Written by Alexis Schramel

Please join us in learning more about Santiago Cucullu ’99 and his creative practice.

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Which year did you graduate and what brought you to MCAD for your MFA? Could you speak a little about your background?

I graduated in the winter of 1999. I was born in Buenos Aires and grew up in the DC area. I was never sure I wanted to pursue a graduate degree in art and had applied to MCAD, in 1995 because it was in Minneapolis. The label Amphetamine Reptile Records was based in Minneapolis and I think a band that I was into, The Cows were from the twin cities. Until I moved there for graduate school, I had only been on the East Coast. I figured the mid-west was a good a place as any for me. I deferred my entrance for a year because I went back to Argentina in 1996 or so. When I came back to the US I decided I’d try grad school one semester at a time and re-access every term.

How did your art change while you were at MCAD?

It’s hard to gauge how my practice changed. I will say that the opportunity to make temporary 1-2 week-long murals was incredibly beneficial. I also started taking a digital photography class with David Goldes that had touch points that I still use. I think for myself the most important element where the people I met during my time at MCAD: Kenji Akagaway, Rik Sferra, Vince Leo, Frenchy Lunning, Diane Mullins, and the inimitable Cole Rogers.

I’m currently working on a book with the poet Martín Ayos about a bird called Uirapuru, and a commission for the Kansas City Airport. I’ve also a one-person show that just opened at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. I’m still working with collaborators, Chuck Quarino and Marc Ferch on an ongoing radio program called Ching Suru. This is an improvised radio show that we’ve done since 2016 and we put out an album in 2015.

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Check out Santiago Cucullu’s current exhibition You Still Make Me Tremble at MMoCA

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