Rising Stars: Meet mariel carranza of Los angeles 90032

Today we’d like to introduce you to mariel carranza

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Born and raised in Lima, Peru, I came to Los Angeles in 1980 as a 19-year-old. I studied at the Los Angeles Community College to later transfer to UCLA where I received the Bachelor of Arts in 1986, and Master of Fine Art, Sculpture, in 1989. From making large sculptures and installations, my work transitioned into focusing on an ongoing liquid sculpture series using different media of organic living matter on canvas. The living matter on these works continues to evolve over time and transformed into a meditative act. Performance art as a medium came as a way for me to experience and learn about myself, my memories and histories and how my body has been impacted by my environment and how my body impacts my environment.

My Performances have been presented locally and internationally: the Hammer Museum, Highways,
18th Street Art Center, Crazy Space, LACE, Track 16, Woodbury University, MorYork Gallery, Human Resources, Perform Chinatown, LATITUD 32N/55 S. festival (Berlin/Cologne) national Review of Live Art (Glasgow), CONTEXTS festival, (Sokolowsko, Poland) Belfast International performance Art Festival. First International Festival Chihuahua, Mexico), Performancear or Morir ( Sierra Tarahumara, Norogachi, Mexico) Erata Museum Saint Petersburg), Crossing Zones+Language=Land (Stanglinec, Croatia), The Festival Hall (South Bank Centre, London, Uk), Festival CuerpAs International (Valparaiso, Chile), Peras de Olmo, (Buenos Aires, Argentina), ATAL609, Lugar de Investigacoes artistica, (Campinas, Sao Paulo), Disorientation Harmony: 2020 ArTrend International Art Festival (Taipei/Tainan,Taiwan).

In 2021, I was recognized as Tanne Award Recipient for my body of work.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My life journey had its ups and downs as most do. As a young adult, battling Meniere’s disease while I was a student and raising two small children while adapting to a new county felt enormous and excruciating. I subsequently lost my hearing and had to learn to navigate a new enviornment through a different lens (relearning sounds). In additon to learning to advocate for myself within systems, I had a strong support group of family, friends, and professionals that bolstered my resilency and supported me.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My first body of work focused on monumental sculptures, installations both indoors and outdoors, followed by an ongoing series of so-called liquid sculptures on canvas. These sculptures are made with living matter, assuming a life of their own, changing appearance and shape with time, similar to the aging of human skin. This series evolved into creating performances that present the idea of temporary social sculpture involving elements of duration, endurance and repetition. From the notion of performance as a temporary social sculpture, the idea of Encounter formed; the idea that a group of individuals sharing performative space could have a larger impact across our bodies.

In 2012 I started organizing an ongoing performance practice called Encounters, inviting a group of local and international artists of different cultural backgrounds to participate. During this practice, the artists have an opportunity to encounter themselves while creating an invisible canvas of individual improvisational actions as well as that of a group. Generally, the Encounters do not require an audience unless they take place in public places. In September 2016, we performed an Encounter in an empty lot on Mission Road in Boyle Heights as part of global simultaneous performances by 275 artists worldwide, organized by Bbeyond (Belfast) called “Same Difference: Equinox to Equinox”. In 2018, Encounters was included in REDCAT’s Pacific Standard Time Festival: Life Art LA/LA with support from Human Resources and the Foundation for Contemporary Art.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
To let go of expectations

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.marielcarranza.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marielcarranzaugarte

Image Credits
Mariel Carranza
Svetlana Darsalia
Xarene Eskandar