Norberto Rodriguez
Los Angeles, CA
March 2- May 31, 2020
ARTIST STATEMENT
I’m an artist + my life is art. You can stop reading + go to the beach now. Still here? Excellent. Ok, so to be more specific, I’m really a performer + what I perform is art. That means I treat everything I make + experience as if it is a work of art, wether that’s making a sculpture, a sandwich, a decision, a conversation or even nothing at all. To me, art is less the thing that’s made + more the conversation between us + the things that are made. Just like a mirror is a static thing, it’s reflection is a separate thing that’s constantly evolving + reflecting on it is a more accurate representation of art truly is.
I believe the true nature of my practice lies in how I see the world, not what I make in + for it. Part of that is also taking full responsibility for exploring + sharing that perspective with the world in whatever ways I can, simultaneously being mindful of using as little resources as possible to do it.
I’ve committed my life to putting the most thoughtful, creative, generous + meaningful ideas into the world for the benefit of all. I have spent my life exploring some of the most complex ideas about who we are + why we’re here while attempting to make them as accessible as I can to everyone. I am certain that art, as a frame of mind can help us understand + find solutions to the problems that plague us individually + as the magically insane species that we’ve evolved into from the hot space dust we all started as. I believe everyone is an artist + everything is art, we all just need help understanding it. And I believe, that is the most important + meaningful job any artist has.
By allowing art to be more present in every aspect of our lives, we will make everything we do mean more, + improve the lives of everyone we love, even those we think we don’t + those who think they can’t be.
BIO
Hi. I’m Norberto Rodriguez. I’m an artist, I think. When I was little, I learned I could make my friends + classmates laugh, so I became a comedian. Then I discovered that I could play any instrument you put in front of me so, I became a musician. Just before graduating high school, I had the honor of having a teacher who introduced me to art on a level of thinking + feeling I never knew was possible. Since then I’ve collaborated with museums, galleries + corporations all over the world.
In 1995, I married a total stranger off the street for a year as a project for my college painting class. In 2000, I did my first public show, A pre-career retrospective. of all my childhood objects + drawings. In 2008, I hosted intimate conversations with the public for the Whitney Museum + was planted like a tree for a day at the entrance to the Bass museum. I did a bunch of really amazing shows, projects, exhibitions along the way + then in 2013, I quit. I did a bunch of really amazing shows, projects, exhibitions along the way + then I quit. In 2015, I opened up my own home to the public as a museum in LA which hosted regular hours + a #NightsAtTheMuseum program through Airbnb. It had a gift shop, a cafe + I collaborated with Ebay to auction items from the museum’s permanent collection. Then, I died.
Since then, I’ve meditated live with a group at the MoCA Geffen, I performed a two-hour standup at the Improv Hollywood + lived at the Brickell City Centre Mall, in a store for The present., a project where everything is for sale as art, including me. I’m currently working on a few projects named after my parents, auctioning off all of my material possessions, opening a school + becoming the first publicly traded artist in history.
ARTIST LINKS
Website: http://norber.to/art/art.html
Instagram: @norbertoinc