The "inner" Battle

When I went to an art exhibition in the art building, I was able to choose two art pieces that spoke to me personally. One of the pieces I chose was by Hugo Bastides and the other by Angelica Castano. Hugo Bastides is an American painter that does white and black paintings that resemble black and white photographs. His paintings usually reference agriculture, water, vegetation and art history and reflect his concern on the human condition and globalization.

     

The red and black colors in this painting stand out and represent the colors on the American flag underneath a pot painted with patterns that represent culture. I feel that he is addressing America, a land full of diverse cultures but most especially the black and white community since he chose to leave them in black and white. It can be viewed as a way of activism because it addresses the issues that the black community faces due to the negative stereotypes that are formed based on the fear and prejudice of whites. This could be drawn back to the reading on patriarchy by bell hooks. The patriarchal gap that automatically puts the blacks and other minorities at the bottom while whites remain at the top since the time of slavery. The artist is addressing his self as part of the minority group trying to challenge the system that limits him to to the things he may not attain as being born of this country. His painting creates awareness and advocacy in addressing how multiple cultures have to succumb to the “American way of life” and as much as one wants to maintain their cultural values, they are challenged by the standards that the system has set for them to be lesser than the American citizen. To prove their worth they have to “Americanize and embrace the American culture and work twice as hard for the benefits that other born of this country receive.

This piece by Angelica Castano is known as, “awaiting my inner wise self.” She is a Colombian-American that specializes in fine art documentary photography. She has lived between her Colombian and American cultures that influenced her imagery. She is a recipient of several scholarships and received the 2009 Anne Giles Kimbrough Fund Award for artistes under thirty with promising futures. This piece spoke to me because I saw myself through the painting. I have been through a lot of experiences and along the road, I have been waiting for myself to reach the point where I know myself and destiny. The stretch marks on the leg resemble that of a female and the ground she’s standing on looks dry and the fact she’s looking down at her foot, it’s like she’s doing self-reflection. The character, in the painting, looks like she is facing some hard situations, based on the barefoot and dry ground, in her life and is just observing her situations with hopes that the hardships make her stronger and prepare her for a brighter future. This may be a form of activism when it comes to feminism. The patriarchal standards that have already decided the roles that women have to accept and it takes knowledge and courage to challenge that system, especially in a culture that believes and acts on that system. “Awaiting my inner wise self,” maybe a way of her waiting for the time she is strong and ready to challenge all the things that are keeping her from achieving her dreams. She addresses her identity as being an immigrant and a woman in a country that pose challenges to her and require her to rise up and challenge her own self.

Both these artists may be viewed as interventionists because they invented a different approach by which their audience may view the themes they are trying to address in their pieces. The artist, Hugo reinvented his art by choosing to implement color into his work to grab the audience to know what he is trying to address by leaving the color of the American flag but maintaining his technique when painting the pot. Re-inventing a time in America where other cultures were not accepted by whites and the suffering that the other minority groups had to face. The fight for equality and desegregation and the continuing fight against discrimination in the justice system, healthcare, housing, and education.

Angelica, on the other hand, re-invented women from a time where they did not receive the right to vote and their main role was to care for the family. In today’s society, women struggle with their inner identity and constantly have to question themselves on their actions and what they want. Most of them fight against the religious and cultural beliefs on the roles that women are supposed to play and others fight what is deemed “normal.” The fact that women who identify as being lesbians or gay had to fight the societal norms and their rights as other couples are reflected in her work. “Awaiting her inner wise self,” is basically a woman who is stuck with deciding what she should do and decided what is deemed wrong or right.

Work cited

History.com Editors. (2009, October 27). Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement.

Learning, L. (n.d.). US History II (American Yawp). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ushistory2ay/chapter/culture-and-activism-2/.