“I’m more of an engineer than an artist,” Diaz said. “Before I do it, I have to see what it’s going to look like, how it will fit into the proportions of the paper or the canvas, whatever it is.”
Diaz said that for him, sketching is actually art. “To me, it’s like building a building,” he said. “For me, the magic is in the sketch.”
After seeing Witkin’s exhibition, Diaz’s creativity was stimulated and he became fascinated with drawing human anatomy. He spoke of the great wonders of the human body—”this machine,” as he put it, “nature’s creation”—and of the rarity of our existence. “It’s unbelievable to me that we’re having this conversation here,” he said. Diaz strives to convey awe in the pure fact of human existence through his art. “It’s just incredible and humbling,” he said.
While science is Diaz’s source of inspiration, it’s not the only one. It’s also incredibly personal work.
“To me, art is purely about expressing who you are,” Diaz said. “It’s like a diary. I can’t fake it.”
His art grapples with the dichotomy that exists in humanity’s constant quest to understand the reason for our existence. He uses reason and emotion, knowledge and faith. As Diaz explains, “Part of me is very logical. I like hard science and hard facts. But the other side of me is also very esoteric and likes magic and mysticism. I think that comes from growing up Catholic.”
Religious imagery, particularly depictions of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary common in Catholic art, also appear in Diaz’s work, reflecting his personal history. “I was a devout Catholic boy,” he said with a laugh. As an adult, he gradually moved away from religion, and his ideas about religion became more complex as time went on. He spoke of the art that inspired him, which itself was inspired by belief in God. “These are people who are skilled architects, writers, artists, craftsmen of the highest level, and they do things that are religious,” he said. “I think there’s something very beautiful and interesting about it.”
Religion pushes artists to the highest levels of creative proficiency, “but,” Diaz said, “it can also push people to heights of mutual destruction.” These contradictions in human nature permeate his art. “There’s a lot of anxiety in my job,” he explains. “Like I said, my work is a journal of how I’m feeling in the moment, and I feel a lot of anxiety about what’s out there. And my anxieties about, do I believe in religion? Do I not believe in religion? It’s that back and forth that just drives you crazy, you know? Is this real? Is this not real? Do I feel guilty about this? You know, all that guilt and shame is in my work.”
To me, art is purely about expressing who I am,” Diaz said. “It’s like a journal. I can’t fake it. “
He added: “I think this will resonate with people.”
Diaz’s works are full of symbols and visual clues that give the viewer a lot to think about while stimulating their curiosity. While his images are carefully curated, Diaz says he’s not picky about most of the tools he uses in his creations, which he speculates is because he didn’t study art. “I remember when I started drawing on cardboard, I didn’t even know you weren’t supposed to do that,” he said.
Diaz’s use of vintage paper is an exception, though. This is where he can be picky. “It had to have a smooth texture and the paper had to be of good quality so that I could get the right lines and shading that I wanted,” he said. “If it has too much texture, it won’t work.”
Like antique books and journals, there is a fragility to Diaz’s art, and like life, these works may not stand the test of time. Maybe that’s part of Diaz’s point. “If my work disappeared, I would‘Never mind,” he said. “if it‘Hang it on the wall and fall apart into pieces‘It doesn’t matter. it‘It should be done. “
Diaz said his art is not about self-improvement in order to perpetuate the work. “I don’t‘“I really don’t care about that,” he said. “I‘I’m just expressing myself in this art magazine. ”*
This article originally appeared in High Fructose Issue 61, which is now sold out. Support what we do here and subscribe here today to have our next issue sent straight to you.
