Ep. 21: Sebastian Errazuriz
Chilean-born artist / designer / activist Sebastian Errazuriz captivates us with tales of his rigorous arts training, examples of his immaculate hustle and a specific method he employs whenever he needs to force an idea up to the surface. He’s as disciplined and driven as an Olympic athlete, and hell-bent on having us all re-think reality.
See more of Sebastian Errazuriz's work on meetsebastian.com and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.
Sebastian opens up about his rigorous upbringing with a very strict father who helped him begin his art training at a very early age. He also recalls many poignant moments about his relationship with his Dad.
“My father is a professor of arts. He specialized in art education and how to educate art and that was crucial for my upbringing because basically I become his guinea pig for all his theories.”
A young Sebastian
He talks about taking risks and never being afraid of asking for what you want, using his own life as examples. He's quite persuasive. His dedication to the importance of making design and art, and making it as big as life (sometimes bigger) is reflected in many of his unique works, from his transforming cabinets to his "A Pause in the City That Never Sleeps" public art project:
"A Pause in the City That Never Sleeps" - Every night in January 2015 at 11:57 PM, Sebastian’s 3-minute yawning video graces the Times Square’s spectacular signs at 42nd-47th Streets, between Broadway and 7th avenue.
“If you can do something that really helps then you have to. It’s a moral imperative...And I need to create a platform big enough so that I can continue to be listened to and I can work just for the people that I have the most influential power right now...
And that requires building up a platform, that requires continuing to build a name, that requires continuing to prove yourself.”
Exploding Cabinet
The Boat Coffin is designed to allow the user to take a voyage to their next life one his day has come. This piece honors the Egyptian and Viking funeral traditions of saying goodbye to people on shore, and venturing into the deep sea and open sky.
Sebastian also reveals how he was aware of his mortality at a very early age, which drives him to create as much as he possibly can while he's still young and energetic. His inspiring devotion to his craft, his creative methods for generating ideas, and contagious enthusiasm are not to be missed - tune into the episode above.
Sebastian was invited by Audemars Piguet to design their lounge for Art Basel’s 2016 shows. He took inspiration from the ice formations and snowy winters of Audemars Piguet’s home in Le Brassus, creating a space that expressed the purity of nature and the passing of time.
Drawings for Ice Cycle
Above: Sebastian's Wave cabinet is one in a series of functional art cabinetry pieces.
Snaps from Studio Errazuriz
Training the brain and body were topics he elaborates on— he talks about his unusual yet effective method to invoke creativity on a daily basis, and how he tries to get a workout in every day while in the studio (thus, the weights in the shot above!).
We encourage you to also listen to his TED talk:
Special thanks to Chris Modl of Yore Studio for editing this episode.
Music in this episode courtesy of El Ten Eleven—hear more on Bandcamp.
Shoutout to Jenny Rask for designing the Clever logo.
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