1
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[New York Close Up]

2
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Being in the Whitney Biennial
is really interesting right now

3
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because of my background as a
Latino queer artist.

4
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[Ridgewood, Queens]

5
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Essentially, I'm showing in
"the museum of American art"

6
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and I'm from Mexican descent,

7
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but, you know, what does that mean today?

8
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And what that'll mean for tomorrow...

9
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I don't know.

10
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[Raúl de Nieves is an American Artist]

11
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I'm listening to a lot of techno right now.

12
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It's so that I can keep the momentum.

13
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I never try to be a perfectionist
with my work.

14
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I've always wanted to make stained glass,

15
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and I feel like it's a little heavy, you know?

16
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So this makes it lighter

17
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and I can do it anywhere I want.

18
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Sometimes my friends come over
and we, like, chill out.

19
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[LAUGHS]

20
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And they'll watch me cut
a bunch of paper together.

21
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[LAUGHS]

22
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I grew in Morelia, Michoacán.

23
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Growing up in Mexico was really magical

24
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because I got to see a lot of forms of celebration.

25
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I got to experience death
as a really young child.

26
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That's what my work is about:

27
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it's like seeing the facets
of happiness and sadness

28
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all in one place.

29
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Color was such an embedded part of my life

30
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that I always saw things
as bright as they could be.

31
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The most interesting part about this
to me is

32
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you can make something
out of the simplest things

33
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and it can translate into a different reality.

34
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Not knowing how it's going to turn out

35
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is extremely exciting.

36
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Because I'm just anticipating...

37
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Um...

38
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the day I get to put this up

39
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and see what it does.

40
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--Holy shit!

41
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[SCREAMS]

42
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--Hi guys.

43
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--[ALL] Hi!

44
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--How's it going?

45
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Oh my god, this is so crazy!

46
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[BREATHES OUT]

47
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It really hits the wall!

48
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Oh my god,

49
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this is so cool.

50
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[ALL LAUGH]

51
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This is so cool!

52
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[DE NIEVES SCREAMS]

53
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--Okay, should we start moving these things...

54
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--[MIA LOCKS] Yeah.

55
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--[DE NIEVES] Okay, cool!

56
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--So, I'm picturing the orange one...

57
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My mom had already been
living in the United States

58
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for about two months.

59
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One day, my aunt came to pick us up from school,

60
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and she said, "You're going to America.
Let's go."

61
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And we got on a plane without a bag.

62
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--This woman is supposed to go right here.

63
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--She's kind of like going, like...

64
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--Yeah, like this.

65
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--[LOCKS] What would you like
the posture to be?

66
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--[DE NIEVES] Well, I mean, I wish it was
a little bit more animated,

67
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--because that looks so real with these, like,
hands in the air.

68
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--But, I figured even if it could
just be like...

69
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That day that I got into a plane,

70
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knowing that I didn't have any belongings,

71
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a lot of things went through my head.

72
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I was obviously scared,

73
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because I was nine years old
and couldn't speak English.

74
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[Mia Locks, Curator]

75
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But I knew that I would be able to survive.

76
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And that I just have to trust

77
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what ever life was going to bring me next.

78
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--But,

79
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--can a viewer come right here?

80
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--Is that illegal?

81
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--I mean...

82
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Creating this narrative,

83
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with all these figures and symbols--

84
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just taking what I've learned from experiences

85
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and being able to put it in one image--

86
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is really important for me right now.

87
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The first panel in the stained-glass mural

88
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is of a person in sickness.

89
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He is challenging his mentality

90
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to turn from bad to good--

91
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or is asking for help.

92
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And then it trickles down to

93
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a personal fight.

94
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Defeat is really important.

95
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It should be somewhat of a struggle to continue.

96
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I think the fly is actually the core of life.

97
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It's constantly watching--

98
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you know, it's like a secret.

99
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At the end, I want it to be
a celebration of life.

100
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--[INTERVIEWER, OFF SCREEN] You're 33?

101
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[DE NIEVES] I'm 33!

102
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Yeah.

103
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My dad died when he was 33.

104
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My dad died when I was two years old,

105
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but I feel like he's closer to me now than...

106
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ever.

107
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I mean, I don't know,

108
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but his remembrance allows me to

109
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keep going.

110
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It feels more of a gift.

111
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To me, it symbolizes my dad's spirit.

112
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My grandfather.

113
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My grandmother.

114
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My own personal spirit.

115
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It's a celebration of my mom's courage

116
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to bring me to this country.

117
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She had to do it for her and three other kids.

118
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I always believed that the United States

119
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was the land of all nations,

120
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and I guess I'm starting to realize

121
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that's not completely true.

122
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The mural talks about this experience--

123
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this journey.

124
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I feel really happy that I could put
so much emphasis

125
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on this idea of "a better tomorrow"
in my artwork.

126
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The fact that there are so many
diverse groups in this exhibition

127
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is really important.

128
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And hopefully it reminds people that

129
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this is 2017.

130
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We don't want to go back in time--

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we want to move forward.