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alrighty, so i have recently added two lengthy posts about art events that i have attended. i think they seem to be an intellectual addition to my blog so cheerio!

Martin Ramirez: Mexico, Motifs and Meaning

Brooke Davis Anderson, a 1984 Hartwick College graduate, lectured on Martin Ramirez, a self-taught artist. Anderson passionately spoke of the artist and the man that she has thoroughly researched and analyzed. It is apparent that she loves what she does by the way that she talks of her work. I felt her enthusiasm for this artist, not only for his intense life, but also his moving art.
He truly had an interesting life. Martin Ramirez was born in Mexico in 1895; he later married and began a family. Like many others of the time, he crossed the borders illegally to work in the United States. He worked for the railroads for awhile, but the Depression made working hard, while Ramirez’s friends returned to Mexico, he stayed. He was arrested for supposed erratic behavior and sent to an asylum. There he was recorded to be manic-depressive and paranoid schizophrenic. However it was during his stay in the asylum that he created his art.

Though his art is made of simple lines and design, the attention to detail is incredible. The paintings depict railroads, rolling hills, horse and rider, paths to Mexico, and images of the Virgin. His paintings seem almost child-like, yet every line is deliberately placed and the composition seems thoughtfully considered from the beginning. Considering that he was in an asylum at the time, his materials consisted of anything that he could find. Ramirez used a bread, mashed potato, and saliva glue to construct his large scrap paper drawings and then painted his design using a matchstick to apply the melted crayon. His art takes on another dimension when considering the materials he used and again, the deliberate process in which he created. He used tongue-depressors and bowls to execute his curvilinear forms.

He not only used the world around him to create his work, but most importantly his work embodies his world- Mexico, his religion, his dreams. He is thought to have created over 300 works of art and each of these works depicts an aspect of his life. He may have had mental disabilities, but they did not detract or deter his ability to create what Anderson said is, “first and foremost…great art”.

I was intrigued by Anderson’s remarks on the early analysis of the tunnel and train representing sexual exploration. It seems such an easy assumption, considering there are a large number of artists who include that aspect to their work. However, I found it refreshing that the train doesn’t represent a phallus, but simply a train and the tunnel, just a tunnel. I was incredibly impressed by Martin Ramirez’s work; it is simplistic in design, but utterly moving and complex in content. He drew from life, from memory, and created a curvilinear world that viewers can relate visually to their own memories. I have never been to Mexico, but I can fully comprehend the value and meaning of returning to home, to family.

Also, I found Brooke Anderson’s passion and excitement for Martin Ramirez infectious. I truly love to see people talk about topics that they obviously love. She captured my attention and made me very interested in the topic at hand. It is obvious that her success in her research of Ramirez stems from her whole-hearted approach and attention to discovering the artist within the art. She is a great example of successful Hartwick graduates.

Devi Review

Devi (the goddess) directed by Satyajit Ray is centered on family, divinity and above all- tradition. The patriarch of the family believes a night-vision and places his daughter-in-law in a temple believing her to be the goddess Kali. The family each deals with this revelation differently. Each individual not only must decide if she is in fact a reincarnation, but more importantly each must come to terms with their own faith and beliefs.
The father, widowed and pious, depends upon the assistance of his daughter-in-law, Doya. Not only does the father become a symbol of tradition, but so does Doya as she willingly accepts her role as daughter and caregiver. However Uma, Doya’s husband, is quite different from his wife and father. He is an educated man, with aspirations of much more than praying to the gods. He, in a sense, becomes a symbol of westernization, of the future, of change. After the father’s great vision the balance between tradition and change is tipped, as father and son tug-of-war for one woman.

Doya is placed as a living statue of Kali-incarnate and not only do others have to struggle to determine her divinity, but she as well must make up her own mind. When first the father came to kneel at her feet she writhed against the wall, literally scratching into the walls, yet as various believers come to kneel at her feet she can only look on, unwilling to do more than neutrally watch. She continues to watch as people, young and old, are healed while she does nothing.
Yet, divinity is not meant for mere mortals, as is shown with Doya’s insanity at the weight and burden of divinity. It is not until her nephew is placed in her arms does the reality of this faux-divinity come to a head. She can only maintain such antics until she is placed with the reality of death. It is only at the end when Doya escapes to the fields, do viewers take a breath. A breath of relief of her freedom, but of bitter relief such literal freedom came at the expense of her sanity.
All the while Uma is grappling for her freedom. He not only has to go against his father’s faith and vision, but also convince his wife that she is not a goddess. Though he was raised with the same concept of deity, he has chosen a different belief, a “learning of a different kind.” He refuses to have his wife believe and accept the role which has been placed upon her as a divine being. Yet, as so many revolutionaries have found, change is not easily installed in the minds of traditionalist. His pleas and actions are hardly heard. Yet, they speak volumes to the cause of change.

Watching this as a Western female in the 21st century, I found myself struggling to maintain myself while I watched her. I felt such pity at the position in which she was placed, but even more I was a bit saddened that she could not simply say, “Enough is enough.” Yet, that is not my culture and it is simply my ignorant nature. The film’s plot and cinematography were a complex interplay of symbols, cultural traditions and faith. It truly is “learning of a different kind.”