'Divisive' art list is a 'badge of honor,' says San Diego cross-border artist

S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on today's show. Local artist Hugo Crosthwaite finds his work in the White House's crosshairs. Will tell you why. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The white House recently published a list of artworks it deems objectionable or divisive in the Smithsonian. One of the works on the list was created by local cross-border artist Hugo Crosthwaite. He was commissioned by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to create a portrait of Doctor Anthony Fauci , which was unveiled in 2022. KPBS arts reporter Julia Dixon Evans spoke with him about the portrait and what's at stake when governments control art.

S2:

S3: And as part of that prize that's given by the Smithsonian , I had the opportunity to create a commission , an official portrait commission for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery , for the Commission. The museum proposed that I should make a portrait of Doctor Anthony Fauci. And because , you know , the Covid pandemic , the Covid 19 pandemic was happening at the time , I , I jumped at the chance to do this because it was a moment that , well , I wanted not just to do a portrait of of of a person , but also capture that moment in history of what was happening through the pandemic , you know , and do it as a stop motion drawing animation. So I envisioned that that the portrait itself would be a biography of Doctor Forge's career , but him inside of history , of that moment in history that we're living. So then it would be , you know , his career as director of the NIAID , the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases , and it would be him intermixed with with social history and images of of magnified viruses and all that kind of thing. So then so then after meeting with Doctor Fauci , we came up with this narrative that it would be a narrative that we developed together. And at the end , it became this five minute stop motion drawing animation composed of a suite of 19 drawings. So then the the animation itself draws , uh , you know , images from scientific illustration , from popular culture , uh , from media images and art historical references that create a portrait of Doctor Fauci that speaks not only speaks to the career of him as a scientist and public servant , and then also the management of of two of his management of two of the gravest health crises that happened to the United States the the HIV epidemic , the HIV Aids epidemic , and the Covid 19 pandemic. So the artwork moves through four decades of recent history , shedding light on , you know , the social strife that was caused by these two health crises. It points to the politics of the era where , you know , the government and the health policies weren't , you know , seeing eye to eye , you know. So then so then it kind of captures those two moments of history and they echo each other. You know , the Aids epidemic , what happened socially and historically and politically and then also the Covid 19 pandemic.

S2: So this work is stop motion.

S3: You know , I'm not a very good portrait artist , but you don't always feel like when I draw a person and I show them my drawing , they always complain that they don't look like that drawing now. So then , so then I don't , you know , in a way , I don't feel strong , you know , in that medium. No , it's a portrait early. So then as a way of getting of , of , uh , working around that dilemma , uh , I thought that the portrait could be this idea of a narrative of a story , uh , the idea of the story , um , becoming the portrait , you know , once actions , one's life. You know how one you know , that would be the portrait. And it describes this moment in history. And and I remember when I , when I spoke with Doctor Fauci , um , he also is a he's a very humble man. So I remember when he knew that that the National Portrait Gallery wanted to commission a portrait. He was kind of , you know , hesitant , like he was. I don't want a portrait , you know , a painting. But when I came with this idea , I know it's not going to be that. It's going to be this narrative. It's going to be this animation that tells a story through history and all this. Oh , he loved that idea. You know , he loved that idea. Because to him , I remember he mentioned to me that it's me placing him in history in that just , you know , standing him out of history in a portrait that's basically just insult , uh , exalting a person is more of him inside this moment of history in what he had to live through. You know , these to , you know , through 50 years of career. Mhm.

S2: Like , is there some element of this that is a legacy , not just history and someone's place in history.

S3: Yes , yes. And through , um through film , through animation , uh , you can put a lot of other dimensions into it , not just , you know , the , the likeness of the portrait of a person. Like , I love playing with , uh , comedic elements in it , and then it goes into , you know , some horror kind of things , you know ? Like the beginning , the animation starts , like if it was a public service announcement. No , you know , kind of thing , you know , but then a corporate video about , you know , creating vaccines , you know , but then it devolves into , into this story of human story , a very human story of how viruses and diseases attack our population and how , you know , all the , you know , the suffering that happens , and then also how the , the , the medical establishments , doctors , scientists fight this to to science and to the coming up of of vaccines and cures. So it so it plays with , with this very human narrative know of how the disease can affect the population and then how we respond to it with fear , we respond with it with conspiracy theories , or we also respond with it with , with , with valor and and and strength from , from the , you know , from the first responders , know and the nursing and doctors communities know who who risked their lives to , you know , to save us. So all that is being placed in these narratives , you know , and it's easier to do it through a film instead of a portrait that's just very static. You know , this is a moving image , moving story with , with , with the music and sound and all of that comprises the narrative , you know.

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S3: The National Portrait Galleries is a museum that that that has the portraits of all the , you know , the major characters , heroes , you know , persons from history , you know , from George Washington to Benjamin Franklin to all the presidents and , you know , all the incredible people that that have that , that It's American history , and I was able to have one of my pieces be part of that America , of that telling of an American history. So. So to me , it was a great honor to be on the record. You know , this is you know , I'm part of American history now through my portrait of Doctor Fauci.

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S3: There , there. There's this. They saw it , you know that. They saw this , you know , website that had this , the portal. And then that's how I found out. But I , you know , and then when I actually went to the website and I saw the list , you know , I was well , you know , I felt kind of pride , you know , that I was in the list of wonderful art projects , you know , so that , you know , it's always good when you see your , your among , you know , peers that you respect. So then , so then I saw it as a badge of honor not to be in this list of artworks and art pieces from artists that I admire , you know. So then. So yeah , at first I was like , well , yeah , this is not bad not to be included in this list.

S2: And what about as you let it settle and you thought about like the broader implications.

S3: No. And I'm not going to give in to that. You know , like I , you know , I'm not going to give in to the fear that they're trying to inspire , you know ? So I'm going to keep working. I'm going to keep doing what I need to do. You know , art is not a profession. It's a vocation also that I feel very strongly about what I what I paint , what I draw , what the subject matters that I , that I deal with. And and I'm going to continue to that despite any list or any review , you know.

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S3: Or there was this commission about this portrait of Doctor Frank's career. So I got the feeling that even the Trump administration hasn't even seen the portrait , because they didn't mention any or any of the other things that could be considered controversial inside the film itself. You know , where I show imagery of protests and things ? No. So then but it seemed to me like they just saw , oh , this is about Warsi then we hate it. You know , I think they targeted the piece precisely because it's just a portrait of Doctor Fauci , you know it is. And it's you know to me it's one of the most. You know , well , Doctor Fauci , being a public servant who has diligently , heroically served his nation for more than 50 years , you know , he's regarded with the highest esteem in the scientific community. But then also he's been vilified by the MAGA movement and , you know , conspiracy theories. So then I think that Doctor Fauci just became the symbol more than a man. It became this , this focus of conspiracy theories. And he kind of represents the nation's current political divide. You know , so I think that would be the reason that they think Fauci is a danger , not because he just represents this. So he represents truth. He represents science. Now and then another thing that came to mind to me , which I don't really think that was the reason that it was listed. But , you know , I'm a Mexican-American artist , you know , so then , uh , you know , someone who's cognitive cognizant of , of , you know , the impact that Aids in the Covid 19 pandemic has had on my ethnic community. You know , like at this moment , you know , the , you know , the critical social and health programs are being defunded by the Trump administration also. And that's something that the white House is trying to gloss over how their , uh , how their , their , their policies are affecting the most vulnerable people in the United States.

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S3: This is the first time that that my work has ever been. You know , we put in a list or or for reviewed in a way , you know. No , it's I've always had I've had the fortune know that whatever I do has always been accepted by institutions and shown and celebrated and presented. And , you know , I always feel for me like just as an artist , I feel that that's one of the virtues of art. You know , the eloquence and the beauty of drawing and painting. You can handle any subject matter , uh , how it doesn't matter how controversial it can be , but if it's done in an eloquent way , people are open to it because they they come to a beautiful drawing , they come to a beautiful story and they see it and they're able to accept it. They might not disagree. They might not agree with the with the with the subject matter , but they come to see a beautiful drawing and a beautiful painting. And I think that's one of the one of the virtues of art itself. You know , we're not journalists. We're not there to tell the truth and give hard facts. You know , like Picasso said , I think , misquoting him. But he said something in reference to how art is the big lie in the surface of truth. You know this very idea that , yes , it's a very subjective way of presenting the truth. But then that's the virtue of art , that we can lie , you know , and we can exaggerate things , and we can present things to a public in a beautiful way. You know , that's what art is. You know , in a beautiful , eloquent way. So then in that respect , you know , people like my drawing , and I feel they respond well to my drawing and to my skill and to the beauty of the of the work. So , yeah. So then I've had no trouble with my work before. Hmm.

S2:

S3: You know , like , These are all creating these these , uh , controversies and from this administration , uh , because there's actually real problems that need to be dealt with. You know , and they're trying to steer public attention away from , you know , from some real issues. So then they're drumming up these , these fake controversies or these , you know , these dilemmas , you know , uh , this culture war. They're trying to emphasize more of this idea of a culture war that's happening. So , um. So I feel that's why I feel like they're very mediocre attempts , you know , to do this because like I mentioned earlier , I don't think there was a real examination of the artwork. They're not really giving , uh , they're not really debating the pieces why they should be here or not. They're just , you know , generalizing and in a very mediocre way , presenting this dilemma , uh , that they have with the work. So I , so I feel this is just more of a distraction and , and , and , and also install fear and people start to install feel fear in institutions , and I feel it's very important for institutions not to capitulate , not to. You know , law firms have been capitulating to you , to the administration. Institutions should not know. You know , our museums should stay strong and show the work that needs to be shown.

S2:

S3: No , I think that's their intent. You know , and then that's the danger that it can happen , that , you know , people actually do forget. You know , if these institutions don't tell our story , don't educate us , do what's happened and be objective in our history. And and all this people will forget and we will repeat the mistakes of the past. But then also I feel like , uh , like there's also the silver lining. I think that is when , for example , this list came about. It drew more attention to the work , like I've been getting into , you know , I've been asked for interviews from different , you know , I'm getting attention from the work because of this controversy that happened. So in a way , I think it's kind of counterproductive for them. I think it's a it's backfiring. You know , to them this idea that they try to censor work. And by doing that , it just is drawing more attention to it. And it's drawing more attention to the to the subject matter and to the into the issues and the truths that need to be out there.

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S3: And we say what we need to say and we say the best way we can. Um , the problem with when this happens is that , uh , like I mentioned earlier , they tried to install fear on people and fear on artists. So then we sometimes we even start censoring ourselves. And I think that's the danger , you know , that that that will have that will definitely harm the art that we're creating. You know , so , uh , we need to be strong. We need to , uh , you know , believe in who we are. We're artists and we have this vocation. And then , of course , everything. Like everything. No , uh , nothing is forever. No , no , ill lasts a thousand years. No , this time will pass. This moment will pass. And , um. And those people who stayed true to their vocation and stayed true to the truth , you know , uh , there will be several. There will be , you know , the truth will win in the end. I feel that always happens now. Um , so then just , uh , believe in your work and continue to work and be aware , you know , that they're trying to instill fear in you , you know , and fight that. And , yeah , you can continue to do your work. Not the best you can.

S1: That was cross border artist Hugo Crosthwaite , speaking with KPBS arts reporter and host of The Finest , Julia Dixon Evans. We reached out to the white House for comment and did not hear back by our deadline. Details and a sample of the Fauci Portrait video are on our website at kpbs.org. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.