Christopher Laurence Examines – Artist Spotlight: Andrés Farías

Christopher Laurence Examines – Artist Spotlight: Andrés Farías

Andrés Farías is slowly gaining a Twitter following which includes some very prominent creators and artists, partly for his artwork, but I would say also (and perhaps moreso) for his seeming joy and humility. Andrés is a Catholic artist, largely employing a manga style, but possessing a multifaceted talent, who is using his work to bring joy, attempt to help his family, and most importantly, glorify Jesus Christ. Here is my interview with Andrés, where he discusses his motivations, his style, his thoughts on modern art, and more:

Christopher Laurence: What is your Faith background? Are you a cradle Catholic? A convert? A revert?

Andrés Farías: I’m a cradle Catholic, but also a convert. I had that time of rebellion in my adolescence, where I was looking outside what I always had in front of me. Thankfully, I went back from those weird ideas of searching for a religion to fit my likes, and went back to the Church.

Christopher Laurence: When did your interest in art begin?

Andrés Farías: Since I can remember, I always liked to draw, and I think it was because everyone in my family was pretty creative. I grew up seeing my father drawing and doing stuff for my mother — she’s a kindergarten teacher — so my house always had many materials everywhere, and I was always creating something.

Christopher Laurence: What/who were some influences on you when creating art?

Andrés Farías: I think it was something intuitive, nothing special. I just had fun drawing and creating stuff for fun.

Christopher Laurence: What inspires you to create new pieces?

Andrés Farías: Mainly my family, and my life plans, the goal I want to reach. At this moment my drawings are a way to get it closer.

Christopher Laurence: How do you see your Faith tying in to your artwork?

Andrés Farías: My personal artworks are most of the time related with my faith. To me it is another way to give tribute to the saints and to God.

Christopher Laurence: Can you describe your work which is not explicitly Catholic, and also your work which is?

Andrés Farías: I draw anime since it is the most common thing people look for, so my work goes from original characters, to fan art, and sometimes I have Catholic clients so I’m more than happy when I have to draw something related to my faith. And my Catholic art goes from anime style to semi-realistic style.

Christopher Laurence: Do you think art is a good tool for evangelization?

Andrés Farías: Yes, totally. Our religion has been using art to evangelize since the beginning. I think the Church needs to retake beauty as a tool for evangelization. Minimalism is leading us into a very subjective point of view of what is truly art. Of course, everything has its place — I use anime to evangelize on an anonymous Facebook page, but my comics there are just to bring Catholic entertainment. I would not use anime to catechize, or in other places where people need a serious take on the faith.

Christopher Laurence: How do you see the current state of the art and pop culture worlds?

Andrés Farías: I’m not too much into the pop culture and professional art worlds, but as a superficial opinion I would said that beauty is no longer objective in our society — now it all depends on the opinion of each person — so something like a simple cube on the ground is art for one person, and trash for others. That’s why I think we have to stop calling “art” things that objectively aren’t. This maybe sounds controversial because modern art is abstract most of the time, and I know many people can think it’s beautiful in some way, and it’s fine, but there’s a difference between personal taste and objective opinion on what’s beauty and art and what’s not.

Christopher Laurence: Is there hope for Catholics to regain a hold in the arts and popular culture?

Andrés Farías: I think we still have a chance, and we must keep trying, but it’s not a secret that we have a crisis in art too. We can see how the modern architecture is sometimes quite ugly, there’s also failures at attempts because of misunderstanding what the new generation wants. So if we in the Church don’t have a firm criteria for art and beauty, due to different reasons, it is hard to impress non-Catholics with stuff that they can find in any other place. So I think we must retake the beauty of our Church, the wealth of our art, to regain a hold in the arts and popular culture.

Christopher Laurence: What do you think it is important for Catholics to keep in mind when they create artwork?

Andrés Farías: First, their values, and next, authenticity. Personally, in the world of anime sometimes we have temptations to copy the cliches other artists use to be relevant. I think it is possible for an artist to be relevant by being authentic even if it takes more work.

Christopher Laurence: What do you see as the true purpose of art?

Andrés Farías: The true purpose of art is to elevate our mind, and make us transcend what we see and what we feel. The most beautiful piece of art is the whole of creation — just seeing the sky, the trees, the colors of a bird — we can be amazed and transcend what our eyes see and start to yearn for something which many don’t know what it is, but that is actually God speaking in all His artistic work.

Christopher Laurence: Where do you envision your work going in the next 5-10 years?

Andrés Farías: I don’t know honestly. I mean, I don’t think I will be drawing anime more than a year more. In brief, I’m living in Mexico mainly to help my family in Venezuela, but also to fulfill my call to religious life, so this is just a temporary help to save some money and help my family. In 5-10 years I see myself still drawing but in other context and with other purpose.

———–

Andrés Farías is a 25 year old Venezuelan living in Mexico. He is a Catholic and digital artist, and can we found on Twitter.