Editor:"What is Chicano Art?" A question akin to answering, "What is Chicano Literature?" Clear your throat, rare back, and don't say anything. Let the art do the talking.
Arte becomes in the eye of the Collector. Definition by acquisition. Not because the Collector says so, but because the Arte says so. A work calls out "here I am, Chicano Art!" and the Collector buys it. Sometimes, they don't see it first. No ratiocination other than checkbook logic.
What is Chicana Chicano Art? The stuff on the walls of this particular collection is some of it. In upcoming columns, La Bloga explores the genre of arte and collecting. We welcome Guests with their own collections and views of what they're doing.
La Bloga-Tuesday's Guest Columnist, Ricardo Muñoz, stands out, among the small population of raza Fine Art collectors specializing in Chicanarte, for his support of Los Angeles artists and venerable Avenue 50 Studio.
La Bloga welcomes Ricardo with appreciation for his collection, and this reflection on art, taste, cultura, aesthetic motivation. Unspoken in the essay, gente: Galleries are opening and soon you will be standing in front of a compelling work of arte. Buy it.
michael sedano
Essay On My Attraction To Art Collecting
Ricardo MuñozI can't specifically recall when I first purchased a work of fine art.
I do recall obtaining one or two art works in exchange for duplicate wedding gifts made at a wedding gift exchange store. One was a seascape and we may still have it somewhere in our storeroom.
Having taken courses in Art History and Art Appreciation at UCLA, I acquired a bit of academic knowledge about European art. My parents had art books purchased to expose us at home to great works of art. I was drawn to many of the images and they left a lasting impression. In my youth, I regularly visited the Los Angeles County Art Museum, then at Exposition Park.
On trips to Mexico, during my late teens and early twenties, I got a good exposure to modern Mexican Art by visiting museums and observing a large number of public art works.
Thinking about what has motivated me to become a fine art collector has led me to think about my self-identity and personal philosophy.
I believe my personal philosophy of existentialism has been the principal motivating force that has led me to collect fine art works.
One concept of existentialist philosophy that drives my motivation is the sense of profound loneliness that is held by each individual (Siamese twins may be an exception). This loneliness exists because each person has an individual consciousness. Each person has their own individual existence. We can't totally know all about another being's life.
This means no one can fully comprehend you, nor me. Most of us beings, including myself, try to know, comprehend and understand others, especially those closest to us.
My wife,Terry (Maria Teresa), has shared in the decision making on many of the works we purchased for our collection. We have hosted a number of silent art auction fundraisers and Terry so much liked many of the works that were hung on our walls for these events. These events have significantly increased her interest in collecting fine art.
Having this existentialist outlook drives my interest in fine art, for in it I find a form of communication of existential messages that the artist has created to relate something about the artist's own sense of their being.
Expressionism is the style of art that attracts me most, for in it dramatic feelings and emotions are what the artist seeks to communicate.
When the artist is successful, the observer of the work will be drawn deeply into the theme. The artist will impart through the image a message that transcends the artist's separateness from observers. Of course individual observers may find messages that differ among themselves.
The works that I have collected have touched me in some way and most have been the product of artists whom I have known personally. A substantial number are the works of artists whom I have befriended.
A painting by Carlos Bueno, from his the series "Virgenes de la Media Noche", is an image of desolation. A middle aged prostitute sits at a table with her elbows on the table holding her head with her hands and possibly weeping.
Kathy Gallegos renders a pastel image of an accordion player with his eyes closed, apparently playing with deep feeling and emotion. In this image of the accordionist one senses that he has a passion for music and performing it. For an existentialist finding a passion is an ultimate goal.
I have experienced a great amount of emotional lift from having these works of art displayed in our home since they are constantly in view. They draw me into thinking about what message the artist either consciously, or subconsciously, produced.
One of the most recent acquisitions is the commissioned painting by Eloy Torres which he has not entitled but I call it "La Abuela Manuela con Maria Estela".
The subject of this portrait comes from a photograph I took of my mother-in-law, Manuela Martinez, who is holding on her lap, my daughter, Maria Estela, who at the time was one year old.
One of my uncles, Rodolfo Urias, wanted to paint this portrait using the photograph, but he became ill and was unable to do it. I became familiar with Eloy and we became friends through Carlos Guitarlos who knew Eloy from back in the 1980s, when Eloy was a guitarist and singer with a new wave band called "The Rent" or something like that.
Eloy still devotes some time to music and song writing. I became more familiar with Eloy and his art and he paints photo-realist works as did my Uncle Rodolfo. Last year at one of the art events I had a conversation with Margaret, Eloy's wife, and she told me Eloy had lost out on a job opportunity and he was in need of some work. Later I decided to ask Eloy if he would be interested in doing the portrait that Uncle Rodolfo never started on. He decided to do it.
This is one work that Terry and I acquired sight unseen since it still had to be produced. It turned out great.
The portrait in the painting closely resembles the photograph but the background sky and mountain vista is Eloy's creation. He put a great deal of thought in deciding what background to paint. Eloy's rendering seems so alive to me and takes me back in time to when my daughter was one year old and my mother-in-law was living and in relative good health.
With the growing interest I have in fine art I expect to go on collecting more works and experiencing the feelings and thoughts one gets from the images produced by gifted artists.
Through my participation as a Board Member of the Avenue 50 Studio I meet many artists whose works I admire. Many of these artists are not yet represented in our collection, so we look forward to including the works of more artists, each with their distinct images and messages.
