Meet Pablo Íñigo Argüelles | Writer & Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Pablo Íñigo Argüelles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Pablo Íñigo, what principle do you value most?
I believe that being just a good person in the art world, is totally undervalued. No creative process should be above a friendship or any personal relationship. No photograph, no painting, no script is worth more than human relationships. I think our immediate response to the fugacity with which these times are lived and how processes in art are constantly changing (even with the passing of hours) should be to strengthen our human relationships within our practice, to support each other, to discuss our work, but above all, to share what we know at the point where we are. We can no longer believe that if we share what we know, we are out of the competition, and I am talking about all disciplines.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Two of my favorite things in life are telling stories and observing light. Those two things generally shape what I want to say, and somehow there is a lot of the photographic process in my writing and visceversa. I don’t necessarily combine photos with literature, actually, I barely do it, and that’s because I think my brain has two configurations: the photographer is not the one who writes and the one who writes is not the photographer. It’s strange. And for me it’s been complicated at times to find my place among my peers, sometimes I don’t feel I’m enough of a photographer or writer, depending on where I am, but I think that’s where my strength lies, in that diagonal that separates my two worlds: writer/photographer. If people want to understand what I do and how I see the world, they should take a look at Proyecto Análogo, the photo project I’ve been doing with photographer and artist María Prieto since 2017. We take a look at the romantic side of analog photography, analog cameras, and give it our individual touch: we doo books, we create events, gatherings, we do photoshoots, we photograph places, cities and people: Proyecto Análogo is a look through our own soul.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
There’s a spot by the East River, under the Manhattan Bridge with some chairs where I always go to read. But no matter what, I always take my friends to Zaragoza Mexican Deli, in the East Village. It’s a Mexican restaurant that feels like home. home.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I always dedicate any success and failure to my parents, I think I’ts just a way of saying thank you for encouraging me to always do what I love and love what I do. Then I would thank my sister MJ and my older brother, Pepin, because they always took care of me (I’m the little brother) and they keep supporting y writing career and photograhy career. Also, I would not be where I am without my teachers, from the ones whom I shared briefly to the ones that have stayed to this day, especially Gabriela Pinto who helped me shape my projects and took care of me even when I was a terrible student; Gunther Petrak, my writing teacher, who gave me the book that made me pursue writing, Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino; more recently Allen Frame and Frank Franca, they both made me love New York City and photography even more; Darin Mickey, with whom I that photography can transcend its form and become music, literature and walking; finally Brian Finke, with whom I traveled and learn about photography, life and food probably more than I did in all the schools I’ve attended. Throughout my life, I have been lucky to find incredible teachers who know that there are more important things than following processes from A to Z and that human relationships come first. I would love to thank also my friends in Mexico and New York, who were always by my side, sharing failures and successes. María Prieto, my partner, with whom I founded Proyecto Análogo, our photographic life project, and who always inspires me with her beauty, art and photography: without her I would not be where I am now. I would like to thank all the people who supported us when we moved to New York two years ago to pursue our photographic career: director of photography Gonzalo Amat, photographer Yvonne Venegas, mexican journalist Carlos Galeana and my good friend Fernanda Escalera.

Website: https://www.pabloarguelles.com

Instagram: @piaa11

Other: Instagram: @proyectoanalaogo
Substack: https://pabloinigoarguelles.substack.com/

Image Credits
Pablo Íñigo Argüelles (Proyecto Análogo)