Beginning this month and continuing into the next year, the National Hispanic Cultural Center offers the public a chance to view a variety of daring artists who have merged to celebrate New Mexico heritage and Hispanic art.
Ahora New Mexican Hispanic Art Exhibition consists of 130 local artists and art educators' works.
The Ahora exhibit includes artists from all over New Mexico who have approached art in unique ways. Some of the work on display includes photographs, paintings, furniture, sculptures, printmaking, film, video, crafts and traditional art.
Most of the art originated purely from functional design. Throughout the last centuries, Hispanic art has been influenced by the changing times and evolved to become a vehicle that expresses the diversity in their culture.
The vast collection of genres and different media are presented in the same context. From digital manipulations to 11-ton slabs of sandstone, the Ahora exhibit is dedicated to the boundless creative flow of expression in all forms.
The center created an atmosphere of mixed-media with the intent of encouraging art enthusiasts to contrast and compare valuable aspects in the art that are otherwise overlooked.
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Influenced by life, history and Hispanic culture, the Ahora exhibit offers the viewer an aesthetically gripping ride through New Mexican Hispanic culture, beliefs, icons, and both traditional and historical impressionism.
Ray Martin Abeyta's "Rosariode Besos" sets an example of the evolution of Hispanic art. He has taken traditional cultural icons and recombined them to express contemporary issues. Abeyta juxtaposes Spanish baroque imagery with the contemporary art of Chicano and Mexican iconography.
The oil on canvas painting shows the fragmentation of Latino identity through a portrait of Sister Manalagnacia de la Sangre de Cristo by 18th century painter Jose Alzibar. On either side of Sister Manalaganac's head are two aspects of Latino identity - the bouncing lowrider and two masked wrestlers. Across the top of the painting it reads "VerÅenza y Orgullo," or "shame and pride." The elaborate dress of Sister Manalaganac is a baroque lilac-hued dress that tapers off into cerulean flames, similar to custom art work on low-riders.
One of the most intriguing pieces is a carved 10-foot mixture of Ponderosa Pine and Cottonwood depicting a realistic version of the battle of the Archangel Michael fighting with the devil, who is crawling out of hell. The artist, Cruz Lopez, named this piece the "Ultimate Battle of Good and Evil."
While the smaller details are hard to detect due to the overall intensity of the sculpture, the smooth lines and the hand of Michael forcing his sword into the head of the devil instantly captures the eye. The sculpture darkens toward the bottom, with skulls, horned serpents and fallen souls carved into the bottom half. Lopez's attention to detail is incredible.
The show is a success of juxtaposition of avant-garde and traditional art.
"I felt honored to be considered among the artists in the exhibition," said Miguel Gandert, a photojournalist and instructor at UNM. "It's just a testimonial to the creativity found in Nuevo Mexicanos."
Gandert's black and white photograph is of a young Bolivian woman dressed in her finest. The photograph was taken while the woman was being primped for the celebration of SÇnor de Gran Poder. The piece is called "Danzantes Morenadas: La Paz, Bolivia."
Art workshops, demonstrations, and lectures will be held at the center and some of the artists included in the exhibition will be giving lectures and teaching classes. The artwork will remain on view through Sunday, Jan. 5, 2003.
