51±¬ÁϹÙÍø

Written by Alexis Schramel

Please join us in learning more about  â€™99 and his creative practice.

Which year did you graduate and what brought you to 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø for your MFA? Could you speak a little about your background?

I graduated in the winter of 1999. I was born in Buenos Aires and grew up in the DC area. I was never sure I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in art and had applied to 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø, in 1995 because it was in Minneapolis. The label Amphetamine Reptile Records was based in Minneapolis and I think a band that I was into, The Cows were from the twin cities. Until I moved there for graduate school, I had only been on the East Coast. I figured the mid-west was a good a place as any for me. I deferred my entrance for a year because I went back to Argentina in 1996 or so. When I came back to the US I decided I'd try grad school one semester at a time and re-access every term.

How did your art change while you were at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø?

It's hard to gauge how my practice changed. I will say that the opportunity to make temporary 1-2 week-long murals was incredibly beneficial. I also started taking a digital photography class with David Goldes that had touch points that I still use. I think for myself the most important element where the people I met during my time at 51±¬ÁϹÙÍø: Kenji Akagaway, Rik Sferra, Vince Leo, Frenchy Lunning, Diane Mullins, and the inimitable Cole Rogers.

I'm currently working on a book with the poet Martín Ayos about a bird called Uirapuru, and a commission for the Kansas City Airport. I've also a one-person show that just opened at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. I'm still working with collaborators, Chuck Quarino and Marc Ferch on an ongoing radio program called . This is an improvised radio show that we've done since 2016 and we put out an album in 2015.

Check out Santiago Cucullu's current exhibition