Mariana Astete Fine Art | Mariana Astete
Artist Name:
Mariana Astete
Description of Artwork:
I use digital media to create representational portraits focusing on ancestral facial features that represent my culture. I draw inspiration from biblical scripture and juxtapose it to situations and people relevant to my lifetime. The relationship of my art and belief in Christ, is for art and artists not to be looked as “less than” or “better than” other art or people, both go hand in hand due to the roots of my country which revolves in Catholicism.
Most of my influences come from native Chilean artists such as Ximena Armas, Exequiel Plaza and artist who are not given credit for their work from of the Colonial period, including the Mapuche tribe. In 1900’s Chile, art was used primarily as a divisive tool rather than as a means to connect culture to contemporary society. As a creative artist, my aim is to bring the ancient to the new world from a time when South American countries were socially isolated from one another.
As a native-born Chilean now living in the United States, I do not want to be absorbed in a place where cultures disappear and get mixed into the masses of other cultures. Instead, I want to share my experience and culture to inspire others who feel pride in who they are and where they come from. Preserving cultures in their present form is a struggle, and I believe it is vital to represent my culture wherever I go through digital media and traditional art forms.
Artist Biography:
Resilience and perseverance are core words that reflect a space in time of ongoing struggles and challenges that are key to my identity. My artwork is a reflection of the environment and drastic changes that I have experienced throughout my life. Challenges and changes such as my mother’s decision to move from Chile, my home country, to the United States has made an impact on who I am. As a teenager, I sought refuge in technology and focused on the struggles within family and immigration as a tool rather than trauma. Resilience and adaptation to a constant changing world has become an essential aspect of my life. Thus, creating a correlation to the shift of technology and combining it to creating art as manifestation of who I am, where I am and where I want to be.
As of now, I find myself in a world where technology is meant to link everybody in the world, it seems to me as though we have been losing our connections to our cultures and traditions. How can this change? How can I be part of a contemporary resolution in this new era of art, technology and change? To me, I create artwork to have an ongoing conversation through images that build bridges and community. I am able to use digital media to convert abstract ideas into tangible art pieces. Thus, creating a solution to give voice to an unspoken reality that I face on a daily basis.
I use digital media to create representational portraits focusing on ancestral facial features that represent my culture. I draw inspiration from biblical scripture and juxtapose it to situations and people relevant to my lifetime. The relationship of my art and belief in Christ, is for art and artists not to be looked as “less than” or “better than” other art or people, both go hand in hand due to the roots of my country which revolves in Catholicism.
Most of my influences come from native Chilean artists such as Ximena Armas, Exequiel Plaza and artist who are not given credit for their work from of the Colonial period, including the Mapuche tribe. In 1900’s Chile, art was used primarily as a divisive tool rather than as a means to connect culture to contemporary society. As a creative artist, my aim is to bring the ancient to the new world from a time when South American countries were socially isolated from one another.
As a native-born Chilean now living in the United States, I do not want to be absorbed in a place where cultures disappear and get mixed into the masses of other cultures. Instead, I want to share my experience and culture to inspire others who feel pride in who they are and where they come from. Preserving cultures in their present form is a struggle, and I believe it is vital to represent my culture wherever I go through digital media and traditional art forms.