Marcos Morales was one of the artists featured in our 2015 exhibition ‘Skateism’. We got talking to him, to find out a bit more about the inspiration that goes into his work.
Hey Marcos, What have been your highlights of 2015?
Hey! 2015 was a good, but fast year. I was lucky to get involved in some cool projects both freelance and at the agency where I used to work in Buenos Aires. I travelled for some months and started investing more time into collage / illustration so I can say it was a very good year.
Can you give us a bit of a run down of your journey in art, skating, etc?
In my early years of graphic design studies I experimented a lot, and I got into longboarding (I am not the most skilled rider to be honest). I remember that I bought two blank longboard decks, on one of them I pasted a print of a digital collage and coated it. It ended up being a super heavy deck, not very comfortable but I was happy, I still have it. Nowadays the professional version of that deck is being sold by a Corean Longboard company called Cosmo. After that first attempt I continued to design decks, it’s one of the things I enjoy the most, because both design and illustration live in a beautiful piece of wood.
So is that when the two came together for you? Where did it go from there?
Yes, that was a great starting point for me. To see riders of different parts of the world using a board with that design was very inspiring. I believe that you can create the job you want to have, so I kept on putting energy into it. I still do. Since then I have been making boards for myself and others, and at the same time working as a graphic designer trying to keep my collage style alive. I was lucky to meet the guys from Urkin boards who helped to give life to some of my designs. Nowadays, I find myself constantly jumping from one task to another; trying to mix work, skating, illustration and collage into one thing. I think that’s the fun part about being a designer / illustrator, and that keeps me going.
So what’ve been your biggest influences on your distinct collage style?
Since I started making collages, I have been fascinated by the work of Hieronymus Bosch, Matisse and M.C Escher. I think that balance, nature and symmetry are three words that are always on the back of my mind. Some collage artists I really like today are Becha, Constantinos Chaidalis and Julien Pacaud.
So, which of the projects in your career stand out to you as moments of development and why?
I think the commissioned projects that show up because of previous personal projects are the ones that end up standing out. That’s when the circle is closed for me. The moment when I bought those 2 blank boards was important because it showed me that what you love doing can actually be a real job, I still design boards for that company. I enjoy every time that I have the chance to work with an international client, for me it’s a fun challenge which always ends up making you grow as a designer / illustrator. One very nice project for me was to design the complete Brand Id for a Nat Geo tv show called Asombrosamente. I did this while working at Das Pattern Agency, the show is now broadcasted in many countries in Latin America. It gave me the chance to take in my hands a big project and finally see it laying on the sofa at my house.
You mentioned personal projects, what sort of thing do you aim to do with your art when it is personal rather than commissioned? Are there messaged behind your work often?
When it’s a personal illustration I have the chance to experiment and work on it for a longer period of time. I tend to have a certain idea of how the overall look should “feel” and then I try to translate it to images. I use a lot of images and have fun hiding messages or objects that might never be discovered by anymore else but me. On the other hand commissioned work has other needs, the time to produce it is less and it must respond to a communication strategy, but it’s also fun to hide something there and expect it not to be found.
So, let’s talk about skating a little bit. Even if you’re not a best skater, as you said, you’ve still had a lot of time in the culture… What’s your opinion of skating nowadays?
I think that nowadays the spotlight is bigger and at the same time society is everyday a little more suffocated by screens. It has changed and it will keep on changing, I am happy every time I see younger kids on boards, the further from the screens and social media the better.
What can skateboarding or art do to prevent this do you think?
Both skateboarding and art make you live the moment, when you are on your board you can’t be checking Instagram, the same happens when you are making an art piece. You need to focus, create a challenge, accomplish something for yourself without anyone liking it or not. Of course at some point you are going to show your accomplishments but that’s not the main goal I guess.
Great, thanks so much Marcos.
Keep Pushing…
You can find more of Marcos Morales’ work on his website.
