December 4, 2001
Subject: Re: AztlanNet: Re: chamacas en pelotas
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2001 14:25:23 -0800 (PST)
From: Pedro Romero <romesedeno@yahoo.com>
Reply-To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com
To: AztlanNet@yahoogroups.com
CC: Goria_Mendoza@excite.com, dadsacp@hotmail.com
Urrutia's references to the controversy in Santa
Fe over A. Lopez's "Our Lady (of What-a-Looker) overlooks that a state-funded
cultural institution was propping relevance to this image as "changes
in cultural expression". Relevant Hispano/Chicano culture? In my opinion,
the piece, along with most of the whole Cyberarte show, was more a capitulation
to consumer culture, commodifying Catholic forms to package some "new"
product. "Changes" can also include cultural decay and not necessarily
cultural progress. To me it was not a moral or gender issue, i.e. right or
wrong, but rather, was it intelligent, accurate, and significant, in particular,
to the Mejicano and Manito cultural identity? I believe there is a big difference
in intellectual responsibility in exhibiting "anywhichway" depictions
of La Virgen in a private gallery or home and in a publicly-funded cultural
institution, especially of a state that is home to many educated Raza and
cultural traditions, and not just art-neanderthals and witchhunters as characterized
by Ms. Lopez.
--- urrutia@hobbes.physics.ucla.edu wrote:
--- In AztlanNet@y..., gbejarano <aztlannet@y...wrote:
Note: forwarded message attached.
SNIP...
"Pinta Paños . . . Pinta Cueros . . ."
Incarcerated Perceptions
A Multimedia art installation by José Antonio Aguirre
O tempora, o mores...
(I have been chided for asking questions, but if I cannot ask them here, where
can I?)
The attached image, "Tatoo man and virgen," is quite interesting
to me because of two issues: one technical and the other esthetic/moral. Now
for my question: when "judging" art, does one apply the same yardstick?
I ask this because this image is an electronic collage: a painting is melded
with a photograph. I don't have any problem with that. As far as I am concerned,
art can be created anywhich way the artist can, even if s/he uses elephant
dung. Not long ago in this forum, though, the usual suspect attacked a particular
composition (and the artist' entire ouvre) as an "electronic collage."
Not many, to my recollection, defended the technique. Why isn't this work
not criticized along the same lines?
The second is the esthetic/moral connundrum: the image's title purports to
represent a "virgen." I automatically, and possibly wrong, thought
it was Do~na Lupe. Upon looking at the image, yes, I find that the halo is
there, but the image is of a long haired, good looking female who is wearing
nothing but a thong. The image is pleasing but the moral part is troublesome:
is Do~na Lupe now represented by a nice looking chamaca? What does this say
of the artist's thoughts toward the actual Do~na Lupe? Should they be discounted
as sensationalization for its own sake or, worse, some erotic longing? When
looked at it this way, why aren't the usual suspects attacking this apparent
sacrilege as they did in the recent past? Where is the condemnation? Could
it be that it is because it is not being exhibited in Santa Fe? Or could it
be that there is hardly a ruffle because the author is a man not a lesbian?
Lastly, the work is part of pinto art. Is this "folk" art or just
plain art?
Thank you for any enlightenment that you can throw my way and sorry for the
divisiveness that I am injecting into the list (but someone has to do the
dirty work).
Either way, I like the image but it would certainly raise issues if it was
to be hung at my home. My young daughters would certainly want to know why
is this woman encuerada (en pelotas! Ah, that sure takes me back! :-)
(And I am not even going to get into the "exploitation" angle :-)