Trashy



 

© Brandon Queen, 2013

The exhibit Undo by Omar Velázquez is an appropriate one for the on-campus art gallery of the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan's hip Santurce neighbourhood. Appropriate, because the overall theme of the pieces presented is nothing new and - to employ a bit of irony - recycles once more the concept of trash-as-art while touching on the dystopian nature of consumer culture. To be fair, in an age of Brian Jungen, it's quite difficult to find new approaches to this particular concept.

However, it is important to say that almost all of the pieces are very well executed from a technical standpoint.  Velázquez uses a range of techniques to make his point about the refuse left over from all of our society's industrial pursuits, including serigraphy, photography, collage, and sculpture (using Styrofoam, no less). One of the most refreshing aspects of his take on this issue is the playfulness of all the pieces. Rather than inviting the viewer to meditate gravely on the impact of capitalist production on the environment, Velázquez's works come off as a snide Pop Art commentary that belong as much in a hip café as in a museum or gallery.

In fact, his Styrofoam packing pallets serve as a bridge between the visions of the aforementioned Jungen and Jeff Koons. But the strongest piece(s) for me were the two untitled wood engravings, Sin título V and Sin título VI. They are a minimalist pair with small touches of colour - and even a small patch of duct tape - and are the most sophisticated execution of Velázquez's vision for this show.

The exhibit lasts until Saturday, September 14th at the Galería de Arte de la Universidad del Sagrado Corazon (Tuesday-Friday, 9h 30 - 17h 30; Saturday, 11h - 16h).

Poster Child

© Brandon Queen, 2013

If you  thought  the concept of the Renaissance man was dead, you have not heard of Antonio Martorell. He is an artist who has produced not only visual art, but has also written extensively and worked in theatre. The image accompanying this entry is of a poster he created for an academic conference in 1996 and I came across it in the Department of Translation at the University of Puerto Rico - Río Piedras (a campus where art is everywhere - and quality).

Martorell is one of many very, very talented poster artists that have worked - and are still working - in Puerto Rico. Aside from representing the tradition of the cultured gentleman that the island still maintains  to some extent, as a graphic artist Martorell is also a standard-bearer for what can arguably be called the country's national art form. Serigraphy has a long history here and the medium has been worked from every possible angle and then some. So integral is poster art to Puerto Rico's artistic heritage that the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico has dedicated an entire wing of its current survey exhibition of national art to the medium. It's the really the kind of stuff theses are made of (for all of you art history researchers looking for a topic) and Mr. Martorell even has an extensive archive to help you along the way.

For a wider look at his oeuvre, there is an exhibit opening on Wednesday, April 24th and running until June 29th at the Universidad de Sagrado Corazón.