Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz
by Ciara Mulvaney
Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz was born in the Bronx and raised by a Puerto
Rican mother and father. Naming herself a ‘Nuyorican’, she has struggled with her identity as a first-generation American born into a country
founded on immigrants. She is a walking contradiction in her struggle
to discover herself in a society with predetermined categories. Unsure
what group to include herself in, she uses art as means to challenge
these labels.
Despite traditional training in painting and drawing, Raimundi-Ortiz is
best known for her performance and interactive art. As an award-winning interdisciplinary artist, she has created works through means of
video, installation, spoken word, and performance art. She discovered
that she needed to express her thoughts and beliefs through means that
outstretched a simple canvas. Craving a larger outlet for her creative
overflow, she turned to this technique as a better conduit for her artistic
energy.
They are the Royal Court —
where I, as a woman and creator,
have been groomed and cultivated,
where I draw my courage,
where I go for wisdom,
comfort, support, rejuvenation.
Can you describe your artistic process?
My work is really grounded in storytelling. There is a story that needs
telling, and I work on finding a way that tells that story in a unique
way. Can I move bodies around a room? Can I challenge the viewer
with their own expectations/biases? Can I use a popular art method
in an unexpected way? Much of my ‘studio time’ is spent watching
people, thinking of how they move and behave. I pay attention to my
experiences and try to find ways to make a very personal thing relatable
to others… the challenge is in keeping the process exciting and fresh for
myself. How do I make this a personal challenge? How do I keep my
ideas and work creatively relevant for audiences? Where do I draw the
line? Where do I cross it? I am also interested in art as activism, a platform to have uncomfortable discussions about otherness. The source of
my work is my own experience being a misfit Other (as most of us are)
and navigating that landscape of Puerto Rican, American, academic,
artist, trouble maker, observer, Bronx chick transplant, code-switcher,
culture conduit. Since most misfits are charged with the task of teaching about their otherness (whether we want to or not) I use the work
as a multi-purpose tool.
Orlando’s Art Scene, v. 1.3
Did your interest in performance art come after your training
as a painter and drawer? Or did both methods simultaneously
grow? What got you into performance art?
I was primarily trained in drawing and illustration. Performance happened when I, Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz, simply could no longer keep
up with drawing as a way to tell my stories. I was introduced to performance art at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in
2002. It became a much sharper, precise vehicle for me to express my
thoughts and concepts. I was drawn to the immediacy of the medium,
the direct call and response with the audience, the limitlessness of the
practice. Not an actor, but a performative presentation—actions created to spark discourse, pi