considered myself as one. I like the term Art Student as I identify with the idea that I am always learning about bigger and better things. Often, when I refer to myself as an artist it’s only because most people know the context of my ideas and interests.
Do you have any kind of special or unique signature, symbol, or feature you include in your work that you’d be willing to reveal?
I don’t think I do? If I do, I don’t do it consciously or intentionally. I really like that idea however and I always admire artists that have their little mark or feature. I personally don’t have the capacity to be so consistent. Unfortunately.
What advice would you give young aspiring artists?
Oh, man. I am not really the most eloquent person but I’ll give it a wack:
The best advice I could give would be, Go for it – unapologetically, Art is what you make it. And I don’t just mean you should be making stuff from nothing, I am saying if you see something/a concept that you think isn’t working or you can see a way to improve it, go for it, change it up. That’s an important and valid creative endeavour. Reminds me of a quote, from a great movie from my childhood:
“When something’s not working right, the best thing to do is tear it apart to make it better” – Drop Dead Fred.
ASEXUALITY
Where on the spectrum do you identify?
I’m a Trans-guy and I don’t experience sexual attraction/identify as asexual.
Have you encountered any kind of ace prejudice or ignorance in your field? If so, how do you handle it?
I personally haven’t had to deal with ace prejudice or ignorance as I usually don’t disclose my sexuality to people often because I don’t view it as a major part of my life. If I did, I would assess the situation and perhaps educate whomever it was that needed to be enlightened.
Although I do make art related to sexual themes, there is a few times where I have made (in my opinion) regular pieces of work and people have given feedback about the sensual undertones, to which I apologise, or ask for further explanation. It’s not really ignorance but I felt that it was an interesting point to add because quite often, art means different things to different people and it always surprises me when people make that association.
What’s the most common misconception about asexuality that you’ve encountered?
As I mentioned previously I am kind of a closet asexual to mostly everyone I know so It’s not often a topic of discussion, but I remember in high school we weren’t educated on non-heterosexual issues (this was 2009 or so) and during health class, while the teacher wasn’t in the room, we all talked about what we knew about gay and lesbian activities. Because I had previously researched into queer issues, I had to give a small talk on asexuality. Which got some comments of “that’s not a real thing” and “just means they can’t get it up” but that’s the extent of it.
What advice would you give to any asexual individuals out there who might be struggling with their orientation?
As I say, I am not the best at advice but I am going to go with:
You have all the time in the world to figure yourself out and don’t feel like you owe it to anyone else to do so. Also, if you don’t want to fit into a box at all, that’s fine too. Be yourself, Love yourself.
Finally, where can people find out more about your work?
I have an art-based Facebook page that has a lot of my work on it. I also have a Tumblr and Instagram where I post art sometimes, however, these are my personal blogs and I may also post personal things and other unrelated things. Most of the time, it’s just things I like or think is funny. Anyway, so the Facebook page is probably the most saturated place to view my art.
Thank you, Robin, for participating in this interview and this project. It’s very much appreciated.
Asexual Artists 