Feliz Navidad

© Brandon Queen, 2013

A combination of the holidays, a never-ending analysis of Puerto Rican Spiritist literature and a part-time gig in a sexy boutique have prevented me from updating with some of the many art happenings that have taken place in San Juan since November. Some of those include a few interesting shows at Galeria Espacio 304 and yet another obscenely amazing international street art festival called Los Muros Hablan (The Walls Are Talking).

But I don't want to leave anyone empty-handed at the holidays, so rather than the gift of another review I thought I'd leave you with a stocking-stuffer run-down of what's been covered here over the past year.

Appropriately enough, this blog began with an entry about the Puerta al paisaje exhibit, where I couldn't say enough good things about painter Carmelo Sobrino. Then came my grudging acknowledgment of performance art followed by a foray into gossip and architectural history. The frivolity continued with a note about eighteenth-century European artist Luis Parét y Alcázar. 

We shot back to the modern world with a trip to a comic-inspired exhibit organised by Pernicious Press. Gritty modernity kept its hold in a brief mention of the other urban art festival, Santurce es ley. That entry was followed by a quick summary of Puerto Rico's other major artistic strength, poster art, and one of the genre's elder statesmen, Antonio Martorell. The national theme continued with a review of the National Expo 2013, where the best of the best were showcased. When spring term finals cut time short, I decided to highlight another one of San Juan's Art Deco treasures, the Arriví Theatre in Santurce.

The summer highlight was the second half of the Puerta al paisaje exhibit, Entremundanos, at the Puerto Rican Museum of Contemporary Art. As I'm a fan of extreme time travel, that review was followed by a note on the pre-columbian art of the Tainos and archaeology in Puerto Rico.

Student work got a shout-out in this review of Omar Velázquez's exhibit Undo. Finally, in October, I reviewed another survey of national art that focused on the work of Elizam Escobar at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art.

And here we are, dear readers.

I hope this past year will have introduced some of you to some amazing new work and piqued your interest in Puerto Rico's art historical tradition. It's rich and varied and what has been covered here is not even close to scratching the surface. There are new exhibition spaces opening every month and the festivals, talks, and publications are multiplying exponentially.

For now, happy holidays and hasta 2014!

It's the law.

© Brandon Queen, 2013

Santurce, Santurce es ley. This street-art festival took place in what is certainly San Juan's hippest neighbourhood (an area complete with cafe book-signings and (a) chic Indian restaurant(s)): Santurce. The area has been getting a lot of press for its extremely high concentration of artists, designers, and general manifestations of the hipster ideal. At any rate, it is the perfect location for a street-art festival that brings together musicians, artists, museums, and galleries to both showcase and revitalize this particular barrio.

I have to admit that I was too busy with textual analyses and the finer points of Spanish syntactic conventions to make it out - obscene, I know, but  the work is still up and there is always next year. However, I can say that street-art is a particular gem among the city's artistic offerings. The work seen on walls in this city is the most vibrant I've seen yet (even compared to New York, Montreal, or Los Angeles!); it is of a quality and, above all, ubiquity that so far I haven't noted anywhere else I've lived. Even before the festival (and continuing now) there are new murals going up all over the place, in every neighbourhood. There is enough very good work to merit a blog - or even a fancy Taschen/Phaidon publication - all its own. There also appears to be a consensus among Sanjuaneros that this is a vital part of the city's civic life, much to the benefit of the seeing public.

It would be remiss not to mention that at least one writer took issue with how this event, in its fourth edition, took form this year. Apparently that old trope of a disadvantaged neighbourhood at the mercy of a hipster invasion is rearing its head, as outlined in this article from El Post Antillano. Essentially, the writer says the artists (an admittedly well-off bunch) just kind of went in, cans ablaze, and did not really involve the area's residents, who are primarily immigrants and not financially privileged. A valid complaint, if it is actually true.

Whatever the case, I think this festival is a good reason in and of itself for anyone to visit Puerto Rico - the work is that good! Before long this is going to get the kind of attention that drives up the cost of real estate and hotel rates, so book your tickets in advance.