First 12 gallery images are new art works produced in Mexico.
Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator showed commitment to my art practice by awarding me a residency in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Even though this is a new residency program, it was one in a rich location, filled with various art forms, indigenous and international brought to local audiences by the many residents who live there several months of the year. During my time there I was able to take advantage of my Spanish ability, both on the streets and in the local library to do a bit of research.
Just about everyone in San Miguel walks the streets and sidewalks paved with stones, blind and crippled included. With my art practice firmly based on walking, San Miguel was much like San Francisco, Calif. in the sense of walking, talking, and meeting people on the streets. This colonial city is also one steeped in history.
I think one of the most beneficial aspects of this residency was that it allowed me to continue ongoing research in the precolumbian/ precolonial areas of interest: ethnobotany, archeoastronomy (burgeoning interest), ethnoenvironmental land use, archeobiology, architecture, ceramics and textiles. How rich is that to be up face to face with all those at once.
What I wanted to do while there was to produce some art that was reflective of my experience in the previous mentioned areas of interest yet, I didn’t want to do “tourist” oriented work nor did I want to break from my limited palette to join in the striking and vibrant colors shown on most gallery walls. The walls of most buildings in San Miguel are brightly painted but that was not reason enough for me to adopt that method.
Although my art practice is primarily based on walking the rural landscape, that was not easily accessible without such plans having been made prior to my arrival. I did visit two rural sites that allowed me a sense of what I was missing: El Charco el Ingenio cactus and nature preserve and Cañada de la Virgen archeological site.
*Images of textures and the city, San Miguel de Allende, MX.
Below a few mobile phone images on Flickr.
A small selection of images with more to come in the following days.