Today we’d like to introduce you to Gupi Parani
Gupi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Growing up in Houston, I was surrounded by that real screwston art. My mom, a pianist with her doctorate in performance, introduced me to the local art scene where I saw performance art of men marrying a tree, plays that were probably not suited for children, and my mom’s theater productions. I immersed myself in each performance, getting lost in these fictional worlds. When I would arrive home, I created my own fictional worlds. I painted bunnies with professional careers that complement their personalities, built origami cityscapes, and created clay creatures called clayzies all with my grubby baby hands. One Mother’s Day I decided to recreate my mom giving birth using stop motion. I quickly grabbed my iPod touch, set up my clay figures, and started shooting. That was my introduction to claymation. Childbirth. I started to get carried away, meticulously arranging each frame with the limited tools I had. My rough animations became more smooth and elaborate as I got access to professional equipment — only after begging my high school teachers. With my brand new dragon frame and my studio lights shining on a full set, I got to work on my most ambitious animation yet, titled “Dopo.” This film was my way of learning about my dad’s diagnosis and struggle with Parkinson’s disease, and my art from here on out was personal and intimate.
I submitted “Dopo” along with my music videos and short films to my dream school, California Institute of the Arts as a funny joke. Then I got accepted. I never planned on moving out of Houston but I couldn’t pass the opportunity to be surrounded by new fictional worlds to explore. I kept to myself my freshman year of college because of how incredibly talented my classmates are, but once I started to view my competition as a community I became fat and sassy. I finished my first film that I was proud of called “This Is What It’s Like” with the help of teachers that introduced me to new mediums, the love and support of my cohort, and by using a song that my best friend wrote for me. The community at CalArts is so strong that it felt wrong not to share some of that with the world. That’s when I started a variety news show with my co-director/roommate/friend Maggie McKelvy called “Reliable News?” Our show has the intention of building a community, having artists collaborate with others outside their major or even outside California, and promoting independent artists. The show was a success with a full house for our first screening and pretty sweet praise received online. As more grants are offered and more people are participating, the future for my lil news show is promising.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s hard to know your worth as an artist. I’m an experimental animator, there is no right or wrong answer and there’s no limit to what I can make. This makes it hard to quantify my success. Comparison is the main way to measure my progress and skill, and comparing myself to artists with vastly different but equally beautiful styles fuels imposter syndrome. And these insecurities are only amplified at an art school where my work is now being critiqued at a much higher level. In order to produce my best work, I’ve had to improve my perspective and pacify my own insecurities. So the road hasn’t always been smooth, the road is bumpier than a toad’s behind. A toad road. If you will. Perchance.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in stop motion, mostly with clay. Lately I’ve branched out more into puppetry. As an experimental animator I’m well versed in all mediums, like digital, traditional, hand drawn. I try to incorporate different styles and mediums into my animations because a toad road has different paths depending on the toad. There are so many toads and so many ways to express an idea through animation. Everyone has a favorite toad. Mine is the beaked toad. I gravitate towards an asymmetric anatomy with vibrant colors with my artstyle, kind of like the beaked toad.
What matters most to you?
Community is everything. I want to make people as happy as they’ve made me. My hope is that all of my art and success will be an extension of those I love, and that they’ll all have some nice stuff to say at my funeral. Hopefully they even splurge on flowers. But it’s okay if they don’t. The fact that the community around me in CalArts and in Houston has uplifted me is enough for me to want to uplift them back and dedicate my work to them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mayaparani.wixsite.com/mayaparani
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melted.g0ld?igsh=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mayaparani2480?si=mjEJjz9AldX0MQyY
Image Credits
Alejandro Caminos
Laura Burlton
