Deconstruction: Art by Sam Rodriguez

Sam Rodriguez is a graphic artist based in San José. Originally self-taught through his experience as a graffiti artist, he later honed his skills at the California College of the Arts as well as through working in the fields of graphic/industrial design, public art and illustration.

“I like working in all these different avenues because it opens me up to unexpected possibilities and ways of working” he said in a recent blog post.

We appreciate his colorful, geometric aesthetic as well as his deconstructive approach, described as “sort of anthropological in that it involves studying the mix of visual signifiers in humans”:

“…for me it’s playing with ideas and notions of identifiers that we seek based on our perspectives. So really what I’m doing is drawing dissections. Each portion of the face I’m sketching is assigned textile patterns, organic or geometric shapes, various skin tones, etc.

The method that I’m inspired by is diagrammatic drawings that industrial designers employ. I break down a subject matter into simpler geometric forms to understand how it is telling the view that it is a form in the first place. However the approach is much more of a freeform that includes more organic shapes and combines traditional portrait studying. What I like about the idea of diagrammatic drawings is that you break down a given subject. This is what I’m doing in my work both technically and conceptually.” ¹

 

You can learn more about Sam Rodriguez’s art as well as his perspective on being a full-time artist at his blog. Aspiring creative professionals would do well to read his post “Living as an Artist.”

¹ Source: MTN, “Sam Rodriguez at 1am SF”

The art above was sourced from Rodriguez’s Instagram as well as his page on Global Street Art.