Thursday, August 8, 2013

Surviving Doomsday 2012





Surviving Doomsday 2012
(2013)
Oil and metal leaf on polyptych panel 36” X 35”



“Surviving Doomsday 2012” is one of the retablo paintings I will be showing at my upcoming solo exhibition "Devocionales: Neo-colonial retablos from an archetypal perspective" at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, September 13th thru December 1st 2013. This piece as well as the rest of the paintings comprising “Devocionales”, is  inspired in various archetypal images found in the Tarot cards and re-interpreted in the light of global neo-colonial issues. In this particular case the three painted panels are re-intepretations  of “the devil” (2), “the tower” (1) and “death” (3) major arcana cards from the Tarot. These three cards share common themes of fear, death, transformation and liberation.  






 Fear of a doomsday or apocalypse has been deeply ingrained in the human psyche for millennia. This fear has been used and disseminated from world religions to the mass media in order to control the minds and souls of large populations.  In the central panel there is a representation of Saint Barbara, recognized by her specific symbols (the crown, cup, sword and the tower(s) in the background. In this occasion she appears before us with a web like aureole and a triple W crown, symbolizing the power of the Internet and the World Wide Web. As she raises her sword, it becomes a weapon of mass Information and thunder and lightning appear in the sky symbolizing the sudden unpredictable effects this new technology may have in our civilization. 


Surviving Doomsday 2012
(Detail from Central Panel)


The two kneeling characters beside her represent two aspects of the “Revolutionary” archetype.  On the left hand a bearded man holding an electronic device with the letter “I” refers to the conscious civilizing hero who has evolved taking little steps and leaps in history while being baptized by the waters  of “reason” and “knowledge”.  He holds technology in his hands with the hubristic signature of “I” while spilling a large cup of coke, symbolizing consumerism and waste. Behind him a barrel of oil has a shell like logo resembles a skull. On the left hand, we see a masked figure inspired by the comic book character from V for Vendetta and popularized by the Occupy Wall St Global movement. He holds one hand to his chest and holds a staff with the “A” emblem for Anarchy. He represents the repressed subconscious urge for revolution, chaos and upheaval. Right in between he and St. Barbara a broken TV set signifies his irreverence towards the Media.  Behind the masked revolutionary, a Christ like figure breaks his chains and steps on a fallen eagle. This is inspired in the Greek Myth of Prometheus, who was chained to a rock as punishment for stealing the fire (technology) from the gods and giving it to humanity. Prometheus can be viewed both as a cultural hero that brings light into the world as well as the first revolutionary martyr who sacrificed himself for the sake of humanity. Powerful socio economic and political structures represented by skyscrapers, a Wal-Mart, communication towers and Spanish colonial towers are shaken and affected by the Promethean principle. No one is immune to the power of change and transformation brought by this archetype. A sunken statue of Liberty alludes to a famous scene from the 1968 film “Planet of the Apes”.  Right next to her a man holding a sign that reads “The end is near: 2012” brings us to question the constructed stories we are told. 




Surviving Doomsday 2012
(Detail from left panel)


On the left panel we find a depiction of a naked woman hiding a gun on one hand and holding out some gold coins on the other. A little satyr holds a cup and an I-Pad in front of her sex.  Two winged demons that resemble Mr. Burns from The Simpsons and Ronald Mcdonald hold a large yellow cloth behind the woman. On the cloth an Eden like landscape is drawn with a tree, representing the Judeo Christian notion of original sin associated with nature, the body and the feminine principle. The yellow cloth serves as a curtain to highlight whoever stands in front and at the same time conceal what’s happening behind. Just like a large transnational corporation, the effectiveness of the devil resides in capturing the consumer’s attention with its offers/temptations while keeping its real identity or existence hidden from the public eye. The lower inscription is in Latin and derives from the book of Mathew 4:9. It reads:  “Haec Omnia Tibi Dabo Si Cadens Adoraveris Me” ("All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me.")



Surviving Doomsday 2012
(Detail from right panell)


The right panel shows us a skeleton with a gas mask and scythe wandering in a wasteland filled with vestiges of the modern world.  Some vegetation can be seen springing out of this decay. This refers to the inevitable destruction, transformation but also renewal that every civilization must undergo. The Inscription below is also in Latin and it read: “Deficit Omne Avod Nasciture. Quod Incepimus Conficiemus”.  This translates in English as:  “Everything that is born passes away. What we have begun we shall finish.”



Surviving Doomsday 2012
(Detail from Superior Panel)


The superior panel of the painting depicts a crucified Christ on a tree with utility poles in the background and 8 stars in a night sky.  On each side of this panel there are astrological allegories that correspond to specific archetypes. The Moon on the left side represents the nocturnal feminine and subconscious principle while the Sun at the right side represents the daily masculine and conscious principle. Right next to these celestial figures, two angels hold two cart wheels with the signs of Saturn and Pluto, the archetypes of structure and change. Right above the crucified Christ is the sign of Uranus, which represents the Promethean archetype of revolution.



 Surviving Doomsday 2012

(Detail from Central Panel) 



The lower cental inscription is written in Spanish : “Santa Red Informatica Mundial Libre Soberana e Independiente, Concedenos la vision de un mundo libre de filtros y censuras”.  (“Holy Informatic World Wide Web, Free and Independent, Concede us the vision of a world free of filters and censorships”).  Thanks to the unlimited access to information and visual resources through IT (Information technology) I was able to research, develop and paint, reuniting all the different elements and ingredients for the content for this altarpiece.  From current World Issues, Art History, Tarot, Astrology and Spanish Colonial Iconography, these altarpieces reflect an interest and concern for the experiences and lessons derived from colonial to neo-colonial times from an archetypal perspetive.

"Devocionales: Neo-colonial retablos from an archetypal perspective" will be on display at the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, from September 13th thru December 1st 2013. For more information visit www.mesaartscenter.com.