I’m so uber proud and grateful to be part of the exhibition, Voces y Visiones: Gran Caribe at El Museo de Barrio; Curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado. I simply love everything about this place: the staff, building, colors, cafe…!

VOCES Y VISIONES: Gran Caribe
Drawn from El Museo del Barrio’s wide-ranging Permanent Collection, this exhibition features works that explore the vast diversity and complexity of the Caribbean basin, as an accompaniment to El Museo’s upcoming exhibition, Caribbean: Crossroads of the World, presented in collaboration with Studio Museum in Harlem and Queens Museum of Art.

The Caribbean has been both a subject and a source for visual expression prior to its relationship with Europe. This history, marked by a constant flow of people, objects, ideas, and images into and out of the region, has affected artistic development and practices in the Caribbean basin as well as in its counterparts in the Diaspora. This installation of Permanent Collection objects takes a narrative approach to some of the themes developed in the larger exhibition, exploring the connections between personal experiences and visual expressions. The works seen here explore the human need to move from one place to another, the urge to make epic narratives from personal stories, and the desire to share one’s love for a homeland with others. As the title implies, the islands, the coastlines and the waters that unite them are all part of this study.

The exhibition explores four related themes that focus on the connections between spirituality and daily life, the shifting of people into and out of urban spaces, the persistence of abstraction as a visual language, and the constant presence of the water. Among the featured works is a large-scale painting on hand-made paper by Puerto Rican artist Rossana Martinez. This work considers islands: small, golden, irregularly shaped forms that cover the rich cobalt blue of an endless sea. Other featured objects include a selection of Haitian paintings, featuring a work by Prefet Duffaut; Puerto Rican and Guatemalan masks; sculptures by Charles Juhasz -Alvarado and Federico Ruiz; photographs by Ana Mendietaand a trio of En Foco artists, Charles Biasiny Rivera, Roger Cabán and Felipe Dante; and a costume worn by Coco Fusco in a performance as Queen Isabella, created by Pepón Osorio.

Gran Caribe considers the significance of race and ethnicity, language and dialogue, affinities and differences throughout this part of the world. Artists for whom the Caribbean is both a point of departure and a homecoming are included, as are critical voices that explore new ways of thinking about how Caribbean bodies and voices are represented.

If You Never Did, You Should
By Jessica Bellofatto

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.” ~Dr Seuss

Happy birthday to Dr. Seuss (born March 2, 1904) and what a fantastic message to us all. As I prepare for our women’s Yoga and SUP retreat with my friend Gina Bradley (founder of Paddle Diva) here in Rincon, Puerto Rico, these words most definitely resonate with me.

story continues…

Hope you’re all having a great summer. Here are some of my summer thoughts after having a wonderful time with family and at my favorite place: the beach.

It pleases me immensely to see how my boy loves the ocean. He was born in NYC, but his blood is Caribbean…and I truly love that!

Fruit and vegetable stands, surf shops and Rex Cream’s Ice Cream are my kind of places.

<3 running barefoot on the beach. I know I’ll be fine in a couple of days, but it was hard to run this morning and wear running shoes.

A bikini never goes out of fashion.

My nieces and nephews are awesome! When I grow up, I want to be just like them.

Photo:
7am swim with mama.

I’m happy to write that the site-specific installation, Crash into Me will be on view this summer at el Museo de Arte de Caguas (MUAC), Puerto Rico.

There is lots to see in Caguas. The city is called the heart of Puerto Rico. The community is so friendly — including my amazing sisters who live there. It’s truly an honor.

I thank artist and curator Elsa Melendez for inviting me to participate in the exhibition. And as always, it’s a pleasure to be in the company of great artists.

Gracias Elsa!

Image:
Rossana Martinez
Crash into Me, 2007-2010
Site-specific installation
Fluorescent orange and hot pink ribbons

Part of group exhibition, No fue un mal entendido, on view at MUAC from June 4-September 30, 2010.

Artists: Claudio Chea, Ricardo Hernández, Rossana Martínez, Néstor Millán, Omar Obdulio Peña, Brian Rivera, Miguel Angel Torres, Cristina Tufiño, Rafael Vargas Bernard y el grupo de teatro, Papel Machete.

As I turned and walked on the street to get to a meeting, I could sense I was a stranger. I knew the only way to make a connection was by using a universal language ⎯ an unconditional smile. So I smiled at the people around me and they smiled back at me…and there was a connection.

After the meeting, I thought of the nice experience I had while commuting that morning. What I enjoy about experiences like this is how they go beyond any differences in race, language, or culture, and become a union of people ⎯ a human connection.

The idea of making a human connection has been part of my work for a while. I appreciate when other artists or people in the arts understand my work. But while making the work, I think of a different type of viewer: a stranger, someone that doesn’t have an art background, someone that doesn’t know me or where I come from. My goal is to be as transparent as possible and make a person to person connection with the viewer.

With that idea in mind, I’m currently working on a series of works related to movement. What I’m trying to visually show is a certain energy I feel while being active. The movements I make are extremely simple and I want to keep that simplicity in the work as well. I constantly use the word simple (I know!), but to me a simple gesture (like an honest smile) has a stronger meaning than a complicated installation that doesn’t show who the artist really is.

A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance, or a better word to describe it, the privilege to attend the New York Women’s Foundation annual breakfast. The highlight of the event for me was when the Acholi women from Meeting Point International in Uganda received a Vision Award. These women work breaking stone into gravel. They received an award for raising $1,000 from their salaries for the displaced families in Houston and Baton Rouge after Hurricane Katrina. As one of the women said: “I give you the love which was given to me the first time by people who did not know me. So the greatest thing in the world, even greater than any suffering or illness, is the love we have for one another.”

In June, I will be participating in various 5K and 10K races as part of Art Movement, an initiative I’m starting to fundraise for beach cleanup in northwest Puerto Rico. The beaches in that area are absolutely beautiful, but there is also garbage. And there is little information about how to recycle. These are the beaches where I grew up and I want to make sure they are pristine and preserved for generations to come.

Art Movement began last year when I learned a good friend’s computer, video camera, and equipment were stolen from her studio. Seeing my friend upset made me think of ways I could help her even if I couldn’t provide financial assistance. We are both artists, runners, and came to New York from other places of the world (she is from Canada, I am from Puerto Rico) to be artists. The least I could do was to show her I cared and wanted to do something to help her.

I invite everyone to join Art Movement. The goal is to connect artists, runners, and anyone interested in the environment to participate in one way or another. Please email me if you are interested in participating. More event details to come.

Video: Smile Like You Mean It

By The Killers

The holiday season is the time when I enjoy my family and reconnect with nature at home in Puerto Rico. I can’t describe the feeling of seeing an intense blue ocean while running to the beach in the morning. Running home uphill is SERIOUSLY breathtaking!

While we were at the beach a couple of afternoons ago, we saw two kids playing and rolling in the sand. They were both having so much fun and one of them described the sand as beautifully warm.

Beautifully warm is truly how my heart feels after spending the holidays surrounded by the love of family and nature. And I want to keep this warm feeling inside of me as long as I can.

The year ahead already looks challenging. And I hope you all find ways to keep your hearts beautifully warm.

Photo: Iguana staying beautifully warm in the morning sun, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

During yoga class this morning, the instructor told us to get focused and rooted before we did our tree pose. The pose looks easy, but balance is crucial. Some of my classmates were in tree pose quickly, but others needed a bit more time to find balance. I find tree pose so poetic. I see the class as a forest of beautiful and different trees. I always imagine myself being a tropical tree – the landscape I grew up with.

While running this week, I noticed how I was able to run at a faster pace. The route I used to run in 30 minutes I can now run in half the time. But it took me some time to get where I am. It is amazing how our bodies adjust.

In art, there are artists that like to produce a lot of work fast while others – like myself – produce work more slowly. I like to take my time. I enjoy researching, writing, and reading about things that inspire me.

In life, it is important to go at our own pace when using our bodies, minds and hearts. As runners say: “run at a pace that is comfortable for you and you will prevent injuries”.

Photo: El Yunque National Rainforest, Puerto Rico.

Last week, my father was telling me about the time when my parents decided to move to Puerto Rico. He was a student in Spain, where he met my mother. Those were hard times for them because they were living on a student budget (=no money), had a kid (my amazing brother), and my father was studying to take the exams to be a lawyer. But when talking about it, he said: “I was not afraid of life”.

Although I think this is the first time I hear these words from my father, I’ve always felt that my parents taught me to love what I do, always give my best, and to do it with passion. Seeing their courage has influenced me as a person and as an artist.

As artists, we have to love what we do. This profession is very personal and full of rejections. Rejection is hard to take and that is why it is important to feel secure of who we are and what we want. We all have insecurities, but to learn how to deal with them positively is the most important. Making honest work gives us the courage to continue making art – even if we are rejected or criticized.

Following the conversation with my father, my whole family decided to go to the beach. It was hard to get everyone ready. I have a big family! At the beach, my older nieces and nephews were jumping from the pier into the water. It was wonderful to see how they mentally prepared until they had the courage to jump into the ocean.

My six-year old niece and I were looking at them when she said: “Titi (aunt), I’m ready to jump”. We walked toward the pier holding hands. When we got to the pier, we looked down and, I have to confess, I would have preferred not to jump. The water wasn’t very deep, but it looked like there was no bottom of the ocean. But I knew this was an important moment for her. We looked at each other one last time (still holding hands) when I began to count: uno, dos, and we jumped at tres. After we jumped, I asked her how was it. I was so happy to hear her say: “Titi, I want to jump again”…and we did.

Courage is what makes life worth living!

Photo: Piers at Crash Boat Beach, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.