Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexander Lesser.
Alexander, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
The tragedy of my story is that it isn’t very unique in the grand scheme of things. I come from a small town in the smallest state in Mexico. Like many others, my parents decided to come to the US in search of a better life. We found it. As a child, I had a knack for drawing and it was something I did, for a long time, to express myself. I guess I’ve always been artistically inclined but I didn’t notice until college. I wanted to be an architect but I knew I couldn’t ever exercise that degree even if I got it. After a sad and disappointing meeting with my High School counselor, I decided to get a technical certificate and become a welder. As an undocumented immigrant, job choices are very few and mostly constricted to what is referred to as “unskilled” and “semi-skilled” labor. Contrary to many people’s beliefs, there isn’t a viable path to citizenship for many people. There is no standing in line or even a line to citizenship. We can’t all be Trump’s wife and get what is referred to as the “Einstein” Visa for no reason.
In Houston Community College (HCC), I started dipping my toes into art classes. Eventually, the Obama administration passed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). For those who aren’t familiar with DACA, it’s essentially a work permit that lets you exist in the US in a sort of legal limbo. The permit lets us work without any security of a future. It doesn’t provide a path to citizenship, and as an executive order, it can be stripped away at any moment. Despite this, DACA offered me a chance to work full time and pay for my college. Along with being able to work, I had hoped to pursue the architecture degree. I transferred from HCC to the University of Houston (UH), but the Architecture School only accepted applicants during Fall semesters. It being Spring, I ended up in the Art School.
In Art School, I ended up falling in love with art and graduating with a Bachelors in Fine Arts with an emphasis in sculpture. Today I’m working on getting certified to teach. Hopefully, I will be able to help students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds similar to mine.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I’m very process oriented when it comes to making art. Learning new things tends to inform my projects a lot of times. In my work, I’ve explored many things from self-illusion and the senses. The only umbrella term I can think of, that can come close to encompassing my work, is “perspective”. My work always revolved around the viewers’ perspectives. How can I make them hear a drawing? How can I make them feel the physical touch of sound? How can they see touch? Will they reject an illusion or let themselves be fooled for a moment?
It wasn’t until recently that I realized I haven’t shown my perspective, my story. I’m becoming increasingly aware that there needs to me more latinx artists sharing their perspectives. Right now, I’m at a turning point in my work. I don’t know what will come of it in the future but it has to be different than now. I need to share my beliefs, experiences, anger, sadness, and disillusion for all those people that can’t. I need to scream because many people through my life haven’t been able to speak.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Art is expensive. In school, I estimated that my sculptures cost me $300 each in just materials. I worked full time to pay tuition and for my materials. I’m not trying to say “If I can do it so can they”. I just want people to understand that to do this it takes a lot of work and passion. We should encourage our local artists and treasure creativity.
I would say to those struggling to look for local opportunities. One resource is FreshArts.org. They can go there and look for grants, artist calls, and many other opportunities. Other than that, thanks to a photography professor I learned that tools don’t make an artist. I wouldn’t worry too much about having the best camera, brush, or drill. If you’re passionate you’ll do fine with anything you can get your hands on.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
The only support I need is followers. People can visit my website at www.alexlesser.com. They can follow me on Facebook and Instagram my tag is @makingless.
Also, currently, I have a studio at Box 13 Art Space. People should visit our website at www.box13artspace.com for more info. We open our galleries on Saturdays and have showings year long. I plan to be increasingly involved with Box 13, it’s a great place run by great people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alexlesser.com
- Email: makingless@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingless/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makingless/
Image Credit:
Isaac Reyes, Alexander Lesser
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