On Friday June 28, 2017, I visited Long Beach's Museum of Latin American Art. It was my first time visiting and i was really interested to see the two exhibits they had there. The first exhibit was of Luis Tapia: Cada mente es un mundo, which in Spanish means, every mind is a world. The second exhibit was titled Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray, which contained about 50 of Muray's photographs of Frida Kahlo. I'm this exhibit I went through the journey of Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray's relationship and on and off romance. It was exciting to see up close and personal photos of Frida that I had never seen.
Both exhibits were colorful and full of rich culture and perspective. I would have loved to take pictures of Muray's photographs to discuss in this blog but they did not allow any cameras in that exhibit. Therefore I will compare and contrast two works of the Chicano sculptor, Luis Tapia.
*SCROLL BELOW TO VIEW MY COMPARE & CONTRAST*
Museum of Latin American Art
I found Tapia's work to be relatable and inspiring because of its reflection on his Chicano experience. I wanted to compare two of his sculptures, Techno Loco, 2017 and Pachuco, 2017. ***BELOW***
Pachuco was a sculpture of a Mexican man dressed in an Pachuco suit which was a culture that originated in Mexico. The man is dressed in high waisted, loose legged, cream dress pants with a short tie meeting just above the high waistline. He wore a black jacket accompanied with the a black and cream colored Pachuco fedora. This work screamed Mexican culture in the way the figure was dressed and presented.
As for Techno , at first glance you wouldn't be able to assume the figurines nationality or culture by the way it is dressed. The figurine appears to be a young man because he is dressed in an orange crew tee and blue denim jeans. He is holding a device in his hand with an assortment of colorful wires exploding from his device, creating a cloud of wires around his head.
Both works do look like they come from the same artist, especially when looking at the entire collection because all his works contain the same aesthetic, but both works evoke completely different things to me. The sculpture of the Pachuco reminded me of all the quinceaneras I went to growing up and seeing the quinceanera's male court ("Chambelanes") dressed in Pachuco outfits. Pachuco also remind me of the cholo style in East LA, the extreme high waisted pants with the chains hanging from the side complimented with a fedora and shades. I really like the style of dress.
As for the sculpture of the Techno Loco boy, I didn't like his outfit all that much, but I liked the message it gave me. I felt the artist's disdain for technology. I saw a person being overwhelmed and clouded by the power of technology.
I am looking forward to bringing friends and family to these exhibits while they are still here in town.
