Bay Area and Mali Projects

Welcome back to Storytelling Walls! In September, I co-curated the online exhibition “Centripetal Heart” at the ODCAP Gallery. My original photographs (including “Passengers 2”) compose the show. In October, the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco commissioned me to paint a mural for the education area on the second floor of the museum. What a pleasure to return to MoAD, a year later, and contribute my artistry! The mural is painted in conjunction with the Hewitt Collection of African American Art exhibition. I encourage all to see this important exhibition. The mural is an enlargement of "The Street (Composition for Richard Wright),” c. 1977, by famed artist Romare Bearden. The original ink drawing is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. This January 2009, through the invitation of the Global Alliance to Immunize Against AIDS Vaccine Foundation (GAIA VF), I will paint a permanent mural on the grounds of the Centre D’Espoir/Hope Center Clinic in the Sikoro village of greater Bamako, Mali. The mural will reflect the hope and aspirations of the Malian and international health experts as they share life-saving knowledge with the Bamako community. The clinic serves a community affected by AIDS and other serve illnesses. The practice of health professionals is an inspiration to me. I want to express their vital outlook and honor the work at the clinic. My daughter Teresa Pineda will assist in the creation of the mural! If possible we will post our progress during the month, and report on the project when we return. Until my next addition – stay creative, stay engaged!

Obama/Exhibitions

Welcome back to Storytelling Walls! The historic United States presidential election inspired “El Presidente,” the drawing mentioned in my first post. This drawing uses the Mexican game Loteria to comment on the 2008 election. The popular game is similar to the game Bingo. Players compete to fill placemats with tokens. Drawing from a deck of cards, players match figures from each card to the figures on their placemats. The first player to fill their placemat wins! The 54 cards that compose the deck have images of people, things, animals, plants, etc. “El Presidente” re-interprets the card called "El Negrito." The Afro-Mexican figure on the original card is replaced with a portrait of Illinois Senator Barrack Obama. The original title along with a second title "El Güerito," are scratched out and replaced with “El Presidente.” “El Güerito” is a Spanish term for fair skinned person. This is a hopeful portrait of the first African American person to become the presumptive nominee of a major political party. Shedding the references to skin color and changing the title to “President,” shifts the emphasis to that of the “role” rather then a physical attribute of the figure on the card. Loteria cards are great for making social statements as the game has a tradition of social commentary. The original drawing is on display in “Experimental Cartoon Drawing & Experimental Photography” exhibition at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts in San Francisco.

My photograph, “Passengers-2” is on view in “New Visions: Introductions 2008” exhibition, August 28-October 24, 2008, at Pro Arts in Oakland. Come to the reception on September 11, 2008! In addition, I created an original watercolor drawing of my mural “Hoy (vey) como siempre” for purchase in an auction to benefit Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitor Center. A photo of the completed mural is under “Whose Stories?” in the “Storytelling Walls” website. The auction is part of the “Precita Eyes Muralist Gala for the Future,” September 13, 2008 at Martin Lawrence Gallery, 366 Gear Street, San Francisco. Come buy some original mural art!
Finally, I’d like to share “Tic & Tac,” a video about a hummingbird nest I followed last spring. Inspired by this natural life cycle and my concern with human/other species interaction, I was captivated by what unfolded and compelled to share this extraordinary passage. The nest appeared in the yard of friends in Oakland, California. It was presented conveniently outside their breakfast nook window at arm’s length from this “homebody.” Cinema and mural painting share significant qualities of historical documentation, cultural narratives and a popular tradition of expression fueled by improving consumer grade recording devises. With the help of friends (who allowed me regular access to their home and yard) and technical expertise from artist Joaquin Alejandro Newman (he did post production and contributed an original sound loop), this home-production view into backyard nature is made possible! Until my next addition – stay creative, stay engaged!

Welcome

Thanks to California College of Art student Manon Bogerd-Wada who designed this website with project management by LaserCom Design, I am able to share information about community murals and creativity! The contemporary murals on this website are from the San Francisco Bay Area. The projects reflect my grounding in community art. Please use the downloadable descriptions when visiting the murals. I am a Bay Area based artist who is returning to more focused visual art practice, after more than a decade of focus on art education and museum administration. I want to provide creative and educational services to local businesses, community organizations, museums, and schools. In my return to public art, I am collaborating with the accomplished artist Joaquin Alejandro Newman. We recently completed a 120 x 20’ mural for Straus Carpet Company in Oakland. We branded the new Straus Carpets warehouse with their signature female figure, painted on the original building next door, by Oakland muralists Dan Fontes and Ingrid Good, c. 2002-03. Both murals are hand-painted with acrylics, a refreshing possibility in a time when digital technology and industrial processes are producing large scale printed surfaces. If you want to appreciate the power of the hand, check out these murals at 2828 Ford Street, at the Park Street bridge to Alameda Island. I continue to draw. Check out my portrait of Barack Obama in a refashioned Loteria card at OD-CAP an important website on art and culture initiated by curator and cultural animateur Lizzetta LeFalle-Collins. Bookmark it and look in "Voices" for the Obama drawing. You can also see the original at The Greenlining Institute in Berkeley until Labor Day 2008. I will add regularly to this site. Until my next entry – stay creative, stay engaged! Eduardo