TribeLA Magazine Acrostic Interview with multidisciplinary artist Leo Garcia

Tagline: Give yourself and your work a tagline. 
“Don’t forget.” It’s too easy to forget. Don’t.

Rest: How do you spend your time off?
I am endlessly interested in my life at home. It is my refuge and there is no place I’d rather be.

Influence: What effect do you hope to have on us?
My work is influenced by the didactic of agitprop and inspired by the optimism of naiveté. Truth and beauty abide, appropriation is transparent, and the collective unconscious is where I access that which is greater than myself.

B[hoot_dropcap]Back: If you could choose a past literary/art/music movement to be a part of, which would you choose?
I’d choose La Residencia during the time Lorca, Dali and Bunuel resided there. La Resdencia was founded in Madrid in 1910 and was a hub for scientific and artistic work, and exchange in Madrid through 1936. (It was a residency that complemented the university education by fostering a superior intellectual, and living environment for its students. It strongly encouraged the constant dialogue between Science and the Arts, welcomed the avant-garde ideas from abroad, and became the focal point for spreading modernity in Spain.)

Energy: What fires you up?
Injustice.

L[hoot_dropcap]os Angeles: Where is your favorite place in Los Angeles?
Santa Monica Bay; Where would you take visitors? To my home and to the beach … all within 18 blocks; If you could defend the city in one sentence to someone who doubts it, what would you say? It takes time. Take the time it takes.

Advice: What is the best advice you’ve received? What is the best advice you can give?
Let it go. / Call your mom.

Aura: How would you describe your energy, style, etc.?
My spirit animals are a wolf and a hawk. I love the idea of community and the freedom to soar.

Room: Where in your home do you work? If not in your home, where do you feel most compelled to create?
I have a studio. / At home.

Tools: What do you prefer to work with, physically and otherwise?
I prefer to work with oils in a large open space. I also like black box performance spaces. I do a lot of digital work and all I need is a fast computer with a lot of memory.

Indulgence: What is your favorite indulgence? Do you cook? What is your specialty meal? What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?
My favorite indulgence is to take the train anywhere … with sleeping accommodations. I relax, read, eat, drink and sleep to the rhythms of the heavy wheel clatter, the chugging of the engine and the occasional train whistle. It’s transforming.
Do you cook?
I do, when I have time. Though, much less than I used to. Clean up is not a favorite pass time.
What is your specialty meal?
I can cook anything if I have a recipe, but I’m pretty good at preparing Italian dishes for some reason. I can cook a mean chicken parmigiana and a delicious fusilli/ broccoli/olive paste pasta.
What is your favorite restaurant in LA where you indulge yourself?
I like spacious restaurants with deep banquettes, cool martinis, world cuisine, and courses in all things good.

Special: Who or what holds a special place in your heart? How does this factor into your creative process
My heart is full of memories and thoughts. I have compassion. I love. I honor my heart and am grateful for the compassion it holds and for its beating.
How does this factor into your creative process?
We work together sometimes.

Time: What is your all-time favorite piece of writing/art/music you’ve created?
My favorite written work is a play entitled “Earth.” It is a magical realistic piece that tells of a mythic time in the history of an original New Mexican family. I love its language, its imagery, its storytelling. My favorite visual work is an oil pastel called Benevolence. It’s an image that encapsulates the idea of that which is existential; a moment when one steps into one’s own for the sake of the self itself. It’s an offering.

Leo!