Exploring My Cultural Roots Through My Passion for Sculpture 

By: Ethan Vasquez

Project Statement:

Growing up I have always been curious about my cultural roots, however having grown up in an American household I haven’t been able to connect with the cultural traditions and customs that my parents and family grew up with.   I grew up in a very unique home with both my parents coming from very different backgrounds.  My father is 100% Mexican and grew up in Peru while my mother is 100% Chinese and grew up in San Francisco.  However, despite their very different and culturally rich backgrounds my parents tired to create their own traditions and my childhood was very traditional and American. 

I loved my childhood and love the upbringing that I had, but as Hispanic and Chinese culture are big parts of who my parents are and who I am, I would love the chance to explore my cultural background.  I believe that my passion for sculpture would allow me to connect with my cultural history.  Both Peru and China have rich traditions of sculpture and ceramics and have unique artistic styles with rich cultures.

I would love the chance to travel throughout both Peru and China, visiting historical and cultural landmarks, to learn about each country’s unique culture.  At each of these landmarks I would create a hand built sculpture.  I would use my surroundings as inspiration for each piece, either making replicas of the sites that I see or ceramic pieces that capture the atmosphere, culture, and style of the places that I visit. 

In addition to my interest in learning about my family’s culture I also believe that traveling abroad is a unique and valuable experience that is essential for gaining greater perspectives on life and for personal growth.  Thus far, the most influential experience that I have had at Princeton was the trip I took to Morocco over my Fall Break sophomore year.  As I hadn’t traveled that much outside the US and have never traveled outside of North America, the experience I had in Morocco was eye opening.  Seeing how drastically different people’s lives are in different parts of the world, it made me stop, think, and changed the way I view the world and greatly influenced my attitude and direction in life.  It made me appreciate everything I have and gave me purpose and motivation for the work I am doing here at school.  I believe that an opportunity to travel to Peru and China, experiencing these different parts of the world, would be an invaluable experience and give me insights into the world and in myself that I wouldn’t be able to gain through any classes or travels here in the US. 

In terms of the project I plan on spending four weeks in Peru, from July 1 to July 28, and 4 weeks in China, from July 28 to August 26.  I plan on keeping a blog with entries about my experiences and posts about the places I’ve visited and the sculptures I have made.  In terms of my experience I have experience traveling abroad, I am comfortable traveling alone, I speak Spanish, and I have been sculpting since my Junior year of high school.  Here are some examples of my work: