Artist Javier Flores says his work starts with process.
Flores is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted largely in printmaking, including screen printing, reductive woodcuts, lithography and etching. From July 25 through August 4, he will be the artist-in-residence at Mancos Common Press.
The residency will give Flores time to work with letterpress, a form of printmaking he says he has admired for years but has had limited chances to practice.
“I had been a fan for a long time,” Flores said. “I never had the chance to really work in that component of printmaking in undergrad or grad school.”
Flores works under the name Lenguaje Vulgar, which translates to “vulgar language.” He says the phrase refers to cussing in Spanish, but for him, it also points to something deeper about honesty, frustration and expression.
“I really feel that it kind of encapsulates who I am as a person,” Flores said.
He says cussing can be a therapeutic tool, and visual art can also be “vulgar” in the sense that it reflects difficult truths.
Flores studied painting as an undergraduate, but printmaking became central to his practice. He says he is drawn to the slow and physical nature of the medium.
“The more process the better for me,” Flores said. “It’s very meditative in a way that allows me to focus on different components and different parts of my practice.”
That is especially true in reductive woodcuts, where an artist carves away more of the same block between each layer of color. Flores says each stage matters, from transferring the image to cutting paper, registering layers, handling materials and presenting the final print.
“The finished project shows basically the labors of my work,” he said.
At Mancos Common Press, Flores says he is especially interested in combining letterpress type with his visual imagery.
“For me, it’s really kind of a no-brainer that the typesetting and that component work with the visual imagery that I create,” Flores said.
He says he hopes to make socially engaged work during the residency, including several campaigns, or at least begin projects he can continue after his time in Mancos.
Flores also says Jody Chapel with Mancos Common Press has talked with him about a possible workshop or teaching component during the residency. Those details are still being worked out.
This will not be Flores’ first time seeing Mancos Common Press. He and his partner passed through southwest Colorado last year before he applied for the residency. They saw the press from the outside and looked through the windows.
Now, Flores says he is looking forward to being inside the studio, seeing how the space is arranged and meeting people in the area.
“It seems like a really beautiful city,” Flores said. “I’m really excited about meeting people from that area.”
Flores’ residency runs from July 25 through August 4 at Mancos Common Press.
