On April 12th, I got the opportunity to attend the Wittliff Collection in the Alkek building which is in the 7th floor and check out the art exhibit. Out of all the amazing painting the ones that got my attention the most were Delilah Montoya “El Guadalupano”, Al Rendon “Tia Lupe”, and Al Rendon “Selena”. These pictures grabbed my attention since they are appealing to the eye, the colors, the meaning are all great.
“El Guadalupano” or “Our lady of Guadalupe” was a favorite of mine because as soon as I saw this beautiful picture I was completely shocked. The photo is dark, very mellow dramatic, and gloomy. In the photo, there’s a male in the middle with his back turned towards the viewer with an aesthetically pleasing perfect representation of “La Virgen De Guadalupe” tattooed on his back. Besides the tattoo the man is also in handcuffs. The rest of the picture is covered in flowers but what I loved the most about this picture was the fact that it is all in black and white except the tattoo. I liked this picture because as a Latino the “Virgin Mary” means a lot to our Mexican culture. The “Virgin Mary” is seen to other Latinos as guidance. The picture is originally black and white but the flowers, tattoo, and jail bars are like a copper/rose gold. This brings the attention to the objects surrounding the man and not the man. When I saw that I felt that those are in color because those create who he is. Even though the man is cast out because he is in black and white, the artist still recognizes him by creating a room of darkness with the only bright light shining upon his back and revealing the virgen. “The work is lifesize, and, while the treatment seems objective, it makes a sharp comment on the tedium and laborious nature of the task.” (Sporre, 448). It is raw but beautiful because of the accents of flowers and the detailed lines in his tattoo. The photos details and color gives the opportunity to create a story and that is why it is my favorite. I would rate this painting a 9/10 because its the type of painting you can’t just walk past by. You see it and immediately create a story of your own.
The next picture I chose was Al Rendon’s “Tia Lupe,” I chose this picture because as soon as I saw it I immediately pictured myself at my grandma’s house worry free, stress free, and just enjoying my life with her. The picture shows an older lady standing next to her bed as if she’s making it. She has a beautiful huge cover of “La Virgen De Guadalupe” on top of the bed. The wallpaper in her room is falling like as if she’s been living in that house for years and its beginning to run down. Finally, there is a picture hung on the walls of God. I relate to this because as soon as you walk into my grandma’s house in every room you WILL see a picture of god. The fact that she has a Virgen Mary cover caught my attention because to me she means guidance and the fact that she uses it as a cover it makes me think that maybe she uses it and feels secure and safe whenever it’s time to go to bed, and gives thanks the next morning for a brand-new day of life. It’s a raw and beautiful piece of artwork. I would rate this painting a 10/10 because this painting is one you can relate as a Latino, and have your own story behind it.
Finally, the last picture I chose was once again by Al Rendon was “Selena”. I chose this one because Selena Quintanilla has always been a huge part of our family. The picture is a beautiful self portrait of the one and only Selena. The background is completely black and she’s wearing a black bralette with rhinestones and black plants with a black cover up the fact that the whole picture is black makes it more noticeable because the only thing that stands out are the design her outfit has. The latin beauty broke down so many stigmas and for that we will always be grateful. Her death caused a phenomenal amount of grief from everyone. I would rate this picture a 7/10 because I think everyone if you don’t already should at least give Selena a chance and listen to her music or watch her movie about her life where Jennifer Lopez played her and did an amazing job if I may add.
The Wittliff Collection art exhibit is also an amazing exhibit that we as student can go and check it out admission free. I highly recommend everyone to go out there it’s a different experience and it’s a little free time we as college student have and should go to de-stress our self from the heavy load we carry on a day to day basis. 10/10 would recommend and you all won’t be disappointed.
On April 13th, I had the opportunity to go to Starplex 12 in San Marcos, TX, and see Jordan Peele’s “Get out” the movie was great 10/10 and would recommend to anyone who likes mystery/thriller type of films. Get out, is about Chris and Rose an interracial couple who go out and meet Rose’s parents but Chris starts to notice weird things happening around the house and notices that something isn’t right with that family.
The first scene I chose was when Georgina and Chris were talking and Georgina kept repeating “No, no, no” as she cried but smiled. I just found that scene to be utterly disturbing yet pleasing. Chris makes a comment that he isn’t comfortable around white people and Georgina starts to smile and cry at the same time but what Chris doesn’t know is that Georgina which is clearly seen as an African American it’s another person in her body a white person to be exact which turns out to be roses mother. It was a power struggle between the two where Georgina’s consciousness was struggling to come back. I would rate this scene a 10/10 only because when you come across this scene you won’t be able to take your eyes off because of how intense it is.
The next scene I chose was when Chris took a picture of Logan. Everyone in the house is under hypnosis so Chris took a picture of Logan only because Chris feels as if he knows him from somewhere. Later, he ends up finding out that Logan is missing and he was kidnapped and sold in an auction. When Chris takes the picture of Logan. The flash or sound of the camera got Logan out of the hypnosis and started to attack Chris begging and yelling “Get Out” just wanting to warn Chris to get out while he still can before it too late. I would rate this scene an 8/10 because after this scene everything starts to fall into place and it all starts to make more sense. “The audience should always watch the play critically as a comment on life.” (Sporre, 547).
The last scene I chose was the auction scene where roses family and friends all gathered around to auction off Chris kind of like a modern slave auction. The highest bidder wins Chris which turns out to be a blind art dealer who knows of Chris keen eye because Chris is a photographer. Jim being the one who won Chris wants to put his brain in Chris body because Jims eyes don’t work so he wants Chris’ eyes. The whole white brain transplant into an African American body is a stereotype because black people are better than white people at pretty much anything. I rate this scene a 10/10 because they whole auctioning off a person is crazy to me and it makes me think if there is people who do that.