Voelz Chandler: 'Never Leaving' like two shows

Friday, February 17, 2006

One of the last shows at the old incarnation of the Center for Visual Art addressed the impact of Aztlan, the mythical land - or is it real? - where the Aztecs settled after emerging from a "world" below.

"Leaving Aztlan: Rethinking Contemporary Latino and Chicano Art," just about a year ago, stood on the premise of Latino and Chicano artists moving forward onto the stage of contemporary art as a way to address multiple cultural influences and the legacy of heritage. And moving beyond.

Now comes a show - "Never Leaving Aztlan," at the Museo de las Americas - that is not really an answer to "Leaving," but that certainly is rich enough to prompt the kind of discussion that could devolve into a game of compare and contrast. Such as: the percentage of Colorado artists to those in other parts of the region being higher in "Never" than "Leaving"; curatorial direction based in Colorado for "Never," in Indiana (and Denver) for "Leaving." And, can an artist who is Latino or Chicano (really, any artist) really leave his or her cultural heritage behind? It is legacy, or albatross?

Both were/are serious opportunities to look at the directions in which artists who are Latino or Chicano - in "Leaving," the accent is on Chicano - are moving as they explore self-expression, cultural conflict, political issues and technology.

"Never Leaving Aztlan," curated by University of Colorado professor George Rivera with Museo director Patty Ortiz, in itself has the effect of two shows.

In one, works are hung in traditional museum style with room to breathe. Jerry de la Cruz is represented by two large diptych images, one side realistic (though The First Noel is certainly idealistic), the other a manipulated image that offers a contrast in style.

Lewis deSoto's Traveler is an installation in which a truck placed in a crib begins to move around when a viewer is nearby, crashing into the barriers around it. Quintin Gonzalez shows a quartet of his new drip paintings, where swirls of pigment put the emphasis on color and material, not composition. Alfredo Queroz's How Brown Am I? offers a trio of silkscreen monoprints that dig into the political ramifications of ethnicity.

And Jaclyn Lopez Garcia dips into the romance of the dream of home for the video Living Large.

On the other side of the Museo, the installation is salon style, more than a dozen paintings, photographs and digital works that recall a family picture wall - a very bright, large family picture wall that is absolutely alive and all-encompassing. Works range from Beto Gonzales' Pop-tinged Aztec Pin-Up Girl and dramatic, personal works by Ismael (Izzy) Lozano to Tony Ortega's instantly recognizeable painting and collage on panel, Dos Beans; and from Daniel Salazar's slightly subversive Homies' Nativity to David Guerrero's provocative take on the Virgen de Guadelupe.

Linking the two sides is a carpa stage by Carlos Fresquez.

It offers a welcoming sensibility, turning the Museo's front gallery into a sort of plaza while providing space for programming.

Which worked well on the show's opening night, one of the most unusual, downright vivid art events here in recent memory. That's because the Museo retained San Francisco-based performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña for two performances.

The second was a fundraising event at the Buntport Theatre, a mix of the cultural and the political and totally engaging.

But the first was what was billed as Performance Karaoke. First Violeta Luna, a member of Gómez- Peña's troupe La Poche Nostra, became Frida Kahlo, while acting out a series of her paintings, donning a brace, gnawing on a cow's heart, and taking on the issue of the artist's painful physical condition via syringes and nails.

But the karaoke part had nothing to do with music. Instead, Gómez-Peña enlisted those attending to take the stage and form various tableaux, acting as director while others photographed what ranged from spectacle to spot-on political comment. And to the shedding of some clothing, as people got into the spirit of the moment.

Performance art can dip into the deepest waters of self-indulgence, but that was not the case here. Instead, the power of live theater, mixed with the freeing power of art, turned an opening into a test of personality and will.

I don't think it is an overstatement to say that the Museo has taken a step here, and not just by offering a site for self-expression that has become repressed by the current climate of malaise (or is that fear?). By bringing together works that offer so many options to launch into a dissection of art and culture, the Museo deserves our thanks.

IN THE NEWS: Creek-bound in 2006: More than 20 artists from Colorado have been selected to exhibit among the 225 finalists at the 2006 Cherry Creek Arts Festival July 1 through 3. The festival received more than 2,300 applications, 325 from Colorado.

Confirmed are: Jimmy Sellars and Elayne Moseley, Aurora; Cindy Drozda, Boulder; Joe Kuter, Brighton; Bill Amundson, Paul Opsahl, Brian Keller, and Kimberly Erickson and Cliff Erickson, Denver; Linda C. Everson, Englewood; Karl Yost and Nanci Erskine, Fort Collins; Ron Christie, Englewood; Cappy White, Pagosa Springs, and Alexandra Forsythe, Salida. Seven of the eight juried into the emerging artists category also are from Colorado: Scot Boyd, Charles Chamberlin, Ethan Jantzer, Lela Kay, CT Nelson, Conor O'Donnell and Patrick van den Broek.

Jurors were Sandra Blain, professor emeritus of ceramics at the University of Tennessee; Blake Milteer, curatorial assistant at the Denver Art Museum and an instructor at the University of Colorado at Denver, and + Gallery owner Ivar Zeile. Two artists invited to return to the show - Chia Haruta of Hanover, Mich., and Deanna Henion of Reeds Springs, Mo. - served on the jury, but will not judge exhibitors at the show proper.

Never Leaving Atzlan

• What: Work by more than 30 artists exploring the Chicano state of mind

• Where and when: Museo de las Americas, 861 Santa Fe Drive; through May 21

• Of note: Related programming includes the first in a series of four "Lucha Libre" events, at 7 p.m. today, with artists Beto Gonzales and Bob Luna; monthly "Spanish Happy Hour" programs and family free days; an April 27 film night, and a May 20 seminar on curanderas. Fees apply to all but the family free days

• Information: 303-571-4401; www.museo.org

Mary Voelz Chandler is the art and architecture critic. Chandlem@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2677.