ART in dialogue
by NELSON CONDE
Nelson Conde's works are exhibited throughout New York, Miami and Paris. In addition to his own art, Conde also creates and manages artistic events celebrating artists of different genres and cultural backgrounds. Orange Mannequin is his most recent project of music and art.
Dear Nelson,
what essential element makes your photographs so easy to digest and attract the viewers’ attention?
Dissonance and perspective. Dissonance is the weight of the story with a sense of tension and release. Perspective is how I wish for one to taste the story. In the image Occupy, conflict can be found between the bifurcated mannequin and the synched pace of bankers carrying pizza. The perspective creates a feeling of dis-empowerment and a bottom up orientation.
What has the biggest impact on the changing messages of your works: feelings, occurrences, thoughts or ….
Feelings and occurrences. My work is a reflection of how I see life becoming commoditized and labeled through process. The easier it is to consume or adopt, the easier it is to dispose and devalue. There is much to be said around commoditization, including perception of entitlement which is the idea behind the image NOT RECORDED. A red phone I discovered at a firm. So now we can add NOT RECORDED to other forms of entitlement such as food stamps.
what essential element makes your photographs so easy to digest and attract the viewers’ attention?
Dissonance and perspective. Dissonance is the weight of the story with a sense of tension and release. Perspective is how I wish for one to taste the story. In the image Occupy, conflict can be found between the bifurcated mannequin and the synched pace of bankers carrying pizza. The perspective creates a feeling of dis-empowerment and a bottom up orientation.
What has the biggest impact on the changing messages of your works: feelings, occurrences, thoughts or ….
Feelings and occurrences. My work is a reflection of how I see life becoming commoditized and labeled through process. The easier it is to consume or adopt, the easier it is to dispose and devalue. There is much to be said around commoditization, including perception of entitlement which is the idea behind the image NOT RECORDED. A red phone I discovered at a firm. So now we can add NOT RECORDED to other forms of entitlement such as food stamps.
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In addition to being an artist, you are highly experienced in finance. What is it like juggling responsibilities in these two different worlds? What is the impact of each role on the other?
In my art, I am largely influenced by painters, filmmakers, and musicians. It is not difficult to live in both roles (finance and art), it is an issue of time allocated and how I feel.
Finance on art: The finance arena I experienced is a petri dish of behaviors that exist in society at large, prodded and tested with risk and reward. However I warn that in finance it is a bit amped up, so I receive inspiration for art faster and more profound than most do.
Art on finance: Art allows me to experience finance in the context of negative and positive space, and sharpen my awareness of psychology, perception, and purpose. I was on a team to manage the financial crisis at a global firm, and I was cognizant that the numbers were an outcome of culture. To know art is to know culture, to know culture is to know the ecosystem one works in.
In my art, I am largely influenced by painters, filmmakers, and musicians. It is not difficult to live in both roles (finance and art), it is an issue of time allocated and how I feel.
Finance on art: The finance arena I experienced is a petri dish of behaviors that exist in society at large, prodded and tested with risk and reward. However I warn that in finance it is a bit amped up, so I receive inspiration for art faster and more profound than most do.
Art on finance: Art allows me to experience finance in the context of negative and positive space, and sharpen my awareness of psychology, perception, and purpose. I was on a team to manage the financial crisis at a global firm, and I was cognizant that the numbers were an outcome of culture. To know art is to know culture, to know culture is to know the ecosystem one works in.
Fluid Micro Burst is produced by Nelson Conde and Cynthia McCusker, both founders of the House of Orange Mannequin, which is an art-people platform. As Nelson says, Orange Mannequin gathers young artists who altogether aim to make a difference with their art and create positive footprints in society.
