Rico Eastman, 1952-2012
I want to share the event of Rico's memorial service with you. It was a great day to celebrate Rico's life. Yares Art Projects in Santa Fe was his gallery. They held the service at the gallery, and it was quite well attended by Rico's friends from both coasts of the US and in the middle as well as Europe. His two brothers led the service with many funny and interesting parts of his young life. Everyone that was there was a part of his life and it was quite a day that brought us all together. I was a part of the Maine contingent. Most of the Mainers had been a part of Rico's life from when he was a freshmen at RISD to starting a foundry together in Rockland, Maine. Those were the years when he made his mark for the first time in the art world, including his abilities in music. In that period, he started working for Bill Moss when Bill founded the Tentworks. Years later, I met Rico at ASU when I was a visiting artist and he was a grad student. Our trip across the country from Maine to Tempe solidified our friendship and also introduced me to Bill Moss, who later became my friend and mentor. Over the years, Rico and I worked on several projects together, and we often talked about how important art is to a project. Art produces the innovation and another way of approaching a project. I will always miss him and his energy and the fact that he always said, "Don't tell me what to do." In my words, "let the artist be, because they are valuable." Love to Rico and his friends, from Cindy Thompson
Rico and I taught together at Haystack in 2005. Here is his interpretation of a Mexican wrestler.
Check out the slideshow that played at Rico's funeral. The soundtrack of Mustang Sally was his favorite.