"Migration," courtesy Nick Bustamante
Though born and raised in Southern California, Ruston’s Nick Bustamante does not hesitate to describe himself as a “Louisiana artist.” “The first time I ever set foot in Louisiana was when I came for the job interview,” noted Bustamante (he is Chair and Associate Professor of Studio Art at Louisiana Tech University); “and the second was when I arrived in a U-Haul.” In the fourteen years since, Bustamante has observed with interest the changes wrought by the differing rhythms of life in North Louisiana. “It’s not just the [differences in the] physical landscape,” he reflected. “It’s the whole relationship with space. Here—on a teacher’s salary—I can own land; I have one and a half acres. In Los Angeles, one and a half acres would be a park. Also, my wife has a huge, extended family, so there are lots of family gatherings. I grew up in a small, nuclear family in L.A., so since living here, I’ve undergone a complete re-interpretation—not only of space, but also of the interpersonal relationships between people. There’s a different sense of ownership that comes with that.”
Bustamante is perfectly happy to be described as a landscape painter, so long as the definition of “landscape” can be extended to describe the varied terrain of our inner lives. “I’m interested in the in-between moments, the slippage between past and present. Oftentimes I find that what I’m painting is the passage of time,” he explained. Rich with surrealist elements and talismanic objects, Bustamante’s landscapes encourage his viewers to think symbolically, using locations populated with visual prompts that hold back the veil that separates past from present; past from future. In a piece entitled “And Then Silence Fell,” a piece of string connecting two paper cups drapes limply between two chairs. One chair in the foreground faces the viewer; the other is distant and turned toward a darkening horizon. In between, clean washing flutters on a clothesline. Bustamante painted it after his mother passed away. “I’m interested in the way that time passing redefines family roles,” he said. “My parents grew old; I gained a niece and a nephew; I became a father. Those changing family dynamics bring loss, but also rebirth and growth in a powerful way. I think that is a theme to which most people can relate.”
Nick Bustamante paints, teaches, and lives in Ruston, Louisiana. See more of his work at bustamanteart.org. This month he will be profiled on LPB’s Art Rocks, the weekly showcase of visual and performing arts hosted by Country Roads publisher James Fox-Smith. Tune in Friday, September 21, at 8:30 pm, or Saturday, September 22, at 5:30 pm, across the LPB network. lpb.org/artrocks.
