#56: Ana Maria Hernando
Artist Ana Maria Hernando comes to Boulder by way of Buenos Aires, bringing with her a deep respect for the handiwork of Latin American women, which she often incorporates into feminine fiber installations evoking cultural traditions of collaboration and celebration. Painting, drawing and printmaking all have a place in her art-making arsenal, and as a poet and translator, Hernando also paints with words. Learn more about Hernando’s pan-American point of view via her answers to the 100CC questionnaire.
Westword: If you could collaborate with anyone in history, who would it be, and why?
Ana Maria Hernando: This would be to collaborate, talk, learn, sit by, watch while they create, in no order of urgency:
-Gaudí
-Weavers and textile artists in the ancient times of Asia and Peru, and textile artists from today
-Victoria Ocampo
-Dries van Noten
-Cy Twombly
-A gardener in some beautiful garden in England
-Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz
-Neem Karoli Baba
-Giotto
-The architects and magicians of Peruvian temples
-The architects of the Gracanica Monastery in Kosovo, and of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain
Who in the world is interesting to you right now, and why?
Ann Hamilton, because of her poetic response to the world.
What's one art trend you want to see die this year?
I find some art outpourings boring, but I am not focusing on their deaths. I want more art out everywhere, lots of it.
What's your day job?
I don’t have a “day” job. My work is happening all day long: art, and figuring out how to make money to pay bills. I do have a tendency to jump into a pool while it is still being filled with water, hoping it would be full by the time it is my turn to dive in….
A mystery patron offers you unlimited funds for life. What will you do with it?
First, breathe and sleep without worrying. And then work at my studio all day long. Hire some people to do things I don’t know how to or I am not good at, or that I don’t want to do, and include what they do in my installations. Maybe work with different workshops around the world, fueling their small economies while making art, and expand my capacity to produce work.
Denver (or Colorado), love it or leave it? What keeps you here — or makes you want to leave?
Love it, and love keeps me here.
What's the one thing Denver (or Colorado) could do to help the arts?
Have more funding for artists in the shape of grants, studio spaces, advice, financial planning, etc. Continue having, even expanding, the SCFD funding that supports art institutions and organizations. Promote and support the arts in all their forms.
Who is your favorite Colorado Creative?
Kim Dickey.
What's on your agenda in the coming year?
Some shows, and focusing on many ideas I want to expand and try. I also want to finish a bilingual poetry book in the making now for some time. And I will move from my house of twenty years.
The solo exhibition Ana Maria Hernando: We Have Flowers runs through October 22 at the CU Art Museum in Boulder. Related work by the artist is also on view at Robischon Gallery through December 17. Learn more about Ana Maria Hernando online.