"JUST A KID WITH 30,000 DREAMS."
My name is Omar Ramirez, and I'm originally from Dallas, Texas. I'm currently going to the University of Notre Dame with a major in Visual Communication Design and a minor in Computing and Digital Technologies. I hope to learn to better use my skills in design to communicate my ideas and entertain audiences through film and other media. My interests vary from video games, anime, astronomy, writing, audio/video production, and music. If you'd like to contact me, feel free to email me directly at oramire1@nd.edu or use the form below.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have always been engrossed by the fantastical and fictional, and 2008 was the year that my life truly began to be dominated by these aspects. This is the first year I played a video game (Lego Indiana Jones), and this is the first year of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Iron Man).
As an avid video game, film, television, and comic book fan, my work as an artist focuses on realities apart from our own. Rather than dwell on events long past, I choose to explore the infinite possibilities of our own future as well as the futures of men and women who have never existed, and what could have been had circumstances been different. I’ve poured countless hours into experiencing stories and adventures that are indeed fake and purely human creations, but this does not mean that they were meaningless. They have formed me as a person in the same way a parent’s storytelling beside the bed might, presenting us with hypotheticals and previously-unimaginable situations that force the characters within to find the right way (and sometimes, intentionally, the wrong way) to navigate them.
My own way of navigating the world has become intertwined with technology. My phone, laptop, and headphones are essential items that I use to stay connected to the many different realms of fantasy, and to those who share my interests. As such, these are my preferred mediums of creation. Use of digital programs and resources is comfortable to me and allows me to express myself in the way that many creators of new worlds and stories before me have expressed themselves.
These alternate realities that I have lived in through video games and other media have heavily influenced my creations. My love of simple geometric shapes initially stemmed from my inability to draw, but eventually minimalism appealed to me in its own way. It is almost a challenge to me to communicate as much as possible with as little visual elements. It is no surprise that these simple shapes are the building blocks of digital 3D creation, as well as the method by which some choose to communicate their ideas in full force. Heavily inspired by the retro sci-fi color palette of dark blacks and bright neons, I often choose to illuminate dark scenes with bright lights. These lights serve as a symbol of hope that pierces through fear and apprehension, much like the fantasy heroes that have served as my role models for so long.
Much like these heroes, I strive to better the world by being a ray of hope and happiness in our current world of many woes and misfortunes. While I may not be able to cure illnesses or invent great technologies like my science-oriented friends, what I can do is make people smile and, if only for a moment, forget about the tedium of everyday living. They may imagine caped wonders streaking through the sky, giant monsters ravaging cities, futuristic robots with missiles and lasers, or even gods with powers beyond our comprehension; there are entire universes of possibilities to explore. Whether they choose to stay in these worlds, simply acknowledge their existence, or dismiss them as fiction is up to them, but I believe my art allows me to extend a helping hand, entertain, and stimulate the imagination so that they too can don the cape and fly off into the sunset.
Thank you!