Artist Profile: Jonatan Lopez

I recently attended the opening of Aisen Caro Chacin's La Lengua Muerta ( which is STILL up by the way, at LaBotanica, til the 15th) and was super impressed by the performance art piece of Jonatan Lopez. Hopefully he will be an artist an upcoming Performance Art Nights. He did a great job answering my questions. Um, Did I mention that you can see a picture of his cock if you go see the show? Yeah, check it out.

How does Performance Art Function for you?

As an artist I am interested in addressing social issues and creating interactive spaces that invite the viewer to become part of the installation and experience it at a deeper level. Experimenting with performance art takes my approach a step further, it allows me to transform an installation into a situation in which the viewer and the performer become equal components of artistic expression.

How does living in Houston affect your performance art work?

Houston is a great place for performance art. Experiencing the performance pieces of artists like, Julia Claire Wallace, Aisen Caro Chacin, Daniel Adame and Emily Sloan has influenced me to make the jump into performance art and join this talented group. These artists are also doing a great job at promoting and helping other artists express themselves through this genre.

Describe a favorite performance art piece that you have done.

So far, my first major performance entitled 'Latin Lover Conservation' is my favorite piece. Within the opening 'La Lengua Muerta' at Labotanica, I presented the idea of launching a non-profit organization with the aim of preserving the "Latin Lover" species and our culture. I auctioned 3 male Latin Lovers for dates and sold romantic services such as "One minute make out sessions" and "Sultry words whispered to your ear" for suggested donations. Our clients were also able to read their sex reviews that were actually written for me. Even though one of the targets of this piece was to manipulate the audience into believing that this operation was legit, some aspects of it became true. Two of my actors found consensual dates at the end of the night and we collected a great sum of money, which was used to pay the actors and as a donation to the gallery. This piece was a social experiment, Labotanica encourages us to make art without having an objective in mind but to find out what the objective is. Not knowing but trusting. And the result was an installation/performance that adressed a myriad of issues including societal classification, sexual liberation, exhibitionism and sexual taboos. I was happy to be able to sell my first performance and to follow Labotanica's mission of presenting art in new formats and through experimental collaborations.

Here are some photos from the event:


and there is also some video footage of the show:
the guys got make out ( sexy man on man actionnnn)
and the girls got romance all for a very affordable price.

Name some of your performance art heroes. Who has inspired/influenced your performance art?

Santiago Sierra, Marina Abramovic, Herman Nitsch, Ellia Arce, Julia Claire Wallace


And a little more about myself

I am an installation artist
Metal sculptor
Filmmaker
Exhibitionist
Ex porn star
I dig performance art
Art talks to me in dreams
I am trampled by religion
Sex rules my life
I aim to carve my name in a book of art history
I love science
I dig performance art, did I mentioned that already?

CHECK OUT HIS WEBSITE
unfortunately it doesn't have much performance art on it YET, but i bet its cummin.