Laura Alvarez

Laura Alvarez is one of the most unique and creative artists I have come across. Prior to her visit, I was not familiar with her or her work, and I am glad that I had a chance to meet her and familiarize myself with her work. She is one of the first artists I have seen who combined artwork with music. I found it very interesting to see how she did that and I noticed that her works of art have a lot of meaning behind them. When she played us one of her music pieces, it felt like I was “listening” to art rather than looking at it, which was something very different and new to me. Additionally, I like how she uses her own children in some of her pieces because it makes her work more personalized, which is something you don’t see every day.

One of Laura’s paintings that stood out to me the most is “I’m With My Nanny.” The painting shows a nanny holding a little boy and running away, while the little boy throws a bomb out of his hand. Laura spoke about this painting and mentioned that the little boy in this painting is acting as the nanny’s helper. Although I believe that many of Laura’s pieces are influenced by experiences she has witnessed throughout her life, I believe that this painting in particular is based on her mother, who was a nanny herself. The reason why this image is interesting to me is because I feel that it greatly expresses the idea that children who are raised by nannies are typically the ones who become secluded from their own parents. This image also portrays the idea that children who are raised by nannies create a type of bond with their nannies and almost become their little helpers. It is interesting to see how Laura incorporated her mother’s experiences into her painting.