SOMOS HUMANOS / WE ARE HUMAN
With a style akin to German and Latin American Expressionism, I'm looking to render the enduring humanity of a people
who have been dehumanized for political gain. We are all Americans in the Hemispheric Americas. --El JTT
OPEN STUDIO: SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 from 6pm - 10pm
With a style akin to German and Latin American Expressionism, I'm looking to render the enduring humanity of a people
who have been dehumanized for political gain. We are all Americans in the Hemispheric Americas. --El JTT
OPEN STUDIO: SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 from 6pm - 10pm
Some of these drawings are inspired by the many photographs of pubic protests I have taken of the Congress of Day Laborers / El Congreso de Jornaleros, the immigrant activist group working fiercely to bring attention to the injustices suffered by a community that has given of their sweat, labor, and love to rebuild New Orleans. --El JTT
Somos Humanos / We Are Human is composed of dramatic black and white pastel works on Arches paper, and the graphic compositions and images echo the influences of German and Latin American expressionist artists from Max Beckman to the figurative renderings of José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Also, these mixed media drawings resound with political overtones found in British artist Sue Coe’s images, and the surreal figurative work of the contemporary Cuban José Bedia.
Torres-Tama studied traditional drawing at the Arts Students League in New York with renowned master Robert Beverly Hale, and his aim is to create pictorial narratives that document the epic struggles of undocumented immigrants during a time of persecution. Latin American immigrants have been a big part of the rebirth of New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, but they face a clear and present danger with a hostile administration in the White House--as they struggle with brutal deportations to remain in a city they have helped to rebuild.
A battery-operated moving second-hand clock is placed at various points of some compositions, and such mixed media elements push these drawings beyond being static images. The moving second-hand symbolizes element the beating heart of immigrants working in the shadows, and their tenuous position because their time may be up at any second.
The drawings are mounted on wood panels and magnet letters spell out various statements that express the political urgency of the moment. Below is a picture of Torres-Tama's ArteFuturo Studio in New Orleans.
OPEN STUDIO: SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 from 6pm - 10pm
Come and take a peek at the work in development this Saturday, June 9, when the artist opens his home studio. Filled with completed drawings and works-in-progress, experience art pieces in development for the exhibition opening at the UNO Downtown Gallery on September 8, 2018. That immersive show is titled Hard Living in the Big Easy: Immigrants & the Rebirth of New Orleans, and honors the contributions Latin American immigrants have made to the revival of a once devastated city post-Hurricane Katrina.
Somos Humanos / We Are Human is composed of dramatic black and white pastel works on Arches paper, and the graphic compositions and images echo the influences of German and Latin American expressionist artists from Max Beckman to the figurative renderings of José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Also, these mixed media drawings resound with political overtones found in British artist Sue Coe’s images, and the surreal figurative work of the contemporary Cuban José Bedia.
Torres-Tama studied traditional drawing at the Arts Students League in New York with renowned master Robert Beverly Hale, and his aim is to create pictorial narratives that document the epic struggles of undocumented immigrants during a time of persecution. Latin American immigrants have been a big part of the rebirth of New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, but they face a clear and present danger with a hostile administration in the White House--as they struggle with brutal deportations to remain in a city they have helped to rebuild.
A battery-operated moving second-hand clock is placed at various points of some compositions, and such mixed media elements push these drawings beyond being static images. The moving second-hand symbolizes element the beating heart of immigrants working in the shadows, and their tenuous position because their time may be up at any second.
The drawings are mounted on wood panels and magnet letters spell out various statements that express the political urgency of the moment. Below is a picture of Torres-Tama's ArteFuturo Studio in New Orleans.
OPEN STUDIO: SATURDAY, JUNE 9, 2018 from 6pm - 10pm
Come and take a peek at the work in development this Saturday, June 9, when the artist opens his home studio. Filled with completed drawings and works-in-progress, experience art pieces in development for the exhibition opening at the UNO Downtown Gallery on September 8, 2018. That immersive show is titled Hard Living in the Big Easy: Immigrants & the Rebirth of New Orleans, and honors the contributions Latin American immigrants have made to the revival of a once devastated city post-Hurricane Katrina.