ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: DANTE LAURO SILIQUINI

dante lauro @taccucino siliquini

Interview by Jenny Jung

Dante is a current student at the University studying a Bachelor in International Relations and Arts. I first came across his work when he made a submission for one of On Dit’s earlier issues, and became immediately intrigued by his unique style of figure drawing and linework that were, to me, reminiscent of Picasso’s drypoints and sketches. He seemed to have mastered the craft of paying homage to a different time without comrpromising originality, and as a fellow art lover, I was keen to get to the bottom of it. So, when Dante expressed an interest in doing more artwork for On Dit, I grabbed the opportunity to get some of my questions about his works answered.

How did you get into drawing? Were you always an artist, or is art a passion that crept up on you unexpectedly?

I could not give you a specific time or date, it is just something that has consistently been a part of my life. My family have always been passionate about art, and many of them enjoy painting, such as my mother, father, and grandfather. Although not everyone paints, art and artists have always been a topic of discussion. My sister also peruses a visual art as a graphic designer, so this passion may be hereditary. My earliest memories of drawing take place in preschool, while the subject I drew was cumbersome and lacked any proper composition, as expected for a 4-year-old, the feeling of creating was joyous. Throughout primary school, to the teacher’s displeasure, I would draw in the margins of all my textbooks, especially in mathematics. However, in high school, my passion was tucked away as I possibly sought after a new identity. The only time this passion would return would be in art class, where the charisma of the teacher was contagious. Out of class, I would sporadically draw now and then with no real intent, just as a method to pass time. This however changed in my final year, due to being pressed with multiple questions such as ‘what do you want to do once school ends?’. Questions such as these were both daunting and exciting, as I never really had a concise idea of who I wanted to be. It was here that I realised that I should not perceive drawing as a hobby, I should pursue it equally to that of a university degree. This idea was confirmed during a night at the restaurant Ruby Red Flamingo, where my sister endorsed me to start an account on Instagram displaying my work. Thus, that endorsement gave birth to the account ‘Taccucino’, which is a made-up word, as I failed to spell ‘Taccuino’ which means notebook in Italian. Are the subjects of your artwork derived from real people? What stories do you try to tell with these characters?

The subjects in my art all derive from real people, but mostly people of the past. I have rarely ever done a drawing of a man or woman in contemporary clothing or setting, the exceptions being self-portraits or drawings of friends and family. Why this is the case, may stem from my interest in history in which I am majoring. A subject that I will continue to look at and use for my work is the solider. The soldier has always been an interest of mine, even as a child I would draw stick figures engaged in large-scale battles. However, as I matured, I focused on the soldier as an individual rather than trying to draw him in the midst of combat. Another subject that I continue to use is the Matador. I have always been fascinated by the Matador due to their costumes consisting of fine stitch work and the way that they carry themselves in the arena. They are able to both pose robustly and move with fluidity; they dance with the bull.

When I draw, I don’t always have the intention of telling a story - I could draw something solely for its ascetic. However, I have acknowledged that when I draw something, a story tends to be played out in my head. I am a big advocate for creating a piece and having the viewer decide what it means to them yet at the same time I enjoy providing a piece of work with intended meaning. For example, I recently drew a piece titled ‘The manifestation of time and writer’s block’. This piece was intended to display how time can be manifested in the mind of a writer when they have writer’s block. I depicted time to be looming in the background, ominous and waiting for the writer’s mind to clear.

What is your biggest artistic inspiration?

Music plays an important role for me when drawing and the genre of music can have a great impact on the work. The types of genres that I would listen to when drawing would be Jazz, Classical, Latin Jazz, Soul, Salsa, and Flamenco. I feel as though when viewing a piece of art, you can assume what music the artist was listening to. I would like to think that my work does the same as it brings it more to life.

20th-century Catalonian artist, Joan Miró is an example of this as when I look at his work, I hear music. Miró is one of my greatest inspirations however, if you compared our works, you would not notice such inspiration. This is because Miró inspires me to be an artist rather than inspiring me stylistically. Miró’s notion that ‘the works must be conceived with fire in the soul but executed with clinical coolness’ resonates within me and my work. Stylistically, multiple artists have had an impact on me. For example, French artist, Henri Matisse influenced the way I draw women through the combination of simple lines.