18

Fez

#2 (

Imag

en

Cla

ustr

ofob

ica)

(Fi

sh

#2:

Cla

ustr

opho

bic

linag

e),

1984

20

Los

Am

ante

s (T

he

Love

rs),

1984

Los

Inso

mne

s D

orm

itant

es (

insp

irad

o en

Cam

pesi

nos

dum

nte

la S

iest

a de

Pic

asso

)(T

he S

leep

ing

Inso

mni

acs—

insp

ired

by

Pic

asso

's T

he S

leep

ing

Peas

ants

), 19

83

10

"Art

and

poe

try,

an

d th

eir

disc

ours

es,

if th

ey a

re fo

r re

al,

are

alw

ays

criti

cal

of P

ower

: th

eir

poli

tics

is

to t

rans

form

re

ality

and

not

to

mer

ely

ideo

logi

ze i

t. W

e sh

ould

no

t pr

eten

d to

pos

sess

tru

th o

r to

hav

e th

eon

ly,

uniq

ue t

ruth

. B

ut

an a

rtis

t or

a p

oet

wit

h a

cri

tical

con

scio

usne

ss i

s al

way

s un

com

prom

isin

g w

ith

Pow

er i

n re

latio

n to

tru

th,

in o

rder

to

be fo

r re

volu

tion

and

real

dem

ocra

cy."

(con

tinue

d Jw

m p

. 8)

stro

nger

tha

n he

was

, an

d ad

ds:

"Thi

s ha

s no

sen

seat

all,

but

tha

t's t

he w

ay it

is

som

e of

the

tim

e if

not

alw

ays

wit

h so

me

kind

of

pain

ting

and

som

epa

inte

rs" —

of w

hich

he

is c

lear

ly o

ne.)

The

ro

iling

curv

es a

nd l

ines

of

Las

One

iras

(The

One

s W

hoC

ome

from

Dre

ams)

(p.

13)

, fo

r in

stan

ce,

sugg

est

ava

st s

pace

uns

een

in i

ts e

ntir

ety,

rat

her

than

adi

ssol

ving

spa

ce.

It i

s as

tho

ugh

the

arti

st h

as a

cces

sto

a p

erpe

tual

ly r

efor

min

g un

iver

se w

hich

is

reve

aled

to

him

onl

y in

fra

gmen

ts.

In t

he p

aint

ing

Los

Sepu

lture

ros

(The

Gra

vedi

gger

s) (

p. 2

1), E

scob

ar m

ight

be

illu

stra

ting

one

of h

is t

heor

ies.

He

has

wri

tten

tha

t th

e se

lf-a

nd-

soci

ally

-con

scio

us a

rtis

t "w

ould

ass

ume

not t

he r

ole

of t

he U

nder

take

r (t

he p

rese

rver

of

ideo

logy

, th

eSt

ate'

s C

hef)

, bu

t th

e G

rave

digg

er,

who

, ev

enre

cogn

izin

g th

e di

ffic

ulty

of

bein

g a-

ideo

logi

cal,

prop

oses

to

be t

he a

nti-

ideo

logu

e, a

nd t

he t

rue

'mor

tal

of m

orta

ls.'

" T

hus

the

thre

e fi

gure

s in

the

pain

ting

wie

ld n

ot s

hove

ls,

but

guit

ars.

In h

is e

ffor

t to

be

an a

nti-

ideo

logu

e, a

nd t

otr

ansc

end

both

"fo

lklo

re"

and

"pri

mit

ivis

m"

as s

ole

refe

renc

e po

ints

for

a L

atin

art

, E

liza

m E

scob

ar h

asde

velo

ped

an i

nter

esti

ng,

if s

till

evol

ving

, co

ncep

t of

mul

ticu

ltur

alis

m:

In t

he s

ame

way

tha

t E

urop

ean

art

at a

cer

tain

mom

ent

soug

ht e

lem

ents

tha

t w

ere

not

part

of

thei

row

n cu

ltur

al-h

isto

rica

l ex

peri

ence

(A

rabi

c,Ja

pane

se,

Afr

ican

, In

do-A

mer

ican

ele

men

ts),

sim

ilar

ly t

oday

Lat

in A

mer

ican

art

is

bein

gno

uris

hed

by t

hese

Eur

opea

n di

gest

ions

and

oth

erel

emen

ts.

Thi

s is

not

to

the

sam

e pu

rpos

e or

in

the

sam

e w

ay,

but

rath

er t

hrou

gh t

he l

ens

or s

peci

fic

cond

itio

ns o

f L

atin

Am

eric

a, a

nd w

ithi

n th

e sp

ecif

iccu

ltur

es a

nd i

ndiv

idua

l or

soci

al s

itua

tion

s, su

ch a

sth

e co

loni

al s

itua

tion

of

Pue

rto

Ric

o.

He

then

cite

s th

e "n

eces

sity

of

the

indi

vidu

al t

ous

e hi

s la

ngua

ge (

like

colo

r) i

n sp

ite o

f, as

par

t of

,hi

s cr

eativ

e en

deav

our

agai

nst

the

slav

ery

ofex

tern

al c

ondi

tion

s an

d as

a f

ulfi

llmen

t of

his

will

to

tran

sfor

m r

eali

ty."

The

re i

s no

que

stio

n th

at s

ome

kind

of

new

ecle

ctic

and

dia

lect

ical

ene

rgy

is b

ubbl

ing

up i

nL

atin

Am

eric

a as

a r

esul

t of

com

bine

d re

pres

sion

and

revo

luti

on.

Its

root

s in

vis

ual

art

are

inde

edm

ulti

ple,

and

the

pot

enti

al r

esul

t of

thi

s ri

chm

ixtu

re o

f so

urce

s is

inc

reas

ingl

y im

port

ant

to

Eur

o-A

mer

ican

cul

ture

as

wel

l, of

feri

ng a

nee

ded

shot

in

the

arm

to

a hi

gh a

rt t

hat

has

been

pal

ely

narr

owed

to

the

tast

e of

a s

ingl

e cl

ass.

In P

erfil

es e

n un

Alb

um (

Prof

iles

in a

n A

lbum

)(p

.ll)

, E

scob

ar s

eem

s to

be

wor

king

aro

und

this

issu

e. T

wo

pow

erfu

l hea

ds c

onfr

ont

each

oth

erac

ross

the

cen

ter

of a

loo

sele

af n

oteb

ook.

Bot

hhe

ads

are

com

posi

tes,

giv

ing

the

impr

essi

on t

hat

the

skin

, or

the

ven

eer,

has

been

str

ippe

d aw

ay t

o sh

owth

e m

uscl

e, o

r th

e co

mpo

nent

s of

hum

anit

y (o

r th

ear

tist

); s

ome

elem

ents

are

"bo

und"

as

thou

gh h

eld

toge

ther

wit

h th

ongs

. O

n th

e le

ft, a

whi

te h

ead

wit

hw

ide

blue

lid

less

eye

s st

ares

in

surp

rise

or

amaz

emen

t or

fea

r at

the

red

hea

d on

the

rig

ht,

who

se e

yes

are

clos

ed b

ut w

hose

mou

th s

eem

s op

ento

spe

ak.

A f

ine

line

ar b

ranc

h is

dra

wn

befo

re t

hedr

eam

ing

red

head

.

Such

an

inte

nsit

y of

lon

ging

and

com

mun

icat

ion

perv

ades

thi

s pa

inti

ng t

hat

I ha

veto

see

it

as t

he a

rtis

t co

nfro

ntin

g hi

mse

lf,

his

drea

ms,

his

pas

t, ac

ross

the

pag

es o

f hi

sno

tebo

ok/c

anva

s —

his

prim

ary

tool

of

esca

pe.

Tog

ethe

r th

e tw

o he

ads

mig

ht a

lso

be s

een

as a

nim

age

of C

arib

bean

mes

tizaj

e—th

e "c

ivili

zed"

and

colo

nize

d w

hite

hea

d dr

awin

g kn

owle

dge

and

ener

gy f

rom

its

Ind

ian

coun

terp

art

as i

f ill

ustr

atin

gJo

se M

arti

's c

once

pt o

f "N

uestr

a Am

eric

a."

Wha

teve

rth

e m

eani

ng (

and

Ber

tha

Hus

band

has

sug

gest

edth

at E

scob

ar d

oesn

't of

fer

inte

rpre

tati

ons

beca

use

hew

ants

the

wor

k to

cre

ate

its

own

dial

ogue

wit

h th

evi

ewer

), th

is i

s a

com

pell

ing

pain

ting

tha

t fo

rces

us

to e

nter

it.

Esc

obar

's w

ork

wou

ld b

e sh

own

and

resp

ecte

d(c

ontin

ued

on p

. 14)

Perfi

les

en u

n A

lbum

(Pr

ofile

s in

an

Alb

um),

198

3

11

1 Su

eno

en l

a C

ara

(Mas

ked

Dre

am),

1983

12

2 La

s M

asca

ras

dent

ro d

e la

s C

aret

as (

Mas

ks

insi

de M

asks

),

1983

40

Las

One

iras

(Th

e O

nes

Who

Com

e fro

m D

ream

s),

1985

"Tod

ay,

nean

ng t

he e

nd o

f th

e '8

0's,

exp

erie

nce

tells

us

that

rea

lm

arxi

sm a

nd r

eal

mar

xist

s ha

ve a

nd s

usta

in m

ulti

ple

and

dive

rse

inte

rpre

tatio

ns

on t

he r

elat

ion

betw

een

art

and

poli

tics

. N

ever

thel

ess,

ev

enw

ithi

n th

ese

inte

rpre

tativ

e co

nflic

ts,

the

mar

xist

met

hod,

di

alec

tical

mat

eria

lism

, co

ntin

ues

to b

e, i

n m

y vi

ew,

the

mos

t ef

fect

ive

met

hod

tode

epen

and

bri

ng l

ight

on

the

prob

lem

s th

at c

ompr

ise

the

rela

tions

betw

een

art

and

poli

tics

."S

ince

the

lat

e '6

0's,

th

is t

opic

lite

rally

has

per

mea

ted

my

part

icip

atio

n in

the

pro

duct

ion

of i

mag

es:

draw

ings

, ca

rica

ture

s,gr

aphi

cs,

and

pain

ting

. Th

roug

h th

e ye

ars

this

has

bee

n bo

th h

ealth

y an

da

lim

itat

ion.

T

hus,

th

is i

nter

nal

stru

ggle

of

the f

orce

s th

at d

ebat

e w

ithi

n

me

has

been

acc

ompa

nied

by

a k

ind

of '

ideo

logi

cal j

udge

' or

'de

mon

' w

hoha

s be

en i

n ch

arge

of

the

unpl

easa

nt

wor

k of

hav

ing

to ju

stify

th

ese

imag

es. "T

hen,

in

the

lat

e 70

's,

this

str

uggl

e se

emed

to

take

a

diffe

rent

dire

ctio

n. M

y ow

n op

inio

ns

beca

me

less

im

port

ant

than

, le

t's s

ay,

the

use

.of

col

or,

text

ure,

or

the

free

r in

clus

ion

of o

neir

ic i

mag

es.

Toda

y,

I ha

vebe

tter

unde

rsto

od t

hat

in o

rder

to

say

or s

how

som

ethi

ng

sign

ifica

nt

inar

t, fir

st o

ne h

as t

o co

nstr

uct

and

deve

lop

one'

s ow

n la

ngua

ge."

13

(con

tinue

d fr

om p

. 11)

whe

ther

he

was

in

or o

ut o

f pr

ison

(th

ough

not

nece

ssar

ily i

n th

e m

ains

trea

m).

But

the

fac

t th

at h

eis

mak

ing

this

kin

d of

am

biti

ous

and

visi

onar

y w

ork

in t

hat

kind

of

plac

e of

fers

a m

odel

for

cul

tura

lre

sist

ance

. Pr

ison

poe

try

has

long

bee

n re

aliz

ed a

s a

sign

ific

ant

genr

e. V

isua

l ar

t ha

s no

t of

ten

reac

hed

thes

e he

ight

s, p

erha

ps b

ecau

se t

he s

pace

and

equi

pmen

t re

quir

emen

ts a

re h

arde

r to

mee

t w

ithi

nth

e w

alls

of

a ce

ll. D

epri

ved

of d

irec

t act

ion,

Esc

obar

has

bro

ught

to

bear

on

his

imag

inat

ion

the

shar

pnes

s of

his

pol

itica

l th

inki

ng a

nd h

isw

illin

gnes

s to

tak

e ri

sks.

Pol

itic

al p

ract

ice

is n

owne

cess

arily

cha

nnel

ed i

nto

theo

ry a

nd a

rt.

In t

hew

ords

of

Kar

l M

arx:

"Th

e do

min

ion

of t

heob

ject

ive

bein

g in

me,

the

sen

suou

s ou

tbur

st o

f m

yes

sent

ial

acti

vity

is e

mot

ion,

whi

ch t

hus

beco

mes

here

the

act

ivit

y of

my

bein

g."

Esc

obar

is

impa

tien

t w

ith

the

ideo

logi

cal

rest

rict

ions

lai

d on

art

by

thos

e of

us

who

try

to

conq

uer

alie

nati

on b

y in

tegr

atin

g ou

r ar

t an

d ou

rop

posi

tion

al a

ctiv

ism

, bu

t he

is

also

aw

are

that

all

the

com

bina

tion

s of

art

and

pol

itics

are

val

id;

hekn

ows

that

soc

ial

tran

sfor

mat

ion

(and

all

tran

sfor

mat

ion

is c

ultu

ral

by d

efin

itio

n) w

ill n

otco

me

from

a s

ingl

e di

rect

ion,

tha

t "p

rogr

ess"

is

not

a go

al o

f ar

t (e

ven

prog

ress

ive

art)

and

tha

t "t

here

al i

s th

e in

fini

te c

ontr

adic

tion

in

infi

nite

mov

emen

t." T

his

know

ledg

e is

im

part

ed i

n hi

spa

inti

ng.

Forc

ibly

sep

arat

ed f

rom

dir

ect

polit

ical

acti

vity

"ou

tsid

e,"

he s

eem

s to

be

able

to

see

the

role

of a

rt v

ery

clea

rly,

con

fron

ting

it a

s he

is,

fro

m"i

nsid

e"—

not

onl

y in

side

the

wal

ls o

f O

xfor

d Pr

ison

,bu

t in

side

the

wal

l-le

ss h

ome

of h

is o

wn

cons

ciou

snes

s an

d ex

peri

ence

.In

pai

ntin

gs l

ike

Fez

#2 (

Fish

#2)

(p.

9),

a fi

gure

swad

dled

/tra

pped

ins

ide

a fi

sh,

or L

a M

aga

y el

Vejig

ante

(The

Fem

ale

Mag

icia

n an

d th

e V

ejig

ante

)(c

over

), on

e ca

n al

mos

t fe

el t

he d

iale

ctic

s at

wor

k,un

anch

ored

fro

m p

olit

ical

spe

cifi

city

but

exp

ress

ing

none

thel

ess

the

stru

ggle

bet

wee

n de

sire

and

nece

ssity

, op

pres

sion

and

fre

edom

— a

stru

ggle

to

the

deat

h. N

ow a

nd t

hen,

how

ever

, the

joy

ofst

rugg

le a

nd t

he d

ream

of

self

-det

erm

inat

ion

brea

ksth

roug

h, a

nd E

scob

ar p

rodu

ces

a w

ork

like

Vejig

ante

Aleg

re (

Joyf

ul V

ejig

ante

) (b

ack

cove

r) i

n w

hich

the

14

man

y-ho

rned

mas

k (w

ith

a cu

riou

s re

sem

blan

ce t

oth

e S

tatu

e of

Lib

erty

's c

row

n) s

eem

s to

be

burn

ing

up w

ith

"a p

assi

on o

f th

e co

ncep

t."

At

the

sam

eti

me,

thi

s ri

tual

ized

fig

ure

is s

mil

ing

wit

h a

very

hum

an l

ook

— no

t m

ad j

oy,

or a

n ev

il jo

y, b

ut j

oyde

spite

eve

ryth

ing.

Nev

erth

eles

s, i

t is

a m

ask.

Eli

zam

Esc

obar

the

man

liv

es b

enea

th t

he c

ultu

ral m

ask

as t

he p

riso

ner

lives

wit

hin

the

dign

ity

he h

as f

orge

d fo

r hi

mse

lf a

sa

crea

tor.

Bur

ied

som

ewhe

re i

n th

ese

pain

ting

sm

ust

be i

mag

es o

f lif

e ou

tsid

e as

wel

l as

ins

ide

—a

life

dedi

cate

d to

art

and

lib

erat

ion.

Esc

obar

has

been

a u

nive

rsit

y st

uden

t, a

garb

age

swee

per,

a si

gnpa

inte

r, a

com

mun

ity

art

teac

her,

a m

ural

ist,

ajo

urna

list

, a

cart

ooni

st,

and

a fr

eedo

m f

ight

er (

are

al o

ne,

not

the

Rea

gan

imit

atio

n). T

he b

read

th o

fhi

s es

thet

ic a

ccom

plis

hmen

t is

und

oubt

edly

due

in

part

to

the

brea

dth

and

cour

age

of h

is e

xper

ienc

e of

real

ity.

His

str

uggl

es i

n th

e w

orld

are

ref

lect

ed in

the

intr

icac

y of

his

art

. A

nd t

hey

in t

urn

refl

ect

the

triu

mph

of

the

indi

vidu

al s

piri

t —in

its

elf

anal

lego

ry f

or t

he e

vent

ual

triu

mph

of

the

peop

le. D

21

Van

aaon

a M

inot

auro

maq

um (

Var

iati

on o

n P

icas

so's

Min

otau

rom

aqui

a),

1984

I

"An

artis

t is

not

an

indi

vidu

al

who

cre

ates

and

prod

uces

his

/her

wor

k in

depe

nden

t of

ever

ythi

ng e

lse:

natu

re,

soci

ety,

th

ings

. Su

ch a

phen

omen

on c

an n

ot h

appe

n. H

owev

er,

we

oppo

sean

y ty

pe o

f de

term

inis

m t

hat

deni

es th

e ca

paci

ty

ofth

e in

divi

dual

to

tra

nsfo

rm

his

real

ity o

r tra

nsce

ndth

e lim

its t

hat

exte

rnal

con

ditio

ns i

mpo

se,

inre

latio

n to

his

wor

k."A

rt is

a p

roce

ss t

hat

cann

ot b

e re

duce

d to

such

det

erm

inin

g ca

uses

in

spac

e no

r to

one

trad

ition

or

spec

ific

expe

rien

ce t

hrou

gh t

ime.

Th

isis

the

per

spec

tive

from

w

hich

we

see

the

indi

vidu

alPu

erto

Ric

an a

rtis

t (e

ither

in

Pue

rto

Ric

o or

in

exile

), in

rel

atio

n to

his

tim

es a

nd h

is p

robl

emat

ic.

We

also

und

erst

and

that

art

can

not

just

be

seen

from

th

e po

int

of v

iew

of

the

indi

vidu

al

who

prod

uces

it,

but

rath

er i

n re

latio

n to

its

cla

ss,

grou

p or

frac

tion

of a

soc

ial c

lass

, its

his

tori

cal

epoc

h, a

nd fr

om

the

base

of

its '

univ

ersa

lity.

' O

nefa

ctor

dia

lect

ical

ly a

ffects

an

othe

r. I

n th

e sa

me

way

tha

t on

e fac

tor

can

be d

omin

ant,

also

a s

tyle

or v

ario

us s

tyle

s w

ill

dom

inat

e fo

r a

spec

ific

peri

od.

In r

elat

ion

to t

he i

ndiv

idua

l, w

e ha

ve to

add

that

he/

she

can

not

be r

educ

ed t

o a

styl

e, b

utra

ther

in

his/

her

proc

ess o

f pro

duct

ion

and

form

atio

n,

he/s

he c

an e

ither

mas

ter

a st

yle,

or

can

deve

lop

or a

dopt

var

ious

sty

les

eith

er su

cces

sive

lyor

sim

ulta

neou

sly.

"One

of

the

pro

blem

s th

at e

mer

ges

in t

hedi

alec

tical

-mat

eria

list

anal

ysis

of

art

is t

hat

man

ytim

es t

he p

ositi

on i

s pu

t fo

rwar

d th

at e

xter

nal

fact

ors

(soc

ial

clas

s/na

tion/

epoc

h, e

tc.)

are

the

only

ones

tha

t de

term

ine

the f

orm

atio

n of

the

indi

vidu

al,

of h

is s

tyle

or

wor

ld v

iew

. If

we

reco

gniz

e th

e ca

paci

ty

of t

he i

ndiv

idua

l to

tran

sfor

m

the

'real

ity'

of m

an a

s an

his

tori

cal

bein

g (o

f m

an a

s th

e pr

otag

onis

t of

his

tory

), th

enth

ere

is n

o ba

sis

to r

educ

e hi

m

to a

'sp

ecifi

cin

heri

tanc

e,' a

sin

gle

trad

ition

, a

sing

le s

tyle

,ce

rtai

n ae

sthe

tic n

orm

s, e

tc.

"The

co

ncep

t of

'th

e tr

ue a

rt' o

nly

appl

ies

toth

e el

abor

atio

n of

art

istic

pro

duct

ion

thro

ugh

the

hone

sty

of t

he i

ndiv

idua

l in

his

/her

pos

sibi

lity

ofm

akin

g ou

t of

his

/her

mat

eria

l an

art

istic

lang

uage

in

spite

of

wha

t is

acc

epte

d by

one

trad

ition

and

des

pite

wha

t is

sup

pose

d to

be

'det

erm

inan

t.' I

t is

a l

angu

age

in s

pite

of

the

mor

alva

lues

of

the

mom

ent,

cultu

ral,

ideo

logi

cal a

ndpo

litic

al l

imits

, et

c. T

he l

angu

age

is n

ot o

nly

wha

t ha

s be

en d

one

up t

o th

e m

omen

t, bu

t al

soth

e po

ssib

ility

of

this

lan

guag

e tr

ansf

orm

ing

itself

to e

xpre

ss (

amon

g ot

her

thin

gs)

wha

t th

e pr

evio

usla

ngua

ge c

an n

o lo

nger

exp

ress

effe

ctive

ly.

Her

e,w

e w

ant

to q

uote

Jose

Car

los

Mar

idte

gui

from

hi

sar

ticle

ent

itled

Rei

nvin

dica

cion

de

Jorg

eM

anri

qu

e,

1927

:

Bec

ause

tra

ditio

n is

con

trar

y to

wha

t tr

aditi

onal

ists

desi

re,

livi

ng a

nd m

ovin

g.

Thos

e w

ho n

egat

e it,

cre

ate

it to

ren

ew i

t an

d en

rich

it.

Thos

e w

ho w

ant

it de

adan

d im

mob

ile,

kil

l it,

to

prol

ong

the

past

in

a pr

esen

tw

itho

ut s

tren

gth,

to

inc

orpo

rate

the

ir s

piri

t in

it

and

to p

our

thei

r bl

ood

into

it.

49

La

Inde

cisi

on (

Inde

cisi

on),

19

85

15

51

El

Em

ayo

(The

Reh

ears

al),

1986

"Art

is

nour

ishe

d by

all

elem

ents

, in

teri

or a

nd e

xter

ior.

It

is u

p to

the

ind

ivid

ual

to c

hoos

e am

ong

them

tho

se h

e co

nsid

ers

mos

t si

gnifi

cant

for

hi

s cr

eativ

e la

bor.

But

w

e do

not

see

the

crea

tive

act

only

as

ach

oice

or

sele

ctio

n of

raw

mat

eria

l. It

is

als

o ac

com

pani

ed b

y in

vent

ion,

th

e im

ages

of

drea

ms,

sy

mbo

licim

ages

, et

c."M

ore

curr

ents

, m

ovem

ents

and

sty

les

have

em

erge

d si

nce

the

birt

h of

pos

t-im

pres

sion

ism

th

an i

n al

lpr

evio

us e

poch

s co

mbi

ned.

U

nder

stan

ding

th

e ri

chne

ss i

n th

e va

riet

y of

sty

les

and

man

ifest

atio

ns

and

the

com

plex

ity

of o

ur w

orld

, w

e co

ntin

ue i

n th

e gr

eat

adve

ntur

e of

art

. To

red

uce

art

is t

o im

pove

rish

art

, an

din

the

end

hum

an e

xper

ienc

e an

d pr

ogre

ss."

16

54

El

Sucr

lo d

e la

Par

tcra

(Th

e M

idw

ife's

D

ream

), 19

86

"We

quot

e M

arid

tegu

i ag

ain:

'T

he a

rtis

t w

ho d

oes

not f

eel

the

agita

tion,

th

e w

orri

es a

nd t

hean

xiet

ies

of h

is p

eopl

e an

d th

eir

times

is

an a

rtis

t of

med

iocr

e se

nsib

ility

, an

emic

in

unde

rsta

ndin

g.'

His

/her

id

eolo

gy

'can

not

emer

ge fr

om

the

salo

ns o

f ae

sthe

tes;

it m

ust

be a

n id

eolo

gy f

ull

of l

ife,

of e

mot

ion,

of h

uman

ity

and

trut

h,

not

an a

rtifi

cial

, lit

erar

y, a

nd fa

lse

conc

epti

on.'T

he

Art

ist

and

the

Tim

es,

1959

." "Nor

do

we

dem

and

that

eve

ry p

oet

shou

ld w

rite

in

a w

ay t

hat

he b

elie

ves

is i

n co

mpl

ianc

e w

ith

his

patr

iotic

and

rev

olut

iona

ry d

uty

by m

akin

g ev

ery

poem

int

o w

hat

Ani

bal

Ponc

e ca

lled

'to l

aunc

h on

to h

ispa

tien

t pu

blic

an

awkw

ard

folly

w

ith

a cl

osed

fist

.'" J

uan

Ant

onio

Cor

retje

r, P

oet

ry a

nd

Rev

olut

ion,

1981

.

17

A D

EE

P S

EA

DIV

ER

IN

TH

E P

HA

NT

OM

(LY

) C

OU

NT

RY

Ber

tha

Hus

band

The

fun

dam

enta

l kno

wle

dge

of t

heon

enes

s of

eve

ryth

ing

exis

tent

, th

e co

ncep

tion

of i

ndiv

idua

tion

as

the

prim

al c

ause

of e

vil,

and

of a

rt a

s th

e jo

yous

hop

e th

at t

he s

pell

ofin

divi

duat

ion

may

be

brok

en i

n au

gury

of

are

stor

ed

onen

ess.

— N

ietz

sche

But

ide

olog

y tr

ies

to s

educ

e us

thr

ough

its i

llus

ion

of u

nive

rsal

ity.

— I

van

Silc

n

Peac

e w

ith

the

fore

igne

r w

ould

be

the

trea

son

to t

he p

eace

whi

ch w

e ar

e. T

o ha

vefa

ith i

n yo

ur n

on-v

iole

nce

(tha

t on

e th

atde

stro

ys o

ur l

angu

age.

..tha

t on

e th

at t

urns

us

into

fol

klor

e, t

hat

stea

ls f

rom

us.

..)—

Iva

n Si

len

All

art

that

asp

ires

to,

or

achi

eves

, uni

vers

alit

y,is

als

o ro

oted

in

a pa

rtic

ular

exp

erie

nce.

Bea

ring

this

in

min

d, t

here

are

cer

tain

fac

ts a

bout

Eliz

arn

Esc

obar

whi

ch s

houl

d be

not

ed:

1. H

e is

fro

m P

uert

o R

ico,

a c

olon

ized

cou

ntry

.

2. H

e ha

s ch

osen

to

dedi

cate

his

lif

e to

art

.

3. H

e ha

s al

so c

hose

n to

ded

icat

e hi

s lif

e to

the

libe

rati

on o

f hi

s co

untr

y fo

r w

hich

he

is n

owin

carc

erat

ed i

n a

U.S

. pr

ison

.

It is

ver

y ra

re i

n th

is c

ultu

re t

hat

the

arti

st a

ndth

e re

volu

tion

ary

com

bine

in

one

hum

an b

eing

.A

ltho

ugh

hum

an l

iber

atio

n is

the

goa

l of

bot

h ar

tan

d re

volu

tion

ary

polit

ics,

the

pra

xis

and

the

lang

uage

are

dif

fere

nt f

or e

ach,

cre

atin

g in

the

revo

luti

onar

y ar

tist

a t

ensi

on b

orn

of c

erta

inco

ntra

dict

ions

. C

hoos

ing

to e

xpre

ss t

he i

nner

life

,ho

wev

er n

on-c

onfo

rmis

t to

the

ide

al i

t m

ay a

ppea

r,ca

n of

ten

cast

the

rev

olut

iona

ry a

rtis

t in

the

posi

tion

of

the

"def

ecto

r" to

dec

aden

ce,

the

apol

ogis

tfo

r th

e cu

lt of

the

ind

ivid

ual a

s ag

ains

t th

ede

velo

pmen

t of

a c

onsc

ious

ness

sui

ted

to t

he n

ew

Ber

tha

Hu

sban

d is

a B

riti

sh a

rtis

t an

d a

mem

ber

of A

xeSt

reet

Are

na,

a co

llec

tive

ly-r

un a

rt s

pace

in

Chi

cago

.

soci

ety.

His

ow

n cl

oses

t co

mpa

nion

s in

the

str

uggl

eof

ten

do n

ot a

ppro

ve o

f th

e di

rect

ion

in w

hich

art

take

s hi

m,

pref

erri

ng to

see

all

cult

ural

for

ms

dedi

cate

d to

the

ser

vice

of

the

revo

luti

on,

forg

etti

ngth

at f

or a

rt t

ruly

to b

e an

im

port

ant

part

of

the

futu

re,

it m

ust

allo

w u

s to

vie

w w

itho

ut t

repi

dati

onth

e w

orki

ngs

of t

he d

eepe

st p

art

of o

ur

imag

inat

ion,

not

as a

kin

d of

the

rapy

, bu

t so

tha

t de

sire

can

be

free

d fr

om a

ppro

pria

tion

fo

r co

mm

erci

al

purp

oses

and

set

upon

its

ine

luct

able

pat

h.

But

in

the

traj

ecto

ry o

f a

sing

le l

ife t

here

may

be t

imes

for

dif

fere

nt t

hing

s. I

f w

e be

lieve

tha

t th

eev

ent

follo

ws

us u

ntil

we

mak

e it

happ

en,

we

can

see

that

the

re m

ay b

e hi

stor

ical

con

diti

ons

whi

chre

quir

e th

e ar

tist

/rev

olut

iona

ry to

aba

ndon

the

brus

hstr

oke

in f

avor

of

the

sure

-aim

. A

t th

ose

cert

ain

mom

ents

it

beco

mes

ver

y di

ffic

ult

to j

usti

fyth

e lif

e de

vote

d to

ind

ivid

ual d

evel

opm

ent

in t

hefa

ce o

f a

mou

ntin

g ne

ed f

or s

ocia

l ac

tion.

T

hech

oice

the

n be

com

es o

ne o

f co

mm

itti

ng o

ne's

arti

stic

ski

lls t

otal

ly t

o th

e ne

eds

and

uses

of

prop

agan

da,

or b

ecom

ing

anot

her

kind

of f

ight

er.

Face

d w

ith

this

cho

ice,

Esc

obar

has

cho

sen

to k

eep

his

art

sepa

rate

fro

m p

ropa

gand

a,

free

of

the

dict

ates

of

all

ideo

logy

, in

the

bel

ief

that

"ar

t fo

r ar

t'ssa

ke"

is n

ot a

ter

m t

hat

can

be a

ppli

ed a

s an

epi

thet

to t

he w

ork

of a

com

mit

ted

revo

luti

onar

y ar

tist

, bu

ton

ly t

o th

at o

f a

"lib

eral

" or

vag

uely

hum

anit

aria

non

e, w

hose

cho

ice

of a

n ar

tist

ic v

ocat

ion

was

no

doub

t m

ade

for

the

sam

e re

ason

s an

y vo

catio

nw

ould

hav

e be

en c

hose

n: p

ract

ical

con

side

rati

onco

mbi

ned

wit

h th

e in

tere

st i

n ce

rtai

n sk

ills

and

the

attr

acti

on f

or t

he p

arti

cula

r so

cial

sta

tus

acqu

ired

whe

n su

cces

s is

ach

ieve

d. F

or t

his

kind

of

arti

st,

fash

ion

will

rul

e an

d ex

pedi

ency

will

dec

ide

whi

chid

eolo

gy t

he a

rt p

rodu

ced

will

ref

lect

. O

nly

for

the

true

rev

olut

iona

ry i

s th

ere

no n

eed

to f

aint

at

the

sigh

t of

con

trad

icti

on o

r to

fea

r th

e em

erge

nce

ofth

at w

hich

may

not

be

imm

edia

tely

acc

essi

ble

and

ther

efor

e us

eful

. "I

n a

clas

s so

ciet

y,"

Esc

obar

say

s,"y

ou c

anno

t es

cape

fro

m i

deol

ogy,

but

you

hav

e tw

ode

fini

te o

ptio

ns i

n ar

t. E

ithe

r yo

u re

duce

art

to

ideo

logy

or

you

redu

ce t

he i

deol

ogic

al e

lem

ent

thro

ugh

a pr

axis

of l

iber

atio

n."

To

ente

r an

Esc

obar

pai

ntin

g is

to

desc

end

into

a w

orld

tha

t ap

pear

s to

be

unde

rwat

er.

To

have

grow

n up

on

an i

slan

d as

sm

all

as P

uert

o R

ico

will

mea

n th

e oc

ean

is a

sig

nifi

cant

im

age.

It

is w

hat

nour

ishe

s yo

u an

d m

ay d

efen

d yo

u fr

om t

hein

trud

er —

or b

ring

him

to

your

sho

res.

The

sou

ndan

d th

e sm

ell

of i

t is

nev

er v

ery

far

away

. T

hevi

ewer

fee

ls i

t in

the

use

of

deep

blu

es,

gree

ns,

blue

/gre

ens

and

crim

son/

viol

et.

Out

side

of

the

gree

n an

d oc

casi

onal

och

re,

ther

e is

a c

ompl

ete

46

Muj

er

Vejig

anta

(V

ejig

anta

W

oman

), 19

85

18

abse

nce

of y

ello

w, s

o m

uch

the

colo

ur o

f la

ndsc

ape,

the

play

of

sun

on t

rees

and

gra

sses

. T

he l

ight

whi

ch s

eem

s to

pen

etra

te t

his

wor

ld i

s th

etr

ansp

aren

t li

ght

com

ing

from

the

sur

face

dow

nwar

ds.

It i

s a

pale

blu

e/gr

een

ligh

t wit

h sm

all

area

s of

whi

te a

nd a

pin

k lik

e cr

ushe

d ra

spbe

rrie

s.T

he f

orm

s —an

d th

is i

s pa

rtic

ular

ly t

rue

of t

he l

arge

pain

ting

s, L

os S

epul

ture

ros

(p.

21),

Las

One

iras

(p.

13),

La V

ejiga

nta

Dor

mid

a (p

. 6)

— fi

ll th

e pa

inti

ng a

nd

are

clos

e to

the

pai

ntin

g su

rfac

e, a

s if

they

hav

e fl

oate

dup

to

the

view

er's

deep

sea

div

ing

mas

k. T

he s

pace

is d

isin

tegr

ated

, ou

t of

foc

us,

but

the

sim

ilar

pai

nttr

eatm

ent

of t

he f

igur

es m

akes

the

for

ms

diss

olve

into

the

sur

roun

ding

spa

ce w

hich

, in

tur

n, c

omes

forw

ard

to t

he p

ictu

re s

urfa

ce.

The

vie

wer

sel

ects

the

figu

res

and

guit

ars

from

thi

s di

sint

egra

ted,

flu

idw

orld

and

, in

con

stru

ctin

g th

em,

focu

ses

on t

hem

.T

he v

iew

er a

s de

ep s

ea d

iver

is

floa

ting

in a

wor

ldth

at i

s co

nsta

ntly

cha

ngin

g, d

isso

lvin

g, r

e-fo

rmin

g.

For

Esc

obar

, th

e pr

oces

s is

as

impo

rtan

t as

the

fini

shed

pro

duct

; th

e jo

urne

y an

d it

s di

scov

erie

s ar

eeq

ual

to t

he a

rriv

al a

t th

e de

stin

atio

n. E

very

thin

g in

his

pain

ting

pro

cess

is

conf

ined

to

man

ipul

atin

gac

rylic

pai

nt w

ith

brus

h or

kni

fe o

n ca

nvas

. In

thi

s,w

e ar

e in

the

pre

senc

e of

"re

al"

pain

ting

, pa

inti

ng i

nw

hich

the

dec

isio

ns a

re m

ade

as t

he w

ork

is c

arri

edon

wit

hin

the

viol

ence

of

the

proc

ess.

In

desc

ribi

ngho

w h

e w

orks

, E

scob

ar h

as q

uote

d th

e pa

inte

rFr

anci

s B

acon

: "T

he b

rush

stro

ke c

reat

es t

he f

orm

and

does

not

mer

ely

fill

it in

. C

onse

quen

tly,

eve

rym

ovem

ent

of t

he b

rush

on

the

canv

as a

lters

the

shap

e an

d im

plic

atio

ns o

f th

e im

age.

Tha

t is

why

real

pai

ntin

g is

a m

yste

riou

s an

d co

ntin

uous

stru

ggle

wit

h ch

ance

." W

here

Esc

obar

dif

fers

fro

mB

acon

is

on t

he q

uest

ion

of r

epea

ting

acc

iden

ts.

Bac

on b

elie

ves

an a

ccid

ent

cann

ot b

e us

ed a

gain

, as

it w

ould

cea

se t

o be

an

acci

dent

. E

scob

ar "

recr

eate

sth

e es

senc

e of

an

acci

dent

." "

But

the

n, a

fter

I h

ave

so m

any

acci

dent

s tu

rned

int

o te

chni

que,

oth

erac

cide

nts

arri

ve a

nd s

o fo

rth.

" It

is

the

crea

tive

proc

ess

that

is

bein

g tr

ansm

itte

d to

us

whe

n w

eco

nfro

nt t

hese

pai

ntin

gs. T

his

flui

d an

d se

nsua

lun

derw

ater

wor

ld,

cons

tant

ly d

estr

oyin

g an

dre

crea

ting

, is

lik

e th

e pr

oces

s of

its

cre

atio

n w

hich

in t

urn

mir

rors

the

rev

olut

iona

ry p

roce

ss m

ade

upoi

pla

ns a

nd c

hanc

e, c

ause

s an

d ac

cide

nt, t

ensi

on,

risk

, st

rugg

le,

love

and

vio

lenc

e.

"Bef

ore,

I u

sed

to d

o so

me

pain

ting

s wit

hout

any

prev

ious

ide

a or

im

age

at a

ll. E

very

thin

g w

asde

cide

d in

the

pro

cess

—a

kind

of

auto

mat

ism

. N

otno

w.

Tod

ay I

hav

e an

'exc

ess'

of i

dea

imag

es t

hat

Iw

ant

to d

evel

op o

r si

mpl

y do

var

iati

ons

from

, an

dfr

om t

hem

oth

er i

deas

spr

out.

" W

e ca

n se

e fr

om t

hepa

inti

ngs

in t

his

exhi

biti

on th

at t

he "

idea

im

ages

"th

at r

ecur

are

the

vej

igan

te,

the

guit

ar,

the

fish

, th

eba

ndag

ed f

ish,

the

dis

sect

ed f

ish

and

the

diss

ecte

dhu

man

bei

ng.

Esc

obar

ref

uses

, ho

wev

er,

to b

epi

nned

dow

n to

giv

ing

any

expl

anat

ion

as t

o th

esp

ecif

ic m

eani

ng o

f an

y of

the

se i

mag

es i

n th

eaw

aren

ess

that

wha

t he

doe

s an

d w

hat

he t

hink

s he

does

are

not

nec

essa

rily

the

sam

e. T

he i

mag

es h

ere

are

not

sym

bols

wit

h a

refe

rent

; th

ey a

re f

orm

s he

allo

ws

to b

e ch

osen

. H

e lik

es t

hem

. T

he v

iew

er's

inte

rpre

tati

ons

com

e fr

om t

he d

ialo

gue

betw

een

the

view

er a

nd t

he p

aint

ing.

If

the

imag

es a

nd t

hem

esof

an

indi

vidu

al v

isio

n ar

e dr

awn

from

our

ear

liest

year

s, t

hose

im

pres

sion

able

tim

es w

hen

our

sens

esan

d ou

r im

agin

atio

n ar

e no

t tr

appe

d by

the

use

s of

form

al l

ogic

and

pra

ctic

al n

eed,

the

n th

ese

imag

esca

n be

see

n to

hav

e fl

oate

d up

to

the

surf

ace

ofE

scob

ar's

con

scio

us l

ife f

rom

his

chi

ldho

od i

nPo

nce,

Pue

rto

Ric

o. T

he c

onst

ant

crea

tion

ofva

riat

ions

of

thes

e im

ages

may

be

seen

as

an a

ct o

ffr

eein

g hi

mse

lf f

rom

a d

oubl

e in

carc

erat

ion

—no

ton

ly i

s he

im

pris

oned

by

the

U.S

. go

vern

men

t, bu

the

is

in e

xile

fro

m h

is o

wn

impr

ison

ed c

ount

ry.

Whe

n sp

eaki

ng o

f th

e ve

jigan

te i

mag

e, h

e sa

ys h

eus

es i

t be

caus

e "I

wan

t to

bre

ak s

omet

hing

tha

t is

min

e in

to p

iece

s, l

ike

an a

utop

sy.

I w

ant

to d

estr

oy

(con

tinue

d on

p. 2

2)

17

Fez

§1 (

Imag

en

Vis

iona

ria)

(F

ish

§1:

Vis

iona

ry I

mag

e),

1984

19

30

Los

Ciu

dada

nos

del

Pai

s Fa

nti

•itom

(ly)

Cou

ntry

#3)

, 19

8533

Lo

s C

iuda

dano

s de

l P

ais

Fan

tasm

a #6

(C

itize

ns

of a

Pha

ntom

(ly)

C

ount

ry #

6),

1985

"Sci

ence

see

ms

to b

e for

m

any

the

supr

eme

god,

th

e ne

w A

bsol

ute.

And

ar

t, po

etry

, et

c.,

have

bec

ome

mor

e an

d m

ore ju

st a

n in

stru

men

t at

the

serv

ice

of i

deol

ogie

s,

bure

aucr

acie

s, p

olit

ics,

or

stup

idit

y.

Is t

hat

wha

tw

e w

ant?

Is

that

the

rol

e of

art

? Sh

ould

art

ists

be

only

m

outh

piec

es?

Shou

ld w

e th

row

out

all

the

poe

ts f

rom

th

e R

epub

lic

(Pla

to,

Stal

in,

Hit

ler)

un

less

the

y be

com

e ob

edie

nt t

o id

eolo

gy o

r to

the

Sta

te?"

29

Los

Ciu

dada

nos

del

Pai

s F

anta

sma

#2 (

Citi

zens

of

a P

hant

om(l

y)

Cou

ntry

#2)

, 19

85

20

"Fro

m a

bir

d's

eye

view

, w

e ca

n ob

serv

e a

new

cha

os i

n th

e ar

tw

orld

; a

grea

t co

nfus

ion

in t

he a

rtis

tic v

alue

s an

d a

sick

enin

g pi

ctur

e of

the

art

mar

ket.

Art

ists

, de

aler

s, g

alle

ry o

wne

rs,

mus

eum

s,

auct

ion

hous

es,

colle

ctor

s, e

tc.

are

all

danc

ing

to t

he t

une

of b

ig c

apita

l, w

here

art

beco

mes

a p

iece

of

prop

erty

to

be

enjo

yed

not

only

for

its e

sthe

tic o

rem

otio

nal

valu

e, b

ut fo

r its

bor

row

ing

pow

er.'

The

artis

t be

com

es a

serv

ile fa

ctor

y th

at p

rodu

ces

imag

es,

no l

onge

r for

th

e ol

d ill

usio

n of

art

-fo

r-ar

t's-s

ake,

bu

t in

the

spi

rit

ofar

t-fo

r-m

oney

's-s

ake.

.."T

he a

vant

-gar

de i

s de

ad.

The

mar

ket

mad

e it

harm

less

and

usel

ess.

And

w

e, w

ho m

ay s

till

hav

e so

met

hing

of

the

avan

t-ga

rdis

t in

us,

wou

ld l

ike

to m

ake

of o

ur w

orks

som

ethi

ng u

sele

ss to

tha

t sa

me

mar

ket.

We

wou

ld l

ike

that

our

wor

k w

ould

hav

e so

met

hing

whi

ch t

hey

coul

dn't

use.

May

be

that

som

ethi

ng w

ould

be

US,

be

caus

e w

e kn

ow t

hat

the

old

fox

has

been

abl

e to

con

vert

eve

ryth

ing

into

a c

omm

odity

.B

ecau

se,

perh

aps,

th

ere

is s

till

a g

reat

wor

k of

art

to

real

ize:

the

dest

ruct

ion

of t

hat

mar

ket.

"So,

eith

er w

e co

oper

ate

wit

h th

e sy

stem

, or

we

stru

ggle

aga

inst

it.

Eit

her

we

beco

me

wha

t w

e sa

y w

e ar

e, o

r si

mpl

y ac

cept

the

rol

e of

mer

cena

ry p

eddl

ers

and

usef

ul

fool

s."I

t's t

rue,

our

pre

tens

ions

may

see

m fa

ntas

tic

and

unre

al,

but

our

cent

ury

has

prov

ed t

hat

real

ity i

s m

uch

mor

e fan

tast

ic t

han

our

imag

inat

ion.

Th

at

the

imag

inat

ion

is a

lso

a po

liti

cal

wea

pon.

A

nd

that

the

stru

ggle

is

also

bet

wee

n on

e fic

tion

and

ano

ther

fict

ion.

Le

t's t

hen

beda

ring

, as

our

son

gs a

re d

arin

g, a

s ou

r po

ems,

as

our

im

ages

. Le

t's w

alk

too

besi

de t

he g

rave

digg

ers

for

the

wel

lbem

g of

art

and

hu

man

ity."

/T2-

KT

-

Los

Sep

ultu

rero

s (T

he

Gra

vedi

gger

s),

198;

")

21

Hu

sban

d(c

ontin

ued

from

p. 1

9)

som

ethi

ng t

hat

belo

ngs

to m

e."

The

veji

gant

e is

one

of t

he t

radi

tion

al m

aske

d ch

arac

ters

fro

m t

hePu

erto

Ric

an f

iest

a of

San

tiag

o A

post

ol —

horn

edan

d gr

otes

que.

But

Esc

obar

doe

s no

t be

lieve

it

is h

issi

mpl

y be

caus

e he

is

a Pu

erto

Ric

an,

but

also

beca

use

as a

chi

ld h

e m

ade

vejig

ante

mas

ks f

rom

papi

er m

ache

usi

ng h

is o

wn

face

as

a m

old.

The

band

aged

fac

e, t

he d

isse

ctio

n, th

e ve

jigan

te m

ask —

the

mas

k w

hich

als

o un

mas

ks.

In t

his

sens

e th

eve

jigan

te ca

n be

see

n as

a m

etap

hor

for

an a

rt w

hich

has

as i

ts p

urpo

se t

he u

nvei

ling

of

the

proh

ibit

ed,

the

was

hing

ash

ore

of a

mys

teri

ous

relic

.

The

seri

es o

f sm

all

pain

ting

s, C

iuda

dano

s de

lP

ah F

anla

sma

(Cit

i/en

s fr

om a

Pha

ntom

(ly)

Cou

ntry

), d

oes

not

appe

ar t

o be

flo

atin

g in

the

sam

e un

derw

ater

spa

ce a

s th

e la

rger

pie

ces.

The

yin

habi

t an

othe

r w

orld

tha

t se

ems

also

sub

terr

anea

nbu

t bo

und

to t

he e

arth

, ca

velik

e. S

ome

of t

hem

appe

ar t

o be

sna

psho

ts o

f Fi

esta

cha

ract

ers

in f

ront

of a

bac

kdro

p. T

he s

tars

are

out

, fi

sh s

wim

by

and

larg

e sh

adow

s ov

erlo

ok t

hem

as

they

pos

e on

a s

tage

wit

h th

eir

fles

h-lik

e, b

ent,

fat-

fing

ered

gui

tars

hang

ing

from

the

ir a

rms.

The

y ar

e pa

rt o

f an

ongo

ing

seri

es o

f sm

all

grou

p co

mpo

siti

ons

that

Esc

obar

has

bee

n do

ing

sinc

e he

was

a c

hild

. "In

them

, I

recr

eate

a p

erso

nal/

priv

ate

wor

ld i

n w

hich

I

can

satis

fy m

ore

the

nece

ssiti

es a

nd u

rges

of

my

imag

inat

ion

than

I c

an i

n th

e la

rger

pai

ntin

gs."

The

y ha

ve c

onsi

sten

tly

rem

aine

d in

the

ir s

ame

wor

ld,

but

from

tim

e to

tim

e th

e ch

arac

ters

cha

nge

in a

ppea

ranc

e.

One

of

thes

e, N

o. 6

in

the

curr

ent

seri

es (

p. 2

0),

has

haun

ted

me

sinc

e I

first

saw

it.

The

thr

ee c

hara

cter

s do

not

see

m t

o liv

e in

the

sam

e he

rmet

ic s

pace

as

the

othe

rs.

The

y ar

e lik

eda

ncin

g sh

adow

s ca

st i

n a

land

scap

e co

min

g as

hore

on a

moo

nlit

nigh

t an

d ha

ve t

he q

uali

ty o

f a

perf

ect

acci

dent

. E

scob

ar h

as a

lso

said

of

the

"Citi

zens

": "

Inpa

rtic

ular

, th

ey h

ave

som

ethi

ng o

f th

e ab

surd

ity

ofou

r co

loni

al s

itua

tion

; in

gene

ral,

som

ethi

ng o

f th

ehu

man

com

edy/

trag

edy.

I a

m a

frai

d th

at e

ven

11

Ale

gori

a de

l A

bsur

do (

Alle

gory

of

the

Abs

urd)

, 19

84

22

"...i

n pr

ison

, I

have

foun

d ti

me,

in

a w

ay.

Mos

t pr

ison

ers

look

at

tim

e as

the

ir e

nem

y.

They

wan

t an

d th

ey d

o ki

ll t

ime.

In

my

case

, it'

s th

ere

vers

e: I

nev

er h

ave

enou

gh t

ime.

T

his

may

soun

d lik

e a

dram

atic

sta

tem

ent

to s

cand

aliz

eot

hers

. B

ut

tim

e ha

s no

mer

cy fo

r th

ose

who

nee

dT

ime

nor

for

thos

e w

ho w

ill

pref

er

to '

kill

it'

inor

der

to e

scap

e fro

m

it."

thro

ugh

dist

ortio

ns,

satir

e an

d iro

ny,

I st

ill e

xpre

sssy

mpa

thy

for

them

." T

heir

im

med

iate

app

eal

nodo

ubt

lies

in h

is a

ffec

tion

for

them

. T

he

"Citi

zens

"ar

e al

so i

nflu

ence

d by

the

wor

k of

ano

ther

Pu

erto

Ric

an p

aint

er,

Car

los

Raq

uel

Riv

era,

an

arti

st f

rom

the

mos

t in

flue

ntia

l ge

nera

tion

of

Puer

to R

ican

pain

ters

who

em

erge

d in

the

195

0's.

Riv

era'

spa

inti

ngs

are

smal

l an

d co

mbi

ne s

urre

alis

t el

emen

tsw

ith

"a v

ery

arbi

trar

y so

cial

-rea

lism

and

mag

ic-

real

ism

tha

t pr

oduc

e so

me

very

'abs

urd'

wor

lds.

"E

scob

ar r

ecal

ls t

hat

he f

irst

saw

a R

iver

a pa

inti

ngat

the

hom

e of

Juan

Ant

onio

Cor

retje

r, th

e la

tePu

erto

Ric

an I

ndep

ende

ntis

ta a

nd p

oet,

and

that

this

wor

k, w

hich

he

retu

rned

to

view

man

y ti

mes

,

incr

ease

d hi

s in

tere

st i

n pa

inti

ng.

To

be a

n ar

tist

fro

m P

uert

o R

ico

is t

o in

heri

tth

e ex

clus

ion

from

the

off

icia

l hi

stor

y of

art

of

all

colo

nize

d pe

ople

, al

ong

wit

h m

ost

wom

en,

who

are

also

nev

er p

art

of th

e do

min

ant

ideo

logy

. The

irw

ork

beco

mes

sti

gmat

ized

as

"fol

klor

ic,"

"pr

imiti

ve,"

or s

peci

al i

n so

me

way

, rat

her

than

the

em

bodi

men

tof

ano

ther

asp

ect

of t

he h

uman

spe

ctru

m.

But

to

beex

clud

ed f

rom

the

mai

nstr

eam

can

als

o be

vie

wed

as f

reed

om f

rom

the

con

stra

ints

of

a ru

ling

ide

olog

yon

the

dec

line.

And

to

be e

xclu

ded

from

"of

ficia

l"hi

stor

y is

, aft

er a

ll, n

ot t

he s

ame

as b

eing

exc

lude

dfr

om l

ivin

g hi

stor

y, th

e ar

ena

chos

en f

or o

urst

rugg

le t

o re

ach

a hi

gher

lev

el o

f so

cial

deve

lopm

ent

and

hum

an d

isco

urse

. A

rt c

anno

t be

eate

n or

use

d to

clo

the.

It

cann

ot b

uild

sch

ools

or

tear

dow

n pa

lace

s. I

t ca

nnot

era

dica

te d

isea

se o

red

ucat

e. I

n th

is p

ract

ical

sen

se,

Esc

obar

's ar

t, lik

eal

l ar

t, is

ind

eed

usel

ess.

But

for

tho

se o

f us

who

know

tha

t th

e dr

eam

is

dang

erou

s an

d cr

eatio

n is

alw

ays

subv

ersi

ve, t

hese

pai

ntin

gs s

how

tha

t an

unco

mpr

omis

ing

sear

ch f

or a

tru

th t

hat

spri

ngs

from

the

con

trad

icti

ons

of th

e m

ater

ial

wor

ld,

from

"dre

am,

expe

rien

ce, m

yste

ry, t

he c

omm

on a

nd t

hepr

ohib

ited"

, is

a v

icto

ry o

ver

the

ideo

logi

cal

polic

eman

we

harb

or w

ithin

us,

nou

rish

ed b

y an

oppr

essi

ve s

tate

app

arat

us.

It i

s in

thi

s se

nse

that

Esc

obar

's ar

t co

nsti

tute

s a

pow

erfu

l ac

t of

libe

rati

on.D

"...a

n ar

tist

may

bec

ome

a cr

itic

orth

eore

ticia

n,

but

to b

ecom

e a

prop

agan

dist

an

did

eolo

gue

is t

o ba

rk u

p th

e w

rong

tre

e, t

o be

com

e a

bird

wit

hout

win

gs,

wit

hout

im

agin

atio

n."

^-—

.

10

Esp

emnd

o a

God

ot §

2 (

Wai

tingf

or

God

ot #

2),

1984

23

12

Ent

revi

sta

a M

i M

ism

o (e

n in

vier

no)

(Int

ervi

ew w

ith

Mys

elJ-

in

win

ter)

, 198

4

24

"Dog

mat

ic s

tyle

is

the

inge

nuou

s or

per

vers

e de

sire

to

mak

e on

e st

yle

into

'th

e st

yle.

' O

r, i

n m

ore

gene

ral

term

s, i

t is

clu

tchi

ng t

he c

onse

rvat

ive

aspe

ct o

f for

m;

form

re

fuse

d to

giv

e in

to

new

con

tent

, to

new

th

emat

ic.

It w

ould

no

t be

irr

elev

ant

to a

dd t

hat f

orm

by

its

nat

ure

tend

s to

cons

erve

, an

d co

nten

t or

the

mat

ic t

ends

to

free

the

form

. (F

rom

thi

spe

rspe

ctiv

e w

e ca

n un

ders

tand

the

phe

nom

enon

of

the

offic

ialit

y of

a s

tyle

in m

any

of t

he s

ocia

list

coun

trie

s, a

ddin

g th

e na

me

'soci

alis

t' to

'aca

dem

ic-r

ealis

t st

yle'

to

pack

age

the

new

the

mat

ic i

n th

e ol

d fo

rm

and

conv

ert

it in

to '

revo

lutio

nary

art

.' H

owev

er,

the

prob

lem

is

not

that

the

best

of

'real

ist

styl

e' i

s ta

ken

to e

xpre

ss n

ew p

robl

ems,

etc

., bu

t ra

ther

that

one

styl

e is

dog

mat

ized

as

the

only

acc

epta

ble.

) Th

e 'd

ogm

atic

-ant

i-do

gma'

wan

ts t

o re

vers

e th

e ro

les,

to m

ake

diss

iden

ce i

nto

the

new

un

ique

met

hod.

It

is t

here

fore

ne

cess

ary

to g

uard

aga

inst

ant

i-do

gma

as a

fash

ion

or a

hid

den

dogm

a. O

ne

has

to

appr

oach

ea

ch

nove

lty

wit

h a

host

ile

calm

...

"The

refo

re,

to s

ay t

hat

colo

r is

det

erm

ined

exc

lusi

vely

by

geog

raph

y(w

hich

m

any

'Eur

ophi

les

and

Yank

eeph

iles

of M

oder

n A

rt' d

ecla

re,

who

look

at

the

art

and

the

artis

ts o

f th

e Th

ird

Wor

ld o

nly

as 'f

olkl

ore'

or

'pic

ture

sque

pri

mit

ivis

m')

, is

to

sim

plify

no

t on

ly h

isto

ry,

but

also

the

capa

city

an

d th

e ne

cess

ity o

f th

e in

divi

dual

to

use

his

lang

uage

(lik

eco

lor)

in

spite

of,

as p

art

of,

his

crea

tive

ende

avor

aga

inst

the

sla

very

of

exte

rnal

con

ditio

ns a

nd a

s a

fulfi

llmen

t of

his

wil

l to

tra

nsfo

rm

real

ity."

I.