A Breakthrough Exhibit at Museo
©2006 Renee Fajardo
reneefaja@hotmail.com

 

The Museo de las Américas has gone beyond the cutting edge to break new ground with their latest exhibit Never Leaving Aztlan, running until May 21. This thought-provoking exhibit is a mythical and factual journey into the heart and soul of Aztlan, the legendary Chicano homeland.

The exhibit showcases over 30 Chicano artists, both locally and nationally renowned. At first glance, the show is a delightful look at the evolution of Chicano art over the past four decades. It is a true representation of what Chicano artists now have to offer in multiple disciplines – abstract, surreal, representational and very traditional pieces – demonstrating Chicano art encompassing many different genres.

The show could have easily been called Contemporary Chicano Art in 21st century Colorado, but it was not and the allusion to the concept of Aztlan permeating all Chicano art cannot be ignored.

The show intends to, through the use of conceptual images and performance art, bind together an intimate relationship between cultural heritage and contemporary vision – giving the viewer a seldom seen and unique perspective into the world of Chicano art.

Aztlan is an Aztec concept referring to the homeland of the indigenous people of the southwestern United States, from whence the Aztecs migrated into central Mexico. In modern terms, Aztlan refers to a spiritual concept transcending any physical space. Chicano artists are rooted in Aztlan. They continually juggle a new visual language with their concept of what is traditional.

This is a wonderful opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of the complexities and cultural stigma of being Mexican-American. A nationally acclaimed and inspiring roster of artists, including Lewis deSoto, Carmen Lomas Garza, Guillermo Gomez-Peña and Beto Gonzales, are joined by local favorites such as Emanuel Martinez, Quintín Gonzalez, Stevon Lucero, Tony Ortega, Bob Luna, Maruca Salazar, Judy Miranda and others.

The art in the show is supposed to convey to the viewer who and what Chicano art embodies. However, it was Guerillmo Gomez-Pena's performance, at the opening reception, which really redefined the ordinary as extraordinary.

Gomez, a San Francisco based author, MacArthur Fellowship scholar, PBS commentator and performance artist is world famous for his outlandish, bizarre and politically-charged creations. His performance at the Museo last Thursday was probably mild compared to the full force of his troupe La Pocha Nostra, but it was a first and in essence illuminated the deepest meaning of what Never Leaving Aztlan is about.

Violeta Luna, one of Pocha Nostra's performers, opened the piece dressed in a techno-punk version of Frida Kahlo. Her 15-minute solo performance included face contorting, hemostat body pinching, needle piercing, bare breast flashing and pulling a calf's heart from her undergarments. When Gomez came out, the audience – looking on in amused, shocked silence – was enticed into becoming willing participants in a series of vignettes. The community members were transformed with costumes, wigs and props as they were posed into, and became part of, an ethereal still life.

What was the point? Remember when you were young, before you knew Anglo, Chicano, Asian, Indio or Africano? Life was about the visceral side of nature. Eating mud pies, pulling your dress over your head, belching and undressing in public were not considered mortal sins. No matter where you grew up the rules of how to act, how to react, how to present your persona did not mean anything until someone told you what you were not supposed to do. Up until then it was a free-for-all where you based your perceptions on your environs but were not yet limited by it.

Gomez' show did two things. First it created an internal dialogue about Chicano stigmas and symbols. Every culture is steeped in cultural icons. For Chicanos it is the concept of Aztlan, la virgen, el movimiento, La Raza y el corazon and Gomez' performance posed some difficult questions. Who are our heroes? Are all Zapatistas (and/or freedom fighters) noble? Was some of Frida's pain self-inflicted? Do real Mexicans always wear serapes? And finally, are we willing participants in propagating the stereotypes we hate, yet love?

These are hard questions, but Gomez' performance also drove home the point that we are not only Chicanos – we are part of a bigger community. One where the crossroads of culture merged, creating something that had never been before. Our symbology has crossed over and yet it always has the mark of Aztlan, just because of our very nature.

If Chicanos have never left Aztlan, then it is because Atzlan evolved and progressed. In this context, the art in the show begins to take on a new meaning. Lucero's stunning and never before seen modern Aztec codice, Xocotl, perhaps embodies the spirit of the show most perfectly. The piece is about sacrifice and giving of one's self without fear. If we have not left Aztlan it is because we have made certain sacrifices and done so willingly.

Bob Luna's, Voladores de Dualidad, clearly embodies the Aztlan experience today. This impressionistic oil depicts the sacred rite of the Totonac Indians of Mexico, who still fly and spin off poles in a ritual 15,000 years old. Dan Salazar's piece, Los Tres Magis Hommies, a digital mixed media piece, is an amusing and poignant image depicting the Three Wise Men as homeboys we can all identify with.

While many of the pieces in the show identify and make reference to icons, there are other pieces in the show we must ponder in order to see the connection.

Examples include, Lewis deSoto's kinetic piece titled Traveller, consisting of a baby a crib set up with a remote control monster truck. The three dimensional display moves and shakes when it is approached then goes back to sleep. Ron Trujillo's Copper with White Flowers is an interesting three-panel abstract of color and texture while Elsa Flores' La Angel depicts an image of a young woman floating through time and space. Neither, at first glance, has any relation to Aztlan.

But referencing back to Gomez' opening ceremony for the show we realized something profound. No matter where we come from, no matter where we are going, there is always the absurd, the obscene and the profane. At the same time, there is always redemption, hope and the sacred light of being.

Life is about becoming a humane community. It is about making connections, comparisons, contrast and evolving into our own. The images that appeal to us as a Chicano community may differ from the images that appeal to members of another community.

Each community has its own icons speaking directly to their heart and soul. There are deep-rooted ethnic symbols that whisper to us on a deep inner level. Even when we do not clearly see those images, we are still tied to our history.
Like an invisible lifeline, Chicanos are always part and parcel of the past. They are not tied to one image though. What could otherwise be seen as a show of powerful contemporary Chicano art becomes a message about the struggle of all human beings to evolve and achieve true consciousness. We live in duality – noble and foolish, caring and careless, teacher and student, master and slave, profane and sacred – but our foundation is always built on our past. We move from there to define our future. And the future looks very much the way we envision it, in whatever style, form or color that may be.