Meet the Artist: Barcabogante - An Intriguing Journey of Artistic Evolution
Ana Barroso Calle, known in the art world as barcabogante, is an artist whose work is a powerful reflection of her personal journey and inner world. Her art, which primarily involves expanded engraving and stop-motion animation, is a unique blend of intuition, memory, and dreams.
Artwork by Ana Barroso Calle, aka barcabogante
A Journey into the Artistic World
Barcabogante's journey into art began in her childhood. Encouraged by her father, she took drawing courses at an art school. Since then, she has been a self-taught artist, exploring other areas like 2D and stop-motion animation and building sets and puppets for stop-motion animation. She also creates experimental cinema. More than being a form of expression, for her, creating art is a necessity, a hunger to make things with her hands.
Artistic Pride and Stories Told
When asked about a piece of work she's particularly proud of, barcabogante shared two pieces. The first, "O aconchego mora no abraço" or "El calorcito vive en el abrazo", is an automaton worked on a clothespin where the figurative image of two people hugging was worked in linoleum to be stamped, cut, and assembled. This piece was inspired by her longing to hug her family physically when she moved to Brazil, leading to the creation of the "Boxes of Affection" series where she reflects on memory, relics, the sacred, and automatons.
The second piece is "Homenaje a Frida", an articulated doll in expanded woodcut as a tribute to Frida Kahlo. She dreamt of this piece, which moved in her dream. After years of training more animation and setting up an animation workshop with a glass table, she finally managed to animate the piece as she had dreamt it.
Connecting with the Audience
Barcabogante connects with her audience and collectors via her Instagram page, where she shares her experimental animation work. She also participates in fairs where she sells her work, gives demonstrations of moku hanga, and conducts workshops on less toxic engraving. She prefers face-to-face interactions and has been focusing more on this instead of exhibiting in salons and museums.
Inspiration for Her Work
The artist draws inspiration from dreams, nature, memory, pain, impotence, and rage. She also finds inspiration in the distance and longing she feels, and the reconciliation with herself through the image. She creates art out of necessity and a hunger to make things with her hands. The medium becomes a resource that helps her go through a catharsis that breathes life into her.
A Unique Artistic Style
Barcabogante describes her unique artistic style as an art object in expanded engraving - prints that move to embrace and shelter. She explores the body as territorial space through her art. She works intuitively, giving life to her creations, and listens to the materials she uses, making her art unique and compelling.
Future Plans for Her Art
Barcabogante is currently producing an animated short film, all made with relief engraving. She plans to finish the 'Boxes of Affection' series and start sketches for another animated short film. This year, she aims to finally learn to set up an online store to sell her art-object engravings. Her future projects include a short film that will explore the body as territory and the metaphor of the bird as a being.
Overcoming Challenges
Barcabogante admits that overcoming impostor syndrome has been her biggest challenge as an artist. She has learned to see herself as an artist, even when she doesn't fit into the roles she presents herself in. It's not just about ego, but also about acknowledging her work as her livelihood. Seeing her finished and naked work, outside of her, reminds her of who she is and what she can achieve.
Unique Art in the Industry
Barcabogante's art stands out in the industry for its experimental nature. She works with intuition and listens to the materials she uses, giving life to her pieces and creating art that is unique and compelling. Even in her static pieces, there is movement as if they were parts of an animation. She also incorporates engraving into everything she can, adding to the uniqueness of her work.