SCULPTURE
Below are sculptures created and exhibited in El Paso from 1971-76. All of this sculpture was produced while working on my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from UTEP.
This was a sculpture I did for a show at the UTEP Student Union Gallery in 1973 called Coming Attractions. The piece is made of telephone poles and sisal rope. It was 30 feet long and entitled "Space Drawing #1." The exhibition also included works by Dennis Evans, Jim LaSalandra and Mark Negrete.
"Space Drawing #2" was part of an exhibition entitled Obras Monumentales that was held at the Chamizal National Memorial in 1974. Others in the exhibition included Dennis Evans, the late Manuel Acosta, and Mago Orona.
Space Drawing #3 was installed behind the ceramics department at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1974.
Space Drawing #5 was also installed at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1975. This was the last of the pieces that made with telephone poles and that explored issues of balance, counter balance, and tension.
A series of pieces entitle "Geometrics" were done in 1975-76. This piece is Geometrics #1 made of oak, pine batten, and aluminum. Here it is displayed in the sculpture department hallway in the Fox Fine Art Center.
Geometrics #2 was displayed in the glass gallery at the Fox Fine Arts Center in 1975 and was followed by a similar piece that is not pictured here but was shown in a group exhibition in the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens in May 1975.
Geomtrics #3 shown here in the art department lounge and was part of a student show at UTEP in 1976 that received a second place award in the sculpture category.
My work in sculpture and clay was melding together by 1975. While I continued to make pottery, my attention turned to clay as a metaphor for life and living. There were many experiments that included video, performance, research, writing, and the use of raw clay with other materials. The two pieces shown below exemplify those experiments.
"Spiders" were structures that were made of red wood, oak, metal hardware, and had raw clay pulled handles suspended from the center. This piece was a part of my BFA exhibition in August, 1976 at the Glass Gallery in the Fox Fine Arts Complex.
"22 Pulled Handles" was exhibited at the UTEP Student Union Gallery in 1976 in an exhibition entitled Sculpture in the Fall. Here 22 raw clay pulled handles are suspended from 5 pieces of redwood. A select group of students and teachers were invited to view the creation of the piece in the gallery prior to the opening of the exhibition.
NARRATIVE PAINTINGS
In the years after leaving El Paso I continued to make functional pottery, creating installations and performances. Most of my works from the late 70's, 80's and 90's are paintings. I turned to painting because it is more conducive to the extensive travel that I have undertaken since my departure. Because of my involvement in video and writing, much of the work from the late 70's and 80's is narrative and includes dialogue written on 2 inch broadcast quality videotape.
The first large painting in this series is entitled "Day Time Gentlemen, Nocturnal Animals." The painting pays homage to Dennis Evans, Jim LaSalandra and Mark Negrete. These three individuals did much to help me find clarity in the development of my aesthetic."
"Notion of Intension" was shown at a three-man show at the Old Tiferet in Dallas Texas in 1979. The use of the double entendre is typical to this series of paintings.
Choza O Choza was also shown at the Old Tiferet in Dallas, Texas. The multi-media piece measures 6'x13'.
Because of my position at the Texas Commission on the Arts I have not been able to exhibit regularly since 1980 due to "Conflict of Interest" regulations. However, in 1987 I accepted an invitation from the Arts Resources Department in El Paso to participate in an exhibition entitled Three Who Left, One Who Came. The three autobiographical paintings below were displayed in the exhibition. The pieces all measure approximately 5'x 6' and are done in a combination of acrylic, oil and alkyd.
"Listos Para Los Botellasos" was a reflection on my time at Austin High School during the late 60's. The painting is a composite from prom photos of me, and the El Paso sculptor, Anna Jaquez (Anna Ruth Sunderman).
"Si Tu Fueras A Mi Puerta Con Un Vaso De Leche, Yo Supiera Que Somos Iguales" is a painting that reflects major life change.
"En La Imagen De Mi Jefe" reflects my coming to terms with the values, work ethic and general lessons that were imparted on me by my father.