House Call with Monica Anguiano
A couple of years ago, we met Monica Anguiano on the set of a music video and have kept an eye on her work ever since. Born and raised in Mexico, Monica brings fresh ideas, bold aesthetics and a bit of home to Chicago’s art scene, producing recognizable and unique animations, album covers, and photography for a variety of artists in the area. We caught up with her at her apartment and talked cartoons, inspirations, and the process.
Who are you?
My name is Monica Anguiano. I'm from Monterrey, Mexico and I'm 22 years old. I've been in Chicago for three years now.
What do you do?
I’m a graphic designer, but I’m also trying to expand more into photo editing and photo transformation. I've been getting into mixed media animations. I create them digitally in Photoshop, then I scan them, put them in frames, and put 'em all in Premiere. So yeah, I'm a mixed media graphic designer.
First song you’re playing on aux?
[Laughs] I never get on aux 'cause I always get so nervous.
Let’s say it's just you and you’re hopping in the car, what are you listening to?
I’ve been obsessed with Brokeup by Arca.
Comfort food?
It's one that my mom makes, it’s called carne en su jugo which is a little Mexican dish. You have beans at the bottom and this meat and this green sauce, like salsa. And it's so good, I had it when I went back home.
What do you get excited about?
Talking about comics. [Laughs] I really love Spider-Man, shit like that, whenever it gets brought up I feel like a little kid. Also when music comes up, I get really excited. And I've been really excited about this movie called, Little Miss Sunshine, I love it. I've been seeing it a lot 'cause I've been telling people like, let's watch it, let's watch it, let's watch it. Also talking about my friends and their accomplishments, that gets me so excited.
Friend that inspires you?
I think all my friends inspire me. Especially the ones that I've made here in Chicago, they’re all very creative. I guess the person that has inspired me the most has been Marjorie Matamoros. I think they're just so authentic with their art and ever since I've met them I’ve looked at art differently. We had a conversation ‘cause I was feeling lost and not knowing what to do, I was feeling like I didn’t want to commercialize myself. Like, I don't want to do this shit, I actually want to just continue doing art. They were like, well, you just gotta be it. Like, if you actually want to do it, you just gotta be it. They're just so authentic to what they do and they're so passionate and I look up to them a lot.
What have you been working on recently?
I've been working with DERYK G, he has this album coming up and we've been working on two singles. I'm really proud of the animation that I did specifically for Liar. It's this animation of him in a luchador mask. I loved it, I'm really proud of how it came out. I'm also really excited about the projects that are coming up, I'm gonna film my first music video. That's gonna be exciting.
Your work really stands out from a lot of stuff I see coming out of Chicago.
How does the art scene that you grew up in inspire the art that you make today?
Mexico is so rich in art and I know the art scene is going crazy right now. I really like this artist called Posada. He was the one that did the Mexican skulls and the wood carving prints. I take a lot of inspiration from that and I know that I also take imagery from the sugar skulls that they have. And I’m a big fan of the whole luchador concept and I want to keep working on stuff like that. I guess I always try to bring a sense of home to everything that I make so I feel like it can still connect to where I'm from.
Walk me through the process you have for making a mixed media piece.
Say you're on a shoot, how do you get from shooting the photos to the final product that you're putting out?
If it was for a cover, I usually like to talk with the artist first, see if they have any vibes that they want. Then I listen to the demo of the song over and over and over and over again, just trying to get into that head space. Then either we take the pictures or they send me pictures, or I take pictures from the internet, but with those I try to manipulate them enough so like they're a whole new thing. But yeah, I usually like to see what the vibe is. I always write stuff in my little notebook, keywords, specific lyrics from the song, and specific colors that I see in my head. Then I collect everything and I put it in Photoshop. I play with layers, with effects, shit like that. Then I print it, and usually I like to scan the first prints that I do, 'cause I'm like, okay, I'm gonna get the clean slate before I ruin it or something. Then I start cutting and pasting, seeing what works, seeing what doesn't, I scan it again, put it back in Photoshop and see if I can add more shit. Print more, scan more, cut more and then scan it again, and then that’s usually it.
I can definitely see the payoff of the process in your work, it has a very tangible and physical feel to it.
That's why I also started doing it. 'Cause being a graphic design major, there was a time where we were just only doing logos and like brand guide books. And I'm like, I don't know if this is what I actually want to do. I started doing this by painting and doing real physical drawings and it just felt like I wasn't doing anything. I feel like I can actually draw on the page and now that I have my scanner, I'm like, “I'm invincible, I can do this shit.”
How do you lock in, what gets you in the zone to start working on art?
I think I work better at night, I feel like a little vampire. I like to put headphones on, it's dark as fuck, I just have my little light in my desk, and I usually smoke. [Laughs] But yeah, I try and get in the zone and then immediately I print all the pictures and then I just start cutting and pasting and it gets to a point where I'm not even looking at the clock and then I look and it's like three hours have passed.
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
I usually try to doodle, I keep my little notebook with me. Or I try to watch a good movie that I like, animated specifically, like I love the Spider-Verse movies. Either that or I go to Pinterest, but I always try to doodle, ‘cause whenever you're in Photoshop and you just see a blank page, you're just like, “oh man, fuck this.”
You’ve mentioned Spider-Man and cartoons a couple of times now, is that something that you grew up on?
Yeah, I grew up loving Spider-Man. He was like my favorite character of all time. I grew up with the old movies and the animated shows that Disney had. I was always a big fan of animated stuff and comic books. My dad was a nerd, so I'm a nerd too. [Laughs] I also grew up with Star Wars, so, yeah, I guess just a bunch of nerdy shit.
Do you have a dream job?
I would love to continue working as a designer for the music industry. I would love to collaborate with different artists either doing cover art or music video work. I love music. I can't make music, so I want to be surrounded by music.
What are you proud of?
A year ago, I proposed to myself that I was gonna be working on trying to get to my dream job, doing covers and stuff like that. And yeah, it's been a year and I'm proud of myself for the things that I've done and how I got here. And I hope I'm just gonna get better and better and better. Oh, and I'm proud that I'm going to graduate soon.
What does success look like for you?
I guess I would have a good job that I like, and if I keep working on what I'm passionate about, I think I will be happy. I would love to take my parents out for a trip. I feel like if I actually do that and I pay for everything, that's what success would look like to me. I'll be like, “yeah, I did this shit.” And I think just living my truest shit, being myself and just continuing doing what I do and having a job 'cause of that. But yeah, definitely paying for a trip for my parents to Europe for a month, that's what success is gonna look like.
What’s a sentence of advice you’d give your younger self after now having gone through college?
It's gonna sound so cliche. I don't wanna say it. But like, it's gonna get better. My advice would definitely be just continue, open yourself, don't close yourself just because of fear. It's good to experiment and if it looks ugly at first, that's okay, you can obviously try it again later. But yeah, it definitely gets better, you just have to find your space and your people.
@cocoangui
monicaanguianodesign.myportfolio.com
Monica’s mix, listen up.
February 2024
Chicago, IL
Photography & Interview by Isaac Barnett
@iebcam