Sunday, August 24, 2008

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!