assignment 5 c.

Johnny Palacios Hidalgo’s centauro citadino

To take a look at more of his work go to: http://www.johnnypalacios.com/

The Museum of Latin American Art is the only modern art museum dedicated to the focus of Latin American art. When I first tackled this assignment I was not aware of the relevance of its claim. I thought, “oh, neat.” I will happily remind you that I didn’t care for the director, but the slides that one man that had visited put to music were great (he could have pause a bit more for each viewing but it is hard to time a slide show of that size.) I remember really liking Johnny Palacios Hidalgo’s untitled painting. When I went back to view the slide show again, I was unlucky, and unable to find what I was looking for. So I set off to find his website…I have included a link and, if you have time please look at his work. It’s really cool; it reminds me of Tim Biskup a bit. This piece completely relates to the topics that we have studied over this semester.

Pre-Columbian: The aloe plants that are up side down, the pottery, the flute all representing the innocents, beauty and culture of the Pre-Columbian era.

Columbus/Conquest: the lamplight strapped to his back, the bird house and tray that he carries are representative of the colonial conquest.

Independence Era: The faded images of the young people may be a reflection of the man when he was young. The pinwheel needs wind to move and change. The toys are a symbol for youth and freedom, the blanket- comfort and warmth.

And in each era there was always wisdom, strength and beauty.

OBSERVATION: There is a lot to see in this work, as I have described above. I like the way he faded the background characters as to possibly reference time. Every area is visually interesting, the detail is amazing.

INTERPRETATION: This is about the past, present and future. I now realize that it nearly impossible to separate the three. I wonder if it is like that for everyone/place or just this region and its people.

JUDGMENT: I chose this work because there was something that felt familiar to me about it. I think that the style as I said before reminds me of an artist that I like, but beyond that it tells a story, and everyone likes a story. Right?

QUESTIONING: I know that the artist has some affinity for these plants; he references them throughout his work. If those are really aloe plants or some other more important native Peruvian plant.

I would love to know if my interpretation was anywhere near what Johnny Hidalgo was thinking about when he created it.