Photos/Courtesy o f Koplin del Rio Gallery.
m ight more accurately be described as
three-dimensional collage artists. T h e act o f
combining glass w ith other materials gives
them an agile means for addressing issues o f
current relevance, particularly those arising
from the flow o f hum anity across borders
around the world.
Central among these is the question o f
identity. W h o are w e w hen rem oved from
the solid ground o f a single ethnic back-
ground and history-infused sense o f place?
T he Spanish w ord describing this condition
is
mestizo,
which means m ixture. In a graph-
ically striking piece,
M estizaje Defined,
2005 (and in other w orks in the show), the
brothers use mixtures o f beans as symbols
for the m estizo state. A clear, cast-resin
fram e contains 12 identically shaped low-
relief faces, each filled w ith a different
blend o f beans.
Some faces contain predominantly dark
or light-colored beans. Some are hom oge-
neous, others, highly mixed. “ In the end,
w e ’re all beaners; w e ’re all m estizo. It’s a
cause for celebration,” the artists declare.
Y e t w ith the bean-filled faces all bearing
variations on a grin, the piece posits a sur-
face cheerfulness for situations w e know
in reality to be fraught w ith issues o f social
hierarchy, privilege and discrim ination.
O ther themes running through the de
la T orre brothers’ w ork include historical
perspective—w ho has the right to w rite
history?—conquest, assimilation, sacrifice
(part o f a larger theme o f pre-Colum bian
cultures and influences), religion, food, fate
and the nature o f time. One large wall piece,
Роса HantaVirus,
2008, literally superim -
poses divergent view s o f cultural interface.
O nto the surface o f a massive and sternly
intense representation o f an O lm ec mask
is projected the animated D isney film
Poca-
hontas.
In the film, floppy animal ears and
flow ing dark hair represent the candy-fla-
vored, Euro-centered (Am ericanized) vision
o f encounter. M eanw hile, the mask proj-
ects its own indisputable force, offering the
view er a disquieting firsthand encounter
w ith the “other.”
B y contrast, the show ’s entrance piece,
Eastern Medicine,
2008, uses the arresting
appeal o f color, sym m etry, symbolism and
detail in cast resin and blown glass to high-
light other global connections—in this case,
betw een N ative Am erican and Asian cul-
tures. T h e w ork features the circle, as sym -
bolic o f endless cyclical time, and food, as
T h e d e l a T o r r e b r o th e r s c o m b in e g la s s z u ith
o th e r m a t e r ia ls a s a m e a n s o f a d d r e s s in g is s u e s
o f id e n t it y .
central to human vitality, com m unity
and social structures. C orn, w hich plays
this role among indigenous peoples o f the
Am ericas, is depicted and to represent
Asian cultures there are small plates o f
(glass) m ock food resem bling the plastic
models displayed in the windows o f Japa-
nese restaurants and shops. On a grander
scale,
Colonial Atmosphere,
2002, a room-size
installation that also includes an Olm ec
mask, draws associations betw een the
moon landing, religion and W estern Hem i-
sphere conquest. Y e t small w orks such
as
Crossing the Desert,
2005, pack an equally
pow erful, if more direct, punch.
“ M eso-Am erichanics” may be over-
w helm ing-best experienced in more than
one view ing—as is the National Hispanic
Cultural C enter itself, w ith its art museum
and visual arts program , perform ing arts,
films, lectures, literary events and more.
Gussie Fauntleroy is a writer and editor in
Denver, Colorado.
+
T he bilingual catalog is $22, nhccnm.org.
Right:
D e P ila r o f E m p ire /M .
P yre ,
2004, mixed-
media installation jh. 80
in,w. 24 m, d. 20in).
Below:
C o lo n ia l Atm osphere,
2002, mixed-media
installation.
aug/sep 09 american craft 03;
