The painting Where Borders End peels away the illusions that our outer appearances create, revealing our similarity. Despite our different backgrounds, gender, socioeconomic status, heritage, color, language, and lived experience, we all have an inner-being, which we may call “soul,” “spirit,” or “essence.” It is that essence of ourselves which is most relevant once we see beyond the illusions of superiority, judgement, and borders. MEANING Where Borders End shows the essence of a person, traveling in a cycle parallel to the conscious experience of the person. The stations of the cycle are: Transformation, Development, Force of Will, and Creation. 1) Transformation through introspection in the “underworld” by exploring the subconscious root of thoughts and opinions. Physically: resting or replenishing the body. 2) Development through communication and life experience. Physically: the body gains strength. 3) Force of Will by taking action and pushing the limits of what seems possible. Physically: acting on decisions. 4) Creation by shedding skins of the past (healing) and breaking old patterns to create new possibilities. Physically: creating anything, teaching, or practicing arts. INSPIRATION
The concepts for this piece were inspired by Mexika (Aztec) teachings which have been passed on mainly through oral tradition. This is my interpretation of what I have learned about the symbolic meaning of the four directions and all that is associated with them. The blue color of the figure serves to detach it from typical human skin colors. Also, turquoise blue in Mexika culture, is the color of harmony and truth. ICONOGRAPHY The image of the spirit of life in the center of the piece, as well as the owl representing the ancestors, are both borrowed from the amoxtli (codex) “Fejérváry-Mayer”. The steps of the teokalli on the left and right as well as the crocodile heads are modified from images in the amoxtli “Borgia.” The colors of the outer edge of the painting are associated with the four cardinal directions when the painting is positioned over the viewers head so the black edge faces north. CONNECTION TO PREVIOUS PAINTINGS The figure of the blue “essence” is based on the figures in my painting Reclaiming Autonomy. In my piece Children Manifesting Destiny, the children are a similar blue and the blue tree makes its first appearance. See more work from the series Dolor, muerte y mariposas. HOW TO SUPPORT MY ART To purchase this painting, please e-mail me or PayPal Me. View the Price List here. Purchase an Art Collector Subscription (for yourself or as a gift.)
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"Footless Dancers" is my new series of artwork based on a poem I wrote. The series consists of 13 paintings, 7 of which are now done. To see the paintings and read the poem, please visit the gallery page: Footless Dancers. Below is the latest art piece: Footless Dancers #7: Planted, acrylic and ink on canvas, 28x28". The lines of the poem that accompany this piece are: We planted your crosses Planted our flowers around them Tied green leaves to the tips... Please continue reading or click here for more information. These mixed-media paintings are a combination of my body of work The Euphoric Dance of the Unconquered Mind and my poem Footless Dancers. The poem addresses the indigenous resistance to European beliefs, values, and lifestyle. Although the indigenous people of the Americas are and continue to be pressured to conform, they continue to rebel by various forms of resistance. The paintings in this series present the dancers, as representatives of the indigenous people of the continent, symbolically resisting oppression: Their energy bursts forth despite their confined space; their vibrant colors shine out from the tame grays; they are missing limbs and parts, but continue to dance. In reality, these people and their descendants continue to make their presence felt as we defend our dignity, claim our rights, tell our stories, and continue to speak through our own voices and the voices of others.
See the rest of the series Footless Dancers. For todays post, I'd like to feature my artwork Xicana Birth and share the idea behind the art. Xicana Birth is 23.5" in diameter, acrylic and ink on wood. I completed it this year, 2014. Please see image below and explanation. Please click the link to view this and other related work on my site. Enjoy! xicana [shee-CAH-nah]
To choose to identify as Xicano or Xicana is at once a declaration of: consciousness of actual history, solidarity with the struggles of the Chicano civil rights movement (and similar struggles on the continent), a rejection of imposed labels, acknowledgement of nahua roots, an affirmation of cultural identity, and resistance through language. This piece was inspired by my own Xicana experience. Xicana Birth is not about a physical birth or physical existence, but about a recurring spiritual and intellectual birth (or transformation) which develops through constant introspection while becoming aware of illusions, discovering truth, uniting with the community, and acknowledging a deep connection to nature and the universe. Xicana Birth includes references to Catholic Mexican culture (figure on the left), the United States of America (figure on the right), and the displacement of Native Americans, First Nations, Mesoamericans, and other indigenous Nican Tlacan people from their homes on this continent. The piece also makes reference to the search for truth in ancestral wisdom, rejection of the illusions that restrict freedom, civil rights and resistance, change and transformation of the spirit, unrestricted immigration, the constant presence of duality (ometeotl, hunab ku, yin yang), the inevitability of transformation, and the possibility of peace through wisdom and unity. There are also a reference to Frida Kahlo's Las Dos Fridas as well as the reuse of iconography from my previous painting Reclaiming Autonomy. |
Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo
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