Fall Semester, November 2012
Edwin Macaraeg Interview Questions:
1.) What inspired you to paint these paintings?
Throughout my whole academic career, I have always had an interest towards Asian-American Studies. I was always involved with the community in such ways as being Vice President of the Asian-American Club at Fresno City College, to becoming a writer for the Asian Pacific Review here at Fresno State. Being a graduate student here allowed me to combine my interests of both Asian-American Studies and Art into a very personal, yet provocative painting exhibition.
2.) Were there any feelings that you had while painting these historical images? For example, while you were painting, you felt anger that during the time of the war, there many people who killed because the impact of the war.
I felt many emotions while painting about these historical events. Anger, resentment, confusion, sadness, patriotism, pride, gratification, were all different emotions that I felt while painting these images. There were evenings when I would find myself awake at night, just thinking about different things. I even sought professional therapeutic advice in coping with my interpretations of these events.
3.) Who inspired you to become an artist and why did you choose this profession?
During my years as an undergrad, I was fortunate to have very inspirational instructors along the way. My first painting teacher, Erin Webster, a graphic design instructor Doug Hansen, and my figure drawing teacher, Nanete Maki-Dearsan, all influenced me in choosing art as my profession. I studied art because I enjoyed the fact that art challenges people to look and think beyond their senses of rationality to solve problems. I always had a knack for making things. It is my raison d’etre.
My favorite artists are: Mark Rothko, Daniel Kelly, and Yang Shaobin.
4.) What was the reason behind why you paint these historical images?
I was interested in finding out more about certain events in U.S. history. Sometimes I feel that people become too dependent on the media in learning about events. I have a tendency to examine an event from different angles, because I feel there is too much of a bias when it comes to the way a story is told and heard. I once heard a quote from a famous Filipino-American writer, Carlos Bulosan. He wrote ,”… We could only pick up fragments of our lives and handle them fearfully, as though the years had made us afraid to know ourselves.” In a way, I feel media has become diluted in actually bringing news. These paintings also served as a way to reintroduce certain world events that made such an impact on Asian-Americans.
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