JAGUAR SPEAKS--Alan L. Goodin

OAXACA GARDEN CLUB ANNUAL BUFFET-OAXACA, MEXICO

Alan Goodin — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 23:54:05 +0000

Photos from the Oaxaca Garden Club’s Annual Buffet. Click to view slideshow.

Filed under: Art

OAXACA LENDING LIBRARY PHOTOS

Alan Goodin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:03:11 +0000

The NEW Oaxaca Lending Library Newsletter is now posted. Check out the Photos and Events

Board of Directors (29 Nov 11)

http://www.oaxlibrary.com/Oaxaca_Lending_Library/Photos/Photos.html

Filed under: Front Page, Library News, Photography

DAY OF THE DEAD PHOTOS-OAXACA, MEXICO

Alan Goodin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:29:37 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

The photos, taken by Alan Goodin, are just the beginning of one part of the celebration, the painting of walls, throughout Oaxaca.

THE DAYS OF THE DEAD-A Mexican Tradition

In Mexico, the ceremonies performed on the Days of the Dead aquire great significance at the beginning of November each year. All the preparations for the elaborate festivities are done in advance, in the month of October or even earlier. During these traditional celebrations, family ties become stronger and socioeconomic relation ships are notably enhanced in the community at large and the family nucleus in particular.

Beatriz M. Oliver V., from The Days of the Dead. GV editores, 1996.

Filed under: Art, Front Page, Photography

Chavez expresses art work at KU–Published by William Muller in Culture

Alan Goodin — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:07:07 +0000

Chavez expresses art work at KU

Published by William Muller in Culture on October 19th, 2011

Mexican printmaker César Chávez has been welcomed by KU’s Visual and Performing Arts Student Gallery from his journey from Mexico. Chavez’ first trip to the U.S was to visit KU and show students his style of art.

Born in 1979 in Puebla, Mexico, he has been well-received in the art scene because of his political and truthful art. Chávez studied Fine Arts at Benito Juarez University, Oaxaca. He is best known for his prints, but he is also a painter and an installation artist. César uses relief prints, woodblock, wheatpaste and linoleum block prints.

KU had the rare opportunity to have Chávez come to KU as a visiting artist. It is hard it is to get a temporary visa to get into the U.S. This visit to KU is the first ever trip to the U.S Chávez has ever embarked on.

In 2006, Chávez founded the Assembly of Revolutionary Artists of Oaxaca (ASARO) and was the master printer for the organization.

ASARO is collectively known for their representations of “street art” murals, stencils and prints, which is what Chávez focuses on.

During Chávez’s time as master printer for ASARO, the social climate of Oaxaca was anything but pretty. In May 2006, a teachers’ strike got out of hand and the local police opened fire on a peaceful protest. A few human rights organizations claimed that 27 people were killed, including an American activist named Brad Will.

A lot of the inspiration for his work comes from the social conflicts that were and are still present in Oaxaca.

“I look at a lot of newspapers and police reports and take into consideration what events are occurring with the political and social climate of Oaxaca,” Chávez said through his translator.

Even if someone doesn’t know the slew of political and social events that inspired these works, the technicality in which he executes the work is astounding. His immense attention to detail is powerful and stands out among other woodblock prints.

Chávez’ work encompasses the ideas of distorted figures, representations of violence, sexuality, and dark images not traditionally seen in prints. A snake is a reoccurring image within his work, perhaps suggesting the evils of society.

“My work is kind of like abstract art; everyone has their own point of view and they each take away something different,” Chávez explained.

Though Chávez is still working in conjunction with ASARO, he is now turning his focus to curetting a body of personal work which the series will be called “Malos Tratos.”

In 2011 he was awarded with an “Emerging Artist Grant” from the Foundation of the Arts in Puebla, Mexico. This grant will allow Chávezto devote his time to coming up with the body of work for his personal collection.

He plans to create an animated film based on the prints that he makes for this project.

Chávez has exhibited internationally and has visited as a visiting artist a universities in Valencia, Spain and in Nagoya, Japan. His work is now included in the collections of Princeton University, UCLA and now KU.

Chávez has been critically acclaimed and has been given numerous awards including the Takeda Prize at the 2010 Takeda Biennial of Graphic Arts.

He currently resides and works in Oaxaca, which the city is “famed” for its visual artists.

Filed under: Art, Art and Artists

FULLERTON COLLEGE EXHIBIT FOCUSES ON OAXACAN ART

Alan Goodin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:15:37 +0000

http://oclatinolink.ocregister.com/2011/10/03/fullerton-college-exhibit-focuses-on-contemporary-oaxacan-art/

Filed under: Art and Artists, Photography

EDWARD PETERSON-Died 21 September 2011

Alan Goodin — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:18:37 +0000

A Goodbye to a Dear Friend

Ed Peterson, allegedly age 81, died here on September 21. A longtime resident of Oaxaca, Ed was a proud U.S. veteran. He worked in San Diego and also at the prestigious Princeton University library in New Jersey as a Librarian. His experience, skills and love of books made a huge contribution to our library.

Ed was a valuable member of the OLL Book Committee, he contributed sage and sometimes contrarian opinions to each meeting. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes at the OLL checking donated books to see if they were duplications. Ed also was part of the team who converted OLL’s manual system over to the bar coded computerized system we use today.

With his friend Flor Bautista, Ed was an enthusiastic participant in OLL’s Saturday Intercambio program. He tutored countless Oaxacans who wanted to learn English. And, he was also not one to miss the opportunity to dance with Flor at her Oaxaca Spanish Magic language school parties.

Ed moved so often that he was an expert on furnished rentals in Oaxaca, but this last year he found a real home and a dear friend in his dueña.

Although Ed was a very private person he was also a strong presence in the OLL neighborhood, the streets around the library and in Jalatlatco will seem a little empty without him. What a sweet man.

A memorial gathering will be held at the library on Thursday, September 29^th at twelve noon.

Thank you, Alan, for the kind words for our cousin, Ed Peterson. Sounds like you knew him well. Here are some “Ed Facts” for his friends in Oaxaca:

–Ed always maintained that his college roommate was Paul Newman. I believe it is true.
–He worked at the prestigious Harvard Lending Library and the Cornell University Business School Library, and eventually drove the Tompkins County (Ithaca, New York) Lending Library book mobile, as well.
–Alhough both straight men, Ed and I were on the cover of a poetry anthology called “The Gay Touch” from Crossing Press
–He held more jobs and lived in more places in both San Diego and Ithaca, New York than anyone we will ever know.
–Ed was one of the most well-read and had the most ecclectic reading habits of anyone I ever met.
–Each time I visited him in San Diego, he took me on a different tour — bars across the border, bars at the beach, bars in coast towns north of San Diego. I got the “Ed picture” everytime.

My one regret is that I was never able to take one of Ed’s special tours of Oaxaca.

He will be remembered and missed.

His cousin-in-law,
Jerry Rice, Trumansburg, NY and Port St. Lucie, FL

Filed under: Front Page, Library News

MEXICAN ARTISAN FAIR-SANTA ANA, CALIF-SEPT 18, 2011

Alan Goodin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:32:43 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

I was able to visit the Mexican Artisan Fair, in Santa Ana, CA. The Fair was a two day event, although I didn’t know about it until the second day, 18 Sept, so I saddled up my burro and rode over to Santa Ana. The Art Fair was in Downtown Santa Ana, 2nd St, between Broadway & Sycamore.

Filed under: Art, Art and Artists, Front Page

Tomas Vasquez Cuevas-Passed away 16 August 2011

Alan Goodin — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:29:48 +0000

Tomas Vasquez Cuevas passed away from complications associated with lymphoma in Dallas, Texas on August 16^th of this year.

Tom was born in Yalalag, Oaxaca in 1951. As a young man he immigrated to the United States, working his way through college and getting a degree in Electrical Engineering. In 2005 he returned to his roots along with his wife Elaine. They bought land and built their dream home, in Santiago Ixtaltepec in the Teotitlan Valley, up on hill above the town and off the grid.

Tom and Elaine were great supporters of the Oaxaca Lending Library. Tom, along with Flor Bautista Carreño, headed up the Saturday Intercambios for several years. Tom was a handsome, gentle and loving man, always ready to laugh and to help with any task that needed doing. He worked tekio in his adopted village of Santiaguito where he also taught English to the children there. Last summer, during the mudslides and floods, Tom worked on a committee raising funds to clear and rebuild roads in his hometown of Yalalag. He was one-of-a-kind and there’s a big hole in Oaxaca without him.

Tom is survived by his wife Elaine, their dog Zena, son Aldo and daughters Jessica and Ardee, stepchildren Kara and Steve, all who live in the U.S., plus eight brothers and sisters on both sides of the border.

A MEMORIAL GATHERING

Saturday, September 3^rdat 2:00 PM

Oaxaca Lending Library

Elaine will be present

Filed under: Front Page, Library News

LUISA RESTREPO

Alan Goodin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 22:22:28 +0000

Click to view slideshow.After three years in Mexico City I stared going crazy with the traffic. It was time to move, I needed a quieter, cheaper and easier for the mind-to-flow place to live. After about six months of looking a friend offered me a good studio space in Oaxaca, and it felt right.

I moved to Oaxaca at the beginning of 2006, so much for a quiet, peaceful place for the mind to flow! That was a very strange year indeed. I had just arrived, when the teacher’s “plantón” started and life got disrupted. The city landscape slowly started turning into this strange public living display, with people camping and staying in the streets for endless time. Then the army invasion, like black ravens in every corner, the marches, the confrontations and quite a few other things that happened more locally. Oaxaca is pretty surrealistic and amazing, I got to see that first hand. The Chaos lasted for almost a year.

Prior to my arrival in Oaxaca I was developing a body of work based on the tridimensional representation of time as fragmented action.
Take a simple happening, a boulder floating in the ocean, a falling leaf from a tree, fragment this movement into moments, were each moment is the base for the next and we find compositions or constructions that follow a path responding to a very organic rhythm. The work, so far focused on composition was pretty minimalistic. That all changed in Oaxaca.

Even though the work continues to revolve around repetition and construction you will definitely notice the shift of “rúbrica” (parph, a flourish after a signature). It is impossible not to be influenced by the excess of visual information in Oaxaca, especially when it comes to adornments. The colours of the houses and clothing, the crafts, markets, food, etc. Layers and layers of information in visual language. I first started including colour in the work, then backgrounds, then pattern, then double pattern, etc. My minimalistic days were over. I lived in Oaxaca for around four years, definitely a turning point in my life and career.

In terms of glass Oaxaca is home to two amazing studios, XaQuixe (Salime Harp and Christian Thorton), a glass blowing eco-friendly studio (not that many in the world), and Gorilla Glass (Jason Pfohl), who
produces the finest glass piercing jewelry ever. Both influenced me with their ideas and visions and their friendship had a big impact in my life.

Also, While in Oaxaca, I got involved with La Perrera (Gabriela León), an action and performance lab. From this friendship amazing things have come out, the BOMBONERA being a good example. With performers Lula Chapman (San Francisco), Isis Rodriguez (San Francisco), Saúl López Velarde (Oaxaca) and Milu (Netherlands) we generated a sensorial action. For this we all dressed in marsh mellows, (which you can stick to your skin), then we first started slowly recognizing our bodies and presence by looking, smelling, licking, touching… in a sensorial sensual round that soon became a violent encounter of aggressive biting off the mellows, destroying the initial aesthetic soft image, turning it into a space of excess and stickiness, emphasize by the artificial nature and fake sweetness of the marsh mellows. It
was fun piece to make and performance has become a very important part of my life and practice.

Being in Oaxaca and getting involved with the art community took my practice through surprising paths. I started experimenting with other materials, working larger formats, building with volume and the fragmented body, a project I still continue to work on today. I started working directly with my body with performance, action, photo and video, this for myself, in collaborations or as support to other artists. It was a great time for research, experiment and recharge.

Also I further developed my jewelry line, using new techniques that have pretty much become a trade, combining different materials and patterns and creating more unique and intricate pieces each time.

Now after four years, and back to crazy-traffic Mexico City a new stage begins. With my new Studio set in Colonia Guerrero, I have continued exploring the virtual space created by ornamental landscape, already participating in two shows in US with this body of work, and started a new research angle working with neon and its reflection, where I am looking to forward explore the virtuality that we surround ourselves with. I also continue working with the fragmented body translated into volumetric wall skins and action pieces.

I have been invited to be part of an amazing jewelry show in Portland by the end of the year, where I will be showing four more sculptural one off collections. And have started collaborating with a known jewelry designer here in the city to further develop the more commercial line.

From more information click on Facebook: Luisa Restrepo or email: luisarpo@gmail.com.

INFORMATION ON PHOTOS:

1. Luisa Restrepo, San Miguel de Allende, GTO.

2. Glass gems, wire, sand, wood. 158” x 71” x 33” high, 2005. photo by: Ernesto Torres.

3. “Cultivo.” Kiln cast, copper, wood, silver leaf. 32” x 32” x 3” deep. 2007. photo by: Marcela Taboada

4 Kiln cast, wire. 24” x 24” x 5” deep. 2005. photo by: Ernesto Torres

5. “Sin sentido (oeste).” Kiln cast glass, wood, silver leaf, 20” x 16” x 2” deep. 2007. photo by Ernesto Torres

6. Luisa Restrepo, Mitla, Oaxaca.

7 Detail of plate. Fused glass, slumped and polish.

8. Luisa Restrepo, ladling hot glass form a furnace. XaQuixe Glass Studio Magdalena Apasco, Oaxaca

9. Suspension Session. (Jason Pfohl and Samar Soriano). San Agustín Etla, Oaxaca

10. Einar y Jamex de la Torre (Glass blowing Demo). Curso de vidrio soplado y mix media. Penland Shool of craft. North Carolina, US.

11. “Toorak” Kiln cast glass, wood, 26” x 16” x 3” deep. 2011

12. Ornare. Series IV. Kiln cast glass, gold leaf, wood. 33” x 17” x 3” deep, 2011.

13. Ornare Series IV det. Kiln cast glass, gold leaf, wood, 33” x 17” x 3” deep, 2011.

14. Luisa Restrepo. Necklace, multiple pieces, glass and 925 silver. Medellín, Colombia

15. Portrait series. Engraved and polished glass and 925 silver

16. Growth rings. Engraved and polished glass and 925 silver

17. Ornare rings. Engraved and polished glass and 925 silver

18. Medallion Scroll. engraved and polished glass and 925 silver. photo by Victor Mendiola.

19. Luisa Restrepo (portrait). MUAC, Mexico City. Photo by Lula Chapman

Filed under: Art

ON THE ROAD TO LLANO GRANDE-SIERRA NORTE, OAXACA

Alan Goodin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 18:54:04 +0000

Click to view slideshow.
The Oaxaca Lending Library sponsored an EcoTourism trip to Llano Grande, March 28th-29th. The trip was out Highway 190 past Teotitlan. In Tlacolula, turn left on the highway to Villa Diaz Ordaz.
In Diaz Ordaz, turn left up to the mountains past San Antonio Cuajimoloyas and in another 20 minutes (mas o menus) you will be in Llano Grande, part of thePuerblos Mancomunados, Sierra Norte Organization.
Llano Grande is a Zapoteca village of about 130 persons. Our guide, Adelfo Luis Martinez, can be reached at adecordillera@hotmail.com or by phone at: 044-951-162-7442.

Filed under: Photography, Tours Of Oaxaca