Sunday, September 28, 2014

Contemporary Latino Art: El corazón de San Antonio


At the downtown Mercado there is an art museum, where the most recent exhibit celebrated Latin@ artists from San Antonio. I had been itching to go after seeing their massive poster emblazoned on the side of the museum, so on the last day the exhibit was open, there we went.



Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, "San Antonio at the turn of the century" (1998)
Ángel Rodríguez-Díaz, "Mask... Forget the Alamo.. Yellow Rose" (2004)
"Spinning San Antonio". A statue of Saint Anthony, adorned with flowers, stands atop the Alamo. The statue is set up to be spun forwards and back up, like a wheel.
A video playing nearby showed scenes from one of the festivals at which the statue was brought out and spun. I liked this piece for its message on historical representation.
They allowed photos at the exhibit, an opportunity I exploited to share with you the amazing works that caught my eye, of which there were many. To be honest I'm surprised I wasn't given the boot for stopping to snap a picture of nearly everything I saw, but perhaps the more exposure of these artists, the better. Look up anyone whose work you admire, okay?

José Esquivel, "El caballo c/s #3" (2013)
Rudy Treviño, "Lettuce field w/ target and skull" (1974)
Adán Hernández, "La migra gets zapped by illegal aliens" (2001)
"La migra gets zapped by illegal aliens", detail. I appreciate the fact that la Virgen de Guadalupe is in the UFO.
"La migra gets zapped by illegal aliens", detail.
By the way, what's with all the hearts? At the front desk they hand you a set of three stickers, to be stuck on the label card next to works that particularly touched your heart.

That's my co-worker at San Anto, Mari Hernández! She runs the El Placazo community newspaper. Her piece "Butterflies" (2013) was on display.
Joe Villarreal, "Álamo Plaza" (2003)
Detail from "Crow helps whale to the sea, or How the bear lost fire" (2013) by Ricky Armendariz
"Crow helps whale to the sea, or How the bear lost fire", detail.
"Crow helps whale to the sea, or How the bear lost fire", detail.
José Esquivel, "Dreamers in space" (2014)
"Dreamers in space", detail.
"Dreamers in space", detail.
Jorge Garza, "Eternal love" (2013)
Close-up of "Star David" (2009) by Louis Vega Treviño
Detail from "Integration" (2013) by David Anthony García
Detail from "Hypnotized" (2010) by Manuel Salazar
"Hypnotized", detail.
"Hypnotized", detail.
Avi Avalos, "The last sopa" (2011) The title plays on the words "supper" and "sopa" (soup).

Robert Ytuarte, "Alone #3" (2013)
Celina Hinojosa, "Come closer cutie" (2014)

Celina Hinojosa, "Preparation" (2012)
There was a second floor to the exhibit, but it was closed for a private event when we visited. I would have loved to see the rest of the artwork, though I'm glad I was able to see Mari's piece. Do any of these inspire you?

I've heard tell there are other art museums in San Antonio. Perhaps we'll be able to visit a few more this year.

See you next time,
Caro

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