Luis Ramirez paints with his culture in mind.
As a multimedia artist, the fourth-year art student said he primarily expresses himself through painting, while also practicing drawing and photography. He said his passion for painting stemmed from the joy he felt when sharing his artwork with other people. Ramirez, who comes from a first-generation and transfer background, added that he hopes to further this joy by bringing his Oaxacan culture into his art.
“At the time (when I transferred to UCLA), I was just barely new, to figure out ‘What sparks me? What do I want to show my work to the university?’” Ramirez said. “The first thing is my culture because my mom and dad gave everything for the life – and now it’s my turn to give their lives as well.”
Ramirez said he began drawing as a child, influenced by his love for superhero comic books. At the end of every school day, he said he would ask his uncle – a visual artist who specializes in surrealism – to teach him new drawing techniques and help him develop his art skills. Eventually, Ramirez’s uncle was diagnosed with diabetes and returned to his hometown in Oaxaca, Mexico, entrusting Ramirez with a suitcase full of all his art supplies, Ramirez said. With his uncle unable to become a full-time artist due to his diagnosis, Ramirez said he continues creating art in his uncle’s name, hoping to accomplish the artistic dream that his uncle passed down.
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Growing up as a Mexican American in the U.S., Ramirez said he initially felt disconnected from his heritage due to the prevalence of the English language. Throughout his adulthood, he said he has visited the Oaxacan countryside where his parents grew up to reconnect with his culture – while also discovering the rich uniqueness of Oaxacan art.
“I’ve never seen beautiful artwork of murals, ceramics, painting, wood carving – and these artworks, they are never seen in-person or outside of the U.S.,” Ramirez said. “I really want to bring those specific artwork here so that people could be aware about Oaxacan art culture.”
Second-year art student Isabel Peinado, who took a sculpture class with Ramirez, said seeing Ramirez creating art about his culture inspired her to do the same. She said Ramirez is very interested in sculpting alebrijes: spiritual animal creatures derived from Mexican folklore. Peinado added that Ramirez maintained a positive attitude as he created a series of glow-in-the-dark alebrije sculptures – even when parts of his art-making process didn’t go according to plan.
When he isn’t creating a spiritual fantasy through his artwork, Ramirez said he gravitates toward making portraits. Inspired by the painting styles of Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the head-figuring techniques of Andrew Loomis, he said he uses oil to give his paintings a warmer-toned color. Before coming to UCLA, Ramirez said he drew portraits surrounding his neighborhood of Inglewood, including of animals and relatives who had passed away. He added that studying art at UCLA has given him the new experience of making portraits for himself instead of for other people.
Ramirez also said he discovered that improving his capabilities as an artist involves not just working on projects, but conducting research on them as well. He said he spent a lot of time in UCLA’s Arts Library learning about other artists, in addition to uncovering more about his own culture. When he isn’t creating paintings, he said he makes pencil drawings of lifestyle objects and experiments with history-focused photography.
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Darrel Wang, a third-year public affairs and economics student, said Ramirez’s storytelling abilities have grown alongside his technical abilities as an artist. When Wang first met Ramirez at a club meeting for Artreach at UCLA, he had little experience with digital mediums – although he has now learned how to use programs such as Photoshop on his own, Wang said. He added that despite Ramirez’s hourlong commute to and from campus, he attends Artreach’s evening meetings and maintains an optimistic attitude.
“He really likes helping other people, definitely a very generous and kind-hearted person. He’s the type of person that – even if he’s busy, and you need help – he’s gonna go the extra mile,” Wang said. “Definitely look up to him for that.”
With his UCLA experience coming to an end, Ramirez said he feels nervous about entering the post-graduation world. He said he is grateful that his parents support his dreams of being an artist, and he plans to continue studying art in graduate school. Throughout his time at UCLA, Ramirez added that his art has been shown in exhibitions at venues such as Upside Down LA, the Broad Art Center Little Gallery and Kerckhoff Art Gallery. In the future, he said his goal is to have his work shown in larger exhibitions – setting his sights on the Hammer Museum or the Broad.
As Ramirez’s artistic style continues to change, he said he wants to keep making art about Mexican culture, specifically focusing on different Mexican cities. He added that he hopes more Latino artists spark conversations with their parents about the cities they grew up in and integrate their unique stories into their work.
“You just got to find out. Expand yourself. Talk openly,” Ramirez said. “Don’t let anxiety fear you, you got to fear anxiety – let be yourself.”
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