A Conversation in Pink with Jorge Ariel Escobar

By Alexandra Debler

If you want to get a real sense of who an artist is, forget about their work - just look at how they dress and present themselves. Jorge Ariel Escobar recently jumped on a Zoom call with Wrath and Love donning the classic photographer's gray beanie and a daring pale pink shirt. It's clear this artist doesn't play by anyone else's rules.

Jorge Ariel Escobar is a powerhouse image-maker who fearlessly embraces his queer and Latinx identities. Armed with a BFA from James Madison University and currently pursuing his MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an Ed-GRS Fellow, he's a force to be reckoned with. His work is all about intimacy, desire, and the relationships between gay and queer men, and he pulls inspiration from his own experiences to make his pieces as raw and real as possible. He's a master of photography, and he's constantly pushing boundaries by mixing digital, analog, and alternative processes to bring his ideas to life. Right now, he's deep in experimentation mode, playing around with lumen prints to create his upcoming thesis exhibition: 'I Think We Could've Been Something'. 

On the morning of our interview, Escobar was fashionably late due to a shipment of massive frames coming in for his upcoming thesis. So, naturally, I asked why he had such giant frames. 

JE: “I am printing fairly large,” he said. “I'm doing big 27”x40”, silver gelatin lumen prints.” 

If you're not familiar with the process of printing photography, it involves using light-sensitive paper and developing it in a tray of chemicals inside a darkroom. And let me tell you, it's not for the faint of heart. Handling giant sheets of paper is like trying to tame a wild beast, especially when you're working with toxic chemicals. But Escobar isn't one to shy away from a challenge.

JE: “It’s definitely been a learning curve - the paper comes on a roll that's very curly. So like, I tried doing it by myself the first round and it didn't really go so great. Now I usually have at least one other person with me to like, essentially, unfold and work together, and it's working. I've had less issues.

Why bother with the hassle of wrestling with photo paper and mastering complex techniques when you can just whip out an iPhone or a Canon and call it a day? Lumen printing, with its intricate and complex techniques, allows him to delve deeper into the themes and ideas that drive his creative process. It's a means of exploring the complexities of intimacy, desire, and the relationships between queer men in a way that simply can't be achieved through basic photography.

JE: “I actually only just last year, like at the end of last year, purchased my first full frame digital camera… prior to school, I just was very much in the analog photography realm. I just missed being in the darkroom…so I was kind of just playing with different things…and I landed with the lumen printing because the paper itself dries down pink. I've always been drawn to the color pink.” 

Escobar’s artistic vision is driven by his desire to break free from the conventional and to use pink as a symbol of queerness. He defies traditional gender norms by utilizing pink in his work, creating a fantastical and romanticized perspective of short-term relationships. Jorge describes his upcoming thesis as a "love letter" to the men in his life, a year-long exploration of intimacy and self-discovery. Through his use of pink, Jorge brings a rose-colored hue to his art, evoking a sense of nostalgia and longing.

Escobar’s work now revolves around queerness, but it took him years to get there. He was only able to explore these themes in graduate school, despite being a photographer since high school. Blame it on his Catholic and Latino upbringing, where traditional, homophobic values were the norm. Even in his undergraduate studies, he felt limited to highlighting his ethnicity as a Latino and an immigrant, unable to fully explore his queer identity. It wasn't until he left his family's tight-knit community and moved to Wisconsin for graduate school that he was finally able to let loose and explore this vital part of his life and his art.

JE: [This work is] a way of making up for lost time, because I didn't fully come out till I was 23. So ever since then, I've always felt like I've been playing catch up…. catching up to experiences I so desperately wanted that I didn't have at a young age because even though I was still young, it felt late to come out…[his work has turned into] kind of a form of therapy to me, living the life that I know my younger self never thought I could live.”

Escobar’s work exudes an undeniable rawness, as if his camera is a voyeuristic tool capturing intimate moments between him and his subjects. The naturalness of his subjects as they gaze into his lens creates a softness that lures the viewer into a dreamlike state. It's almost as if his camera is a secret weapon used to unveil hidden moments that would have otherwise remained unseen

Escobar’s artwork is not just pretty pictures, it's a reflection of his life experiences. Every collection, every series is a snapshot of his journey and evolution as an artist. It's a bookmark of his growth and his struggles, captured in a moment frozen in time. So, the next time you gaze at one of his pieces, remember that there's a story behind it, a story that's worth knowing.

I asked Escobar one last question, what advice would he give the inexperienced, clueless version of himself that first started out?

JE: Cheesy or not, I'd tell my younger self to stop feeling embarrassed about my sexuality and not try to live up to others' expectations. Manliness is overrated, and sensitivity is a strength. Don't bog yourself down with unnecessary burdens. Yeah, it's cliché, but it's the truth. And maybe my cheesy words can inspire others to embrace themselves and their uniqueness, just like I did with my pink prints."

Jorge Ariel Escobar has a show at the CommonWealth Gallery in Madison, Wisconsin from April 3rd to April 21st, 2023. His website is www.jorgearielescobar.com