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Benito Huerta & Roel Flores
at
Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) - Austin, Texas
March, 2008
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Art Beyond the Bubble! TM
"the act of giving your thoughts to one you love can be as important as the thought itself"
Benito Huerta & Roel Flores: Intro
Painting is such a personal thing to do.
From the flick of the painter's brush, to the depth of pigment laid, the artist's technique has always been seen as personal.
Occasionally, optimally one should say, the image portrayed should also be personal; personal beyond the fact the artist has made a flower or landscape his or her "own"; ie, the artist has stylized an otherwise obviously common image into a signature piece
On occasion, the image is intensely personal to the artist for reasons residing directly within the artist's life.
With Benito Huerta's art, the painting and the painted are clearly intimately tied.
In Roel Flores' art, the style is tied less apparently so, as compared to his connection to his subject matter, but eventually, his art meanders back to his authenticity, only in a less overt way.
Benito Huerta
March 8 - April 8, 2008
Main Gallery: Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC)
This is a man whose art on display is grounded in a blend of minimalist renditions punctuated by overlays, almost intrusions on the barren nuanced canvases, of elements I would consider the working man's concerns: Mexican and American paper currency and Mexican playing/bingo/lottery (loteria).
I guess that's an unfair statement, since I have no real experience of the lives of non-working class people on either side of the border. It's just hard for me to imagine an upper income citizen paying much mind to bingo cards or small denomination bills.
So my own background gives credence to the almost bleak landscape stretched across the canvas, long stretches of streaked paint close in hue (one color if just glanced at, but subtle if studied), with maybe a ripple of paint signifying a rumple in the desert of canavas; and then, the single paper currency, and a playing card, like a rose, sitting, in isolation, upon the viewing field.
The sense of struggle, brutalness, starkness; the language of money and chance and lone rose blooming - juxtaposed; the merging of metallic and dry earthen tones with dirty, torn, small paper currency; all reek of revolution for the asking. Of internal struggle. Of not much left to lose, and very much to gain.
The Mexican currencies placed on the canvas depict the Mexico that included Texas and California. The sometimes simultaneous inclusion of an American paper currency across the canvas of the painting, speaks of the change across the land.
One currency gave way to another.
But the brown barren land of pigment laid by hand, and the solitary bingo card with the rose in bloom, the loteria, remained the same, Intact.
I've ordered a set of these Mexican bingo cards, and once I've received them, will see if I can place an image of one on this spot.
Due to other commitments, I didn't a chance to hear Mr. Huerta speak, and was not already familiar with his work, nor have yet gone online to read reviews of his work or life (as is my pattern not to, so's to give my impression from where I "sat" to begin with), but feel it'll be interesting to see how my own naive impressions mesh with those before me more aware of his intent.
It is one of painting's strengths, and an artist's sometimes frustration, that the viewer of one's art, may or may not get what was intended. Or will experience a feeling and resolution of meaning, not only different from what the artist felt or wanted to convey, but that the viewer experienced thematically apart from the artist.
In other words, the artist might not like what the viewer sees. :-)
I'll go a little more into this viewer/artist, experience/intent gap, in Roel Flores' review below. At the end, I'll also review this wonderful building both artists are showcasing in, as an art to itself, and it's potential meaning to the beyond-the-chicano community. As a tease, I've included a photo of part of the ceiling in the Main (upper) Gallery. Stunning. Part of why, for me, with photography, the main challenge is simply seeing the art cropped within the gestalt of all we see.
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| MACC Upper Gallery Ceiling (portion of) |
Roel Flores
March 8 - March 31, 2008
Main Gallery: Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC)
Community Hall, First Level
April 8 - June 8, 2008
Talento Bilingue de Houston
June 15 - August 1, 2008
Brownsville Heritage Museum
First off, to carry right away into the viewer/artist gap I mentioned above, my wife Sheila, our granddaughter Scout, and a co-worker friend of ours, and myself, had all immediately related to the musical instrument imagery laid onto and into the land depicted on the canvas, as "really neat!"
Fun, imaginative.
At times, for example, the accordions and guitars of varying sizes and folk-art like shapes, growing from carefully cultivated rows of the brown earth, seem fertile with the celebration of life. Other times, a guitar or two is hung from a wintry shaped tree. Or a variety of instruments are laid casually upon the ground and against a wood corral: a party stopped, but positioned to resume.
Like our own jaunt to see the art exhibit at the MACC, we felt these were images of well deserved "breaks" - to enjoy the arts, live life a little fuller. Do something different.
Then we had the good fortune to meet and speak to Mr. Flores. Tall, with good straight bearing, and silver hair. Poised when standing alone, gently smiling when hoisting his grandson to our eye level. The artist softly explained how these were images of the times they, the migrant workers, literally lived for.
These were not breaks, or respites. These were the instruments that gave voice to a denial of their brutal day-rise to day-end existence. These were the contrary voices to despair, to hopelessness, to no purpose to living.
The image of the huge heavy sack of pickings, cotton cradled by hand, hanging at the scale at the end of the day, Roel says, was the image of the last sack he filled.
My own offered memory to our conversation, of spending a summer portion with my maternal grandparents in Brownsville, teasing for a long bag, and finally being given a small 5 lb bag to play with, to "pick cotton", brought the same kindness to his eye, my own grandfather had given me when, at noon that day so long ago, I dragged my bag under the cotton wagon, to the shade, and went to sleep.
The sunset in the painting of the hanging bag of cotton, was the sunset of that life for him, and the beginning, only about a dozen years ago, of creating images on canvas: this is what I alluded to earlier, that Roel's art, his style, meanders back to his own authenticity, only in a less overt way than Benito's.
The flatness of the paint style is decorative, folk like, as is the imagery itself; begun in a lateness of life, with the fullness of his life.
A few pieces also hinted at richer colors, deeper textures, more fluid strokes. All beginning to bloom into a new season.
As with Mr. Huerta's art work, I was unfamiliar with Mr. Flores' work or reviews, and was equally a pleasure to experience.
Art is definitely such a personal thing to discover.
MACC - the Mexican American Cultural Center
Beautiful building, set along the river, by the freeway, in the midst of one of Austin's most in-transition neighborhoods. All around, huge new, still partially vacant and partially built condo towers, tower over a smattering of single level family housing.
Regarding the Location of:
I'm glad the center was placed on the west side of I-35, even if just so.
600 River Street
Austin, Tx 78701
512-478-6222
www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/macc_index.htm
Though the predominance of predominately minority peoples live east of the freeway divide, many lived on the west side in the early days of Austin, before there was a modern highway. Versions of the history vary, but the early blacks and hispanics of Austin found themselves grouped mostly where they are now.
Much has been made, recently, during the housing boom (or bubble :-) , of the new housing and development on the east side bringing more affluent residents and diversification. That's a good thing from my view, though there's always a few that'd prefer things stay as they are, as long as it's where they themselves are and not where it was when the group they belong to came into that area :-)
Basically, I think it's good that MACC's on the west side, even, as I mentioned earlier, only barely so, to draw the east side community back over to the west side some. I can't but feel a cross flow would be better than a one way stream in either one direction. Only time'll give the answer to how any of that will work out.
Design of:
My first impulse on arriving at MACC and seeing the large white structure was, it's too modern and abstract looking. But, again cropping my vision as I usually do, I found elements that reminded me of hispanic motifs. One, with memories of Georgia O'Keeffe's church images in mind, reminded me of the cut in adobe houses.
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MACC Exterior Front - Adobe-like Detail
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Situated on a nice expanse of land, the upper terrace faces south, toward Lady Bird Lake (the Colorado River) and the heritages the center celebrates. Ample parking is marked out on the east and north sides, leaving the grounds from the river to the center clear for gatherings, festivals, and celebrations.
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MACC Courtyard, Lady Bird Lake in Background
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The center-placed stairs and walk ways on both of the two levels have an easy friendly flow that encourages meandering.
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MACC Walkway - First Level
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But it's the interior design, particularly of the cuts in the walls to let in light and views of the outside, that I liked best. An example of the upper gallery light is above. I don't have an image from the Community Hall Gallery, where Mr. Flores' work showed, but it also had pleasing enticing wall cuts, with one at the northeast side of the gallery, presenting a stone garden with water.
When I walked the upper gallery, where we went first, I quickly came to think maybe this juxtaposition of an ultra modern building and traditional and folk art being displayed, actually helped say that a wide range of art styles were both welcome and recognized by the center.
Re-enforcing that notion in my mind, was the music and food outside the main gallery in the terrace facing the river.
I'd fully expected, and looked forward to, traditional Mexican fare and sounds, maybe even fajitas and mariachi. The music, supplied by DJ Trey Lopez though, was pleasantly eclectic, with smooth techno sounds trailing contemporary ballads blending into even more styles of song. Johnny Romo in turn gave us non-spicey yet tastey samples of cheeses, tomatoes, and corn.
All in all, the food and music, art and architecture, and great river location, all promised more than the usual for the future at MACC, and Austin.
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MACC - East Facing Exterior
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Yes, the arts, including the art of enjoying art, is such a personal thing to want to do.
Word of Mouth
It should be said, without a fellow Dillo (Austin's free streetcar-like bus) rider-to-work having mentioned the show to me on the Friday before, I'd never have known of the event. Since the center is city owned and operated, traditional advertising is probably inappropriate, but certainly more community coverage and announcements by the local media would be welcome.
Maybe the city of Austin could code some rss feeds into their various event pages too :-)
thanks ya'll,
adan
www.adanlerma.com
related poem: "Austin"
related painting: "Winter Sunrise Rail Bridge from Pfluger Bridge" - upstream on Lady Bird Lake from MACC
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