(bright music) (bright music) - [Matt] Explore the human condition with Brian Cirmo, chat with podcaster and animator, Evens Angulo-Duvil, and catch a performance from Reality Distortion.

("Dive In" by Reality Distortion) It's all ahead on this episode of "AHA".

- [Narrator] Funding for "AHA" has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT venture fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.

- At M & T Bank, we understand that the vitality of our community is crucial to our continued success.

That's why we take an active role in our community.

M & T Bank is pleased to support WMHT programming that highlights the arts, and we invite you to do the same.

(mellow music) - Hi, I'm Matt Rogowicz, and this is "AHA, A House for Arts", a place for all things creative.

Brian Cirmo is an artist living in Albany, New York.

His paintings offer a unique perspective on the human condition, often contemplating the absurdity of existence.

(gentle music) - I'm a person who thinks that being alive and being human is a very absurd thing.

It's something I'm always trying to approach with humor, because it's almost too overwhelming to, to look at life and say, "Well, what is the meaning here?

And what are we doing?"

(gentle music) The work that I'm making, it doesn't get made unless I'm listening to music, I'm reading, I'm watching films, thinking about personal memory, personal experience.

All that stuff is just kind of, gets synthesized into the work.

There's cubism in there, and there's, you know, "Peanuts" cartoons in there.

Bob Dylan is a huge influence, and then there's some jazz ideas in there.

So it just kind of all kind of comes through as you make the work.

(inquisitive music) There's a painting that I did a couple of years ago, and I was looking at the pool paintings of David Hockney.

And another image I was obsessed with was "Vision After the Sermon" by Gauguin.

There's two figures wrestling in it.

So I said, "All right, well, I wanna make a painting where two figures are fighting or wrestling and I want it to be by a pool or something."

So that's it, like, I don't know where it's going from there.

As I made it, I started to think about the game we all played when we were kids, Marco Polo.

That like, that was the game I played with friends when we were in the pool.

So I just all of a sudden said, "Well, what if I titled the painting 'Marco Polo'?"

And so that's kind of how ideas just kind of come together in the process of making something.

(playful music) I start off with drawing.

I just sit down and I just start making lines, and a figure will arise or a shape will come out of it.

Sometimes they're very abstract.

And then once I find something, it just feels right, then I start to refine it, and revamp it, and change it.

Once I have everything figured out, composition, scale of what I want the painting to do, then I transfer that small drawing onto a large painting, and then I start to make the painting.

But when I go into the painting, I have a pretty solid idea of what I want.

It was all worked out in drawing.

You are made up of the things that you did when you were a child, the things you learned in art school, the things you learned about being in your studio on your own, from drawing from other artists.

All that stuff stays with you, and it all just slowly develops into something.

And what you're looking for is, how do I fit into all this?

Where can I fit into this kind of canon of art?

I'm telling some kind of story, and it connects not only to my time, but I think it connects to the canon of art history before it.

I think any artist that's working and is serious about what they're doing is part of that.

(mellow music) I don't necessarily know how to build a traditional painting, layers, and glazes, and things like that.

I was taught from very contemporary painters, and so I paint wet on wet.

And my color palettes have always been very much grays, and earth tones, and blacks and I always just am drawn to that kind of color palette.

I did this one painting called "Gray Tree," and there's a reproduction, or I painted Mondrian's "Gray Tree" in the background.

It has this kind of really kind of gray, ominous quality to it.

And at the time, I was reading Sinclair Lewis's "Babbit," and in the book, there's a line that says, "Gray fear loomed always by him now."

I started to think about gray matter in terms of the brain, the human brain, and this idea that it's not only a gray palette, but it's also tapping into human emotions, a human experience, which is the gray matter of the brain.

And I said, "I'm gonna make a series of paintings that are dealing with this very kind of ominous quality and really tap into the psychological turmoil of these characters."

(gentle music) I think anyone's job as an artist is to bear witness to their time.

I think we're all, I don't care what kind of art you're making, what materials you're using, the subject is always the same.

It's the human condition.

How do we deal with being alive?

How do we deal with being human?

What does it mean to be human?

If we wanna melt down all the artist statements in the history of the world, it can all be boiled down to the idea of the human condition.

And for me, I have to stay engaged with that.

- Evens Angulo-Duvil is an animator working on what he calls a love letter to Upstate New York.

For over a year, Evens has been interviewing capital region locals, and then turning those interviews into animations.

Here's Jade Warrick with more.

- Hey Evens, welcome to "A House for Arts".

How are you doing today?

- I'm doing great today, thank you for having me.

- Of course, I'm really excited to talk about this amazing project you have coming up called "The Aura of Upstate" so do you wanna give us a little bit of the background of it, and why did you bring this to existence?

- Yeah, so "The Aura of Upstate" project essentially started through a local grant that I received through the Arts Center here in Troy, New York.

And basically what it is, is a project that consists of a podcast where I interviewed individuals within my community of Upstate New York.

And then I took snippets of those conversations and then made an animated film out of it.

And then I made a documentary following my journey of creating the project.

So all of that kind of encompasses what was season one of "The Aura of Upstate" project.

- Oh, I love that.

And see, grants really do.

(Jade laughs) Grants really do uplift artists.

- Yeah, they do, for sure.

- So I know this has to do within the name, "The Aura of Upstate", but why center Upstate New York in this project?

Like, why create an animated storytelling of this particular region?

- Yeah, that's actually a credit to the grant that I received, because one of the criterias of it was that it had to incorporate the community in some way and I almost actually didn't apply for the grant because I had difficulty coming up with a concept because I had always been dreaming of making my own animated series since the age of 10.

And all the ideas that I came up with were characters from my own imagination and places from my own imagination.

So with this grant, it kind of presented the challenge of taking reality and making it into an animated show somehow.

So fortunately, they presented me that challenge and it ended up being this project.

- Is the project more, like you said, it's like a podcast.

Like, can you give us a little bit of like, I guess, a person watching this, what would they see?

- At first, the project starts off with the podcast.

I interviewed seven guests, all within the capital region.

Some of them are business owners, some of them are everyday people, all from different walks of life, living within the same community essentially.

And then I took between 30 seconds to one minute of each one of our conversations.

And then I made a cohesive animated film using each one of our conversations that kind of talked about a piece of their life, but also a piece of what it's like to live in this community that we call home.

- Well, that's beautiful.

And so what's, I guess, was there anything that like surprised you about all these conversations?

'Cause you are talking to all these voices in the capital region.

You know, even though it's a handful, you still get so many stories out of those, especially with their community leaders, business owners that have existed for a long time.

Like I know you've interviewed Patrick Harris at Collective Efforts, the historical Seasons Skateboard Shop.

So what surprised you in these conversations?

- What surprised me is their viewpoint on the community itself.

'Cause a question that I asked throughout season one was what is the aura of Upstate to them?

And oftentimes all their answers kind of centered around it being fertile soil in a way, like this is a place where there's a lot of opportunity to chase your dream, or start a business, or to take risks and not really feel the effects too drastically if things don't work your way.

From those conversations I felt inspired to consider continue pursuing my own dreams as well.

- That's so beautiful.

And I know just from me following you on social media, this project blew up.

Like you went from, I remember when I first followed you, you had like 200 followers and now you're almost up to 13K.

And like, you know, in the whole space of like doing this project, what has surprised you about the come up and the praise and the love you're receiving on this project?

'Cause you're not just in Albany, you're like going to Buffalo, I think Ithaca, Syracuse.

So what has surprised you about the amount of love that's been pouring in?

- That people care so much.

Honestly, that people care.

When I first started this project, one of the questions I was asking myself was if there was gonna be an audience for it, because it was heavily inspired by a show from Netflix called "Midnight Gospel".

And it had been canceled after one season.

So I didn't know if that show being canceled would affect this show and with me following the same pipeline as them with having a real life podcast and then turning into a animated project.

So for me to actually release it and continue promoting it and then actually find the audience and find the people that actually do care about the project and individuals who've emailed me and sent me text message about how inspired they are by the project and how not only that they're excited to see it, but they wanna be a part of it and like a part of the continuation of it.

So the love, and the support, and the care has been the most surprising part for sure.

- Yeah, I will say Upstate New Yorkers, we love Upstate New York, you know?

- [Evens] Yes, we do.

- A lot of people, when we think of New York, they think of the city almost immediately.

I mean, even when I moved here, I thought of the, I sold my car and everything for transportation 'cause I'm like, "I'm gonna be in the city, I'm gonna take the bus."

No, so even I had a misconception of what it is up here so it's really beautiful that you're like, I don't know, just creating this new scenery in another format too, 'cause animations, you know?

I am a huge animation fan and it's really awesome that you're like creating this format in animation so like animation nerds like me can really like, I don't know, enjoy it and like digest different conversations that are happening all over the region.

So if you're going to work, let's say, if there's a season two in the future, what would you change?

How would the show evolve?

Are you already thinking about that?

Already have the gears turning?

- Yeah, so the next step for this project would be to make a season two.

And my mom told me that if I'm gonna make a season two, I have to make it bigger and better.

So I would like to essentially make it into more of a podcast within a show where I do have the, the section where I do sit down and talk to my guests.

But I also would like to get up and move around with them and have us go on walks, depending on the area of Upstate that we're in.

I would like to incorporate a theme where I ask my guests to bring items that is of some significance to them.

Because, you know, the element of podcasts that I really enjoy is that it's essentially an intimate conversation where I'm getting to learn more and more about them.

So I feel that having my guests bring items that are of significance to them adds another layer into the audience getting to know more about them.

And as for season one, I only did it in the capital region.

So for season two, I would like to continue to start it in the capital region, but then venture out and go to Buffalo, and Rochester, and Syracuse, and other areas within Upstate New York who deserve love as well.

- Yeah, exactly.

Buffalo, yes, yes.

(laughs) The very snowy, snowy places.

So what do you hope "The Aura of Upstate" gives back to people?

Like what is your, if you were to have a goal, a lot of artists, we don't have an end goal.

We just keep going and going and going and just enjoying our craft and our passion.

But like what's something that you really want this project to do?

Like movement-wise, making people feel good, making people feel seen.

Is there anything in particular, any goals in particular?

- Yeah, I have a lot of goals with this project.

One of the reasons why I'm so excited that it has been blowing up and it's been getting a lot more traction is because that I can now use it as a platform to continue to uplift Upstate New York.

And not just the areas and the communities that we live in, but the people as well.

Because as I've started this project, and continued to learn more about this project, and meet more people, we have a lot of talent out here.

- Yes, we do.

- We have a lot of stories out here that could make for a great show, if given the opportunity.

So as I continue this show, I would like to put these people on this platform so people can see what they're doing, hear their stories, listen, check out their music, see their art, and hopefully they continue to grow a following from being on this project.

'Cause that's what I think true power is, you know?

Your ability to help other individuals.

So I would love to, whenever "The Aura of Upstate" project finishes, however it ends, be able to look back and see all of the individuals who played a role in the making of it and see how their careers were affected, hopefully in a very, very positive manner from being on the project, so.

- Oh, you're speaking my language.

I love that.

I love the community-based ethos that you have with this project.

It's really, really, really beautiful.

- Yeah, and it's called "The Aura of Upstate", I literally can't make it without them.

I literally cannot.

- Exactly.

Thank you so much, Evens.

And thank you so much for what you're doing.

This is gonna be an amazing project.

I can't wait to finish season one and dive into the future seasons that I know you're gonna be releasing because I have a lot of faith in the movement that you're creating.

And thank you.

And thank you for being on "A House for Arts" today.

- Thank you.

- Please welcome Reality Distortion.

("Dive In" by Reality Distortion) ♪ Let it begin, let it begin ♪ ♪ Begin, dive in ♪ ♪ Begin ♪ ♪ Dive in, let it begin ♪ ♪ Let it begin, let it begin ♪ ♪ Hoping that holding back ♪ ♪ Will keep you safe ♪ ♪ Yet you still drive ♪ ♪ Hoping that holding back ♪ ♪ For someday will keep you alive ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in, let it begin ♪ ♪ Knees quake from up above ♪ ♪ Freeze frame, it's just not the same ♪ ♪ Lookings just not enough ♪ ♪ Waters great, I know it's cliche ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in, let it begin ♪ ♪ Let it begin, let it begin ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Let it begin, let it begin ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Looking at it sideways and upside down ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in, let it begin ♪ ♪ Let it begin ♪ ♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Dive in to the deep end ♪ ♪ Dive, dive, dive in ♪ ♪ Dive in, let it begin ♪ ("Make Sense" by Reality Distortion) ♪ New Year's Eve ♪ ♪ You said we've got all ♪ the time in the world ♪ ♪ I guess the world ended in April ♪ ♪ And I'm here alone ♪ ♪ And as you shut the door ♪ ♪ I shoved my fingers in the hinges ♪ ♪ Just to hope for a little more ♪ ♪ You didn't ask me ♪ ♪ You didn't pass me any of your burdens ♪ ♪ I didn't choose this ♪ ♪ Couldn't refuse it ♪ ♪ With your mind made up ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Gild the leaves and watch them fall ♪ ♪ Set adrift as time slows to a crawl ♪ ♪ Now I'm moving through September ♪ ♪ You get harder to remember ♪ ♪ The way you were ♪ ♪ You didn't ask me ♪ ♪ You didn't pass me any of your burdens ♪ ♪ I didn't choose this ♪ ♪ Couldn't refuse it ♪ ♪ With your mind made up ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Will it fade away?

♪ ♪ I let you fade away ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it ♪ make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it ♪ make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it ♪ make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it ♪ make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ I let you fade away ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense, make it make sense ♪ ♪ Make it make sense to me ♪ ♪ I still wake up ♪ ♪ Hoping to hear the phone ring ♪ ♪ You love me, you miss me ♪ ♪ You miss everything ♪ (gentle music) - Thanks for joining us.

For more arts, visit WMHT.org/AHA and be sure to connect with us on social.

I'm Matt Rogowicz, thanks for watching.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Funding for "AHA" has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT venture fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.

- At M & T Bank, we understand that the vitality of our communities is crucial to our continued success.

That's why we take an active role in our community.

M & T Bank is pleased to support WMHT programming that highlights the arts, and we invite you to do the same.