Edgar Lituma Soto has traveled to all corners of the world. Tracing a path through colorful alleyways in South America to the swarming, vibrant markets of southeast Asia, his art is an intricate blend of multicultural influences and the visions of the hazy dreamworld between sleep and consciousness. In his youth, Soto produced a prolific number of Sonic the Hedgehog sketches before going on to study art at Georgia State University. The uniquely artistic member of his family, the Sucua, Ecuador native is now a graphic designer and animator by trade, though his downtime is full of creative endeavors—the products of a passion for self-expression. His work has appeared in local galleries, pop-up shows and in mural form through participation with the Cabbagetown Wall Keepers. Despite a severe case of chronic wanderlust, Soto calls Atlanta home.
CommonCreativ: You studied graphic design in school. How has your art been shaped by technology?
Edgar Lituma Soto: [It has] definitely had an impact on the style, perspective and process of my artwork. Computers provide some really unique tools that helped me mold the look and feel of my art. The ability for me to take pre-existing photos and juxtapose them in any way I want to make a nice composition has really helped out in terms of me resolving my style. Now though, I’m making more of an attempt to distance myself from technology with my art for the sake of not being dependent on it.
CC: What inspires you?
ELS: Many different things inspire me—cliché, I know. It all depends on the context of why I’m making a piece: whether it’s a commission or a personal piece. For commission pieces, I take the client’s idea in mind while mentally melding it with my style or vision. Working on pieces for a show with a given theme can be really challenging since you can’t stray too far from the topic. This is what makes them interesting, though.
Edgar Lituma Soto
My favorite projects are the personal ones that come to me in the middle of nowhere without warning or perceived intent; the ones that call to me. The ones that make me scramble for a writing/drawing device and piece of paper or napkin. They come quick and hard but can dissipate rapidly, like a dream that’s not written down after waking up. These ideas usually lead to creations that really resonate with random people more so than works that are meticulously planned out without as much emotion or passion. Call it the carnal attraction. People have pointed out that animals can be seen as my most current and obvious inspiration. I’m always intrigued by living beings other than humans. In terms of textures, forms, presence and evoking of emotion, animals have a lot of interesting qualities that I like to bring out.
I have definitely based some of my work around day dreams and or ideas taken from a dream. Drugs? Maybe. In the end none of those things are the real inspiration though. A catalyst perhaps, but not the raw substance. Life tends to be enough of a drug.
CC: How has living in and traveling to Ecuador influenced your art?
ELS: Culturally, it’s brought out my taste for color—lots of color. Color everywhere, like rainbows. That is more or less most of the influence. I come from a very small conservative Catholic town that isn’t very receptive to non-representational art. Many people hold a literal view of what art should look like. A tiger needs to look just like a tiger. Any kind of abstraction can make people skeptical, and they often look to others to help criticize its appearance.
Travel definitely inspires me from a cultural sense. It helps me look at certain things differently. I think the visual inspirations from my travels will come out in the near future once I’ve done enough traveling to come up with some kind of overall, encompassing theme or project for a show. I can’t wait for that to happen.
Cabbagetown Mural
CC: How did you get involved with the Cabbagetown Wall Keepers?
ELS: The very well known and well respected Sam Parker helped me get in communication with the Wall Keepers. I expressed an interest in doing a mural in Cabbagetown, and he brought me along for the proposal. I got to know Sam from the drawing group he put together. I respect that guy and everything he’s done for the art scene in Atlanta. I owe him like a million drinks.
CC: You’re currently working abroad in Germany. Do you have any artistic plans for your time in Europe?
ELS: Let’s just say I’m going through many firsts right now. I haven’t been able to produce anything so far and feel like I’m in a bit of a creative rut. However, I plan on working on some small pieces here and will hopefully get a mural done. Currently this whole visa thing is getting in the way though. It’s sucking up my time alongside getting settled in a new city with my girlfriend, learning a new language and culture, learning how to drive stick, my job, living far from my family and dealing with this fucking cold weather.
CC: What’s your favorite part about the arts scene in Atlanta right now?
ELS: Right now, there’s a good number of Atlanta artists being shown at all the local galleries. There’s always something going on!
The drink-and-draw group that I was a part of in Atlanta started out really strong, and we’ve had many talented people attend every week. Sam Parker (again, I love that guy) really initiated it and got many people excited about it. We had people interested in the arts, up-and-coming artists, established local artists, visiting artists, drinkers, people watchers, shit talkers and anyone who just wanted to be around creatives attend. We kept it real informal. No intimidation factor and no egos. It was nice. I made some friends and got to know some really good people. I’d like to see another manifestation of it again in the near future.
CC: What keeps you coming back to Atlanta?
ELS: I really like the pace of Atlanta. I’ve gotten to know so many good people there. Artists, humanitarians, chefs, photographers, teachers, etc. There’s always something to do, and it won’t break the bank like New York. It feels like home. I really dislike how many of the creative, cheap, bohemian neighborhoods are getting really expensive to live in, though. I feel like when I go back to Atlanta to live in July, I’ll be priced out of my favorite neighborhoods due to all the new “condos” and really “nice” luxury apartment jail/complexes that are being built. Hopefully it won’t change the culture too much. We’ll see.
CC: How do you picture Atlanta, and specifically the arts community, in five to 10 years?
ELS: There used to be places in Atlanta that were fairly priced to live in for up-and-coming creatives, service industry people and students. These places might have not been too desirable for the upper middle class so they was left alone in terms of upscale development. Over time, these same creatives transformed their neighborhoods into the place-to-be for restaurants, art galleries, trendy shops and many other points of attraction.
Now everybody wants to be a part of it. Investors scoop up land and buildings left and right. They introduce their plans for “luxury” condos and new top of the line “mixed use” living communities. All these new developments don’t keep the people who made the neighborhood interesting in mind. Many of these creatives will have to move out due to the price increases. No effort is made to introduce affordable alternatives. I understand that there are many other circumstances associated with the transformations of neighborhoods such as race, immigration movements, gentrification and so on. This is just one point of view.
So where will the art scene be in five to 10 years? I honestly have no clue nor do I want to make any predictions. I just want to be a part of it. I love it there and feel embraced by all the talent and support around us. I can’t wait to come back after my voyage in Europe is done. See you soon, ATL.
You can see more of Edgar’s work on his site.
