Today we’d like to introduce you to Micah Carpentier.
Hi Micah, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I lived for many years behind the Cohiba Cigar Factory in Havana. For whatever reason, despite the shortages of everything from milk to pencils, paper bags seemed to be abundant. So abundant, the managers of the factory would throw out reams of the stuff every evening. While drawing paper was prohibitively expensive if they were available in the first place, crumpled up, stained, damp paper bags were there for the taking. That’s how I got started with “The Song of Degrees,” my series of drawings on junky, discarded paper bags. In the end, I compiled about seven thousand five hundred pieces.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth? In Cuba? In the 60s and 70s? Are you kidding? The fact that I was hit by a truck on the streets of Havana under suspicious circumstances should be enough to indicate that the road to my current status as the vicar of the Latin American Avant-Garde was far from easy.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Today, I’m a specter, an artistic incubus and incorporeal presence presiding over a movement of sincere yet underdeveloped acolytes. Once I had finished my series of sketches on Chinese take-out boxes and my reputation solidified into a myth, everything I did afterward was a critical triumph. I’m very gratified that one of my artistic descendants, the Los Angeles painter Dahlia Danton, published a critical version of my Song of Songs drawings. She did a wonderful job.
I no longer know what I am known for. I remain aloof to the physical aspect of the art world. My legacy is secure, though my actual significance is questionable.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Stay clear of politics. I learned this the hard way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.artmajeur.com/micahcarpentier
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb1mh60Lu5k
- Other: https://micahcarpentier.blogspot.com https://www.amazon.com/Micah-Carpentiers-Songs-Dahlia-Danton/dp/B0BCDH1GFT/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2VL2HFF8TH8PT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OLgTbjFrMNSradTrk2UfDudyrgvXwi2KkTGy9E6WlaTk3CiOWuST3N26QH4ttpgViShVn2azFEjThhVgMPQkRw.qOEiUBxvO6mFQS0SkfNR8GdrHT98zucNivrizsoKDVg&dib_tag=se&keywords=dahlia+danton&qid=1710020129&sprefix=dahlia+danton%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-4
