Nueva Luz Vol 4 Issue 3

N U E V A LUZ

a

photographic journal

06

Vol. 4 No. 3 0

74470 00001

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$5

Editorial Pa $ c

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ay innumerables escuelas de pensamiento del arte, casi todas de origen europeo. La historia, los escritos, las ensenanzas y los conceptos emanan lodos de un punto geografico muy pequeno en la faz de la lierra. Las cosas buenas y las malas, las que se pueden hacer y las que no, los protagonistas y las reglas del juego (incluso las formas aceptables de romperlas) vienen todas de un sistema de creencias sobre las artes visuales que son predominantemente el producto del hombre bianco y tiene un caracter monocul­ tural.

Esto no solo es pretencioso, sino tambien es el colmo de la maldad. Desde la Guerra Revolucionaria de 1776, se les ha negado la participacion en el desarrollo artistico de esta nacion a las incontables generaciones de las poblaciones autoctonas de las Americas (a las poblacioties meztizas que surgieron a raiz de un error de la ruta hacia las Indias), a los descendientes de esclavos africanos y a los inmigrantes asiaticos. Yo creo que los Estados Unidos han pagado bastante caro esta perdida; la falsa ilusion de una bondadosa democracia engendro un nivel de arte que depende mas bien de la novedad constante que de las fuentes de la inspiracidn.

Los intentos que realizan los artistas de grupos etnicos minoritarios para reafirmarse en el mundo artistico parecen mas bien una artimana para reivindicarse. Su participacion poco frecuente y superficial en los movimientos artisticos de las instituciones de arte, exposiciones, publicaciones y museos se considera “correcta desde el punto de vista politico (otro termino reprochable y pretensioso).”

Comenze a escribir un editorial sencillo y simpatico y ahora me encuentro lamentando las injusticias de las que han sido foco los fotografos de los grupos etnicos minoritarios de los Estados Utiidos. La verdad es que la mayoria de la gente sabe como y por que se ha errado y algunas buenas almas ocasionalmente han aaoptado una actitud firme por su buen sentido de justicia y tambien por aue son buenas personas. Yo nunca crei que valia la pena discutir sobre la intolerancia y el brejuicio con un fandtico, asi que dedique todos mis esfuerzos a darle mas realce a nuestros fotografos. Yo sabia que los verdaderos cambios surgirian cuando mas y mas personas comenzaran a notar la fuerza e importancia de nuestra obra. Ademas. toda esta campana dirigida a marginarmos nos ha ayudado a tornarnos hacia nosotros mismos y a explotar el genio creador y la inspiracidn de nuestras culturas.

Nuestra fuerza nos la proporciona nuestra verdadera his­ toria; no viene de las versiones distorsionadas que los medios de comunicacion bresentan de nosotros, sino de las canciones y los cuentos al igual que de las perspectivas que nuestros antepasados y familias nos han legado de generacidn en generacion. Cualquiera que mire las noticias televisadas a las seis de la tarde notard cudn dificil es para nosotros mantenermos en nuestro sendero. Mis felicitaciones a todos los fotografos que han escuchado el grito de su inspiracidn y a todos los que to han hecho destacar.

here is such an empire of thought on an, mostly of European origin, the history, writings, teachings, con­ cepts all emanating from a fairly small parcel of geography on the earths surface. The rights and wrongs, do’s and don’ts, who the play ers are and the rules to play by (including acceptable manners of breaking them), all come from a visual belief system that is white and monocultural.

At the least its presumptuous, at its worst its evil. Since the Revolutiotiary War of 1776, generations of tribal peoples of the Americas (its mestizo population resulting from poor navigation), desceridents of African slaves and Asian immigrants have, to any extent, been denied participation in the artistic growth of this couritry. I think the United States has suffered greatly from that loss; its self delusion as a good guy democracy engendered a level of art that depends upon constant novelty in place of inspired direction.

Attempts by artists of color to assert themselves is seen as perficial inclusion an affirmative action ploy. The infrequent and supe of them into the mainstream art institutions, ex hibitions, publications and museums is referred to as politically correct (another term for opportunistic pretense).

I started out to write a perfectly nice editorial and.found myself wailing about the ineauities and injustices that is the history of photographers of color in the United States. The fact is, most folks know what has gone wrong and some brave souls occasionally take a stand because of their own sense of justice and because they are good people. 1 never thought it was worthwhile arguing about bigotry and prejudice to a bigot, so I used my energies toward creating more exposure for our photographers. 1 knew the real changes would come when more and more people started noticing the power and impor­ tance of the work. Also, it was important for us to study how the forces of marginalization helped us to seek inspiration from our cul­ tures.

We drew strength from our real history, not the media dis­ tortion of us but the songs and stories and visions passed on to us by our ancestors and families. Anyone who watches the six o’clock tele­ vision news will see iust how hard its been for us to keep our feet on the path. I congratulate all photographers who have listened to their true voices ana ha ve stuck it out.

Charles Biasiny-Rivera Editor

Table of Coplepl?

1 2 12 22 32 33

Editorial..................................

Rhett Jalane Arens...................

Flavia Gandolfo.......................

Tony Gleaton............................

Commentary by Jeffrey Hoone.

Comentario..............................

Cover photograph: In the Beauty Salon series, Flavia Gandolfo.

Gelatin silver print, 13" X 13"

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Rfyell Jalar>e Arei)?

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Photographer and writer Rhett Jalane Arens, part Native American (Chippewa), was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1959, where he still resides. He received a BA. in Business Administration from the Metropolitan State University and pursued photography at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design Association of Arts. His work has been published in the Minnesota Monthly, Petersons Photographic, RockBill, Metro Globe, Lake Superior Magazine, National Engineer and various other book covers, greeting cards and calendars. Some of his exhibitions include the Hennepin History Museum; The Loft Center Gallery, The Red Gallery and The Perimenter Gallery in Minneapolis. Awards include Blacks Annual Color Award in 1989 and U.S. Corporation Sponsored Award in 1988. Other docu­ mentary projects include They Call It Progress, a study of the crumbling small town infra-structure.

“In the timespan of four generations, an entire nation has been assimilated, cataloged, displaced and handed the shaded areas on the state map known as Indian Reservations. This “created” boundary has been an abrupt adjustment; both men­ tally and physically imposed by a larger, more aggressive f<orce that entangles itself in bureaucracy, treaty litigation and (rui­ tural misunderstandings. Using a direct documentary approach, it is my hope to illuminate the boundaries that exist in the contemporary Native American landscape. Specifically, the midwestern plains.

The fencelines in these images speak for what was lost, not gained (which is the traditional Eurocentric view­ point). The open expanse of horizon and the distant hills ask the viewer to move forward and explore. In most of the images, the juxtaposition of weathered and discarded man made ele­ ments placed under the open sky become evidence of this failed attempt to impose boundaries on the midwestern plains and a nations cultural heritage. I saw these elements as signposts, leading the eye back through the problems of our historical past: the decline of self-sufficiency farming, the crippling effects of alcoholism ana, finally, the meaningless contracts. All con­ tributing to the division of family and traditional values.

The photographs were taken over a five year period. It is when I’m sitting on the fence that I’m suspended between my sovereign roots and contemporary society.’

All photographs are from the Fencelines series.

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Rfyell Jalape Arep*;

Cold Storage Shelter, Fort Berthold Reservation, North Dakota, 1990 .Selenium toned gelatin silver print, 9x13â&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

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Rljell Jalape Arepj;

Indian Scout Post No. I. Devils Lake Reservation. North Dakota. 1991. Selenium toned gelatin silver print. 9x13".

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Rfyell Jalape Arep?

Tire Suing, Fort Berthold Reservation. North Dakota. 1993. Selenium toned gelatin silver print. 9x13".

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Rfyell Jalapc Arep^

Satellite Dish, Red Cliff Reservation. Wisconsin, 1993. Selenium toned gelatin silver print, 9x13â&#x20AC;?.

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Rl^ell Jalape Arep?

Bears Den General Store. Standing Rock Reservation. South Dakota. 1990. Selenium toned gelatin silver print. 9x13".

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Rfyell Jalape Arep?

Clothesline, Sisseion Reservation. South Dakota, 1992. Selenium toned gelatin silver print, 9x13".

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Rljell Jalape Arep^

School Yard. Fon Benhold Reservation. North Dakota. 1991. Selenium toned gelatin silver print. 9x13".

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Rljell Jalape Arep?

Store Front, White Earth Reservation, Minnesota. 1989. Selenium toned gelatin silver print, 9x13".

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Rljell Jalape Arep?

No Hunting, Standing Rock Reservation. North Dakota. 1991. Selenium toned gelatin silver print. 9x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

Flavia Gandolfo was born in Lima, Peru in 1967.

While enrolled in the Humanities Program at the Universidad Catolica del Peru, she became involved with photography as a self-taught activity. There she worked as a photographer and editor for the Correo newspaper in Arequipa. Gandolfo is cur­ rently completing her Master’s degree at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work has been shown at the Huntington Art Gallery, University of Texas at Austin-, The Museo de Arte de Lima, Peru; the Palacio de Congresos Y Exposiciones, Madrid, Spain. She just presented her first solo exhibition at the Forum Gallery in Lima, Peru.

Gandolfo has been awarded many fellowships and awards, including a 1994 fellowship to attend the Photography Institute’s National Graduate Seminar at New York University (Tisch School of the Arts), and a 1994 Grant from Ilford Co. "In the last two years my photographic work, based on the identification of social issues, has been determined by new social experiences. These new experiences within a differ­ ent cultural area have given shape to new ways of seeing and interpreting society. However, most of my interests have only gone through a process of adaptation. My interest in exploring the visual representation of Peruvian idio­ syncrasies is now being translated within the context of the United States. In spite of their social differences, the search for images representing various human aspects from both cultures has estamished a continuous line throughout my work. Thus, common altitudes, customs and social practices among people from different places are now an integral part of the subject matter. The result is several different photographic series showing the universality of some social phenomena. The images show an evolution characterized by the use of new photograph­ ic techniques, which reinterpret the original image. The photographs are now a combination of vernacular subject matter and extensive manipulation. They are all portrait photographs which represent diverse issues such as identi­ ty, aging, femininity and death” All photographs are from In the Beauty Salon series.

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13â&#x20AC;?.

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Garjdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled, 1993. Gelatin silver print, 13x13".

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Flavia Gapdolfo

untitled. 1993. Gelatin silver print. 13x13".

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Topy Glealop At the photographer’s request, a portrait is not being published

Tony Gleaton was born in 1948 in Detroit. Michigan.

After returning from a Marine Corps tour of duty in Vietnam, he studied at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he became interested in photography through a general design class. Gleaton traveled around the American West photographing Native American and African-American cowboys. He became involved in the rodeo circuit and began traveling back and forth to Mexico, beginning a seven year period which lead him to photograph Africa’s legacy in Mexico: the present day descendants of the Spanish slave trade. Gleatons work has been widely exhibited throughout the world. Some of his solo shows include The National Museum of American Art in Washington. DC; The McAllen International Museum in Texas; The California AfroAmerican Museum in Los Angeles, CA; The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, IL; Museo de Cultura Popular, Vera Cruz, Mexico; Museo de Benito Juarez, Havana, Cuba. Recent group exhibitions include The African Presence in the Americas at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, and Bridging the Differences at the Korean Cultural Center.

Gleaton has been awarded a 1994 Artist Fellowship of Pasadena California, a 1992 University of Michigan Visiting Professors Grant, and a 1991 residency at Light Work in Syracuse, New York.

“I love ‘the other’. 1 define ‘the other’ as those [)eo[)lc who are sep­ arated from any dominant cultural group. My subjects differ from project to project yet there is this common theme. In reveal­ ing these others l reveal us all. My work examines our common elements and the disparities which, in making us different, also bind us together in the human condition. These photographs are metaphors for the state of grace which lies within us all. The pho­ tographs which I create are as much an effort to define my own life, with its heritage encompassing Africa and Europe, as it is an endeavor to throw open the discourse on the broader aspects of ‘mestizaje’... the assimilation’ of Asians, Africans and Europeans with indigenous Americans. These images, most often, are the ones in which people directly and openly look into the camera, yet the most important aspect of these portraits is the giving of a narrative voice by visual means to people deemed invisible by the greater part of society and, in doing so, deliber­ ately crafting an ‘alternative iconography’ of what beauty and family and love and goodness might stand for, one that is inclu­ sive not exclusive.’’

All photographs are from the Mexico Negro: Legacia Africana (Black Mexico: The African Legacy) series.

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Topy Glealop

Fisherman with Net, 1987. Gelatin silver print. MxM".

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Topy Glealop

The Beloved of Aphrodite, 1990. Gelatin silver print. 14x14".

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Topy Glealop

Mar de Sucnos (Sea of Dreams). 1987. Gelatin silver print. 12x12".

Topy Glealop

hlelsa. 1986. Gelatin silver print. 14x14".

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Topy Glealop

The Barbershop. 1988. Gelatin silver print. 12x12â&#x20AC;?.

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Topy Glealop

Abrazo de Mem&ria (Embrace of Memory). 1990. Gelatin silver print. 14x14".

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Topy Glealop

Sefior y Senora Mayren (Mr. and Mrs. Mown), 1987. Gelatin silver print. 14x14".

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Topy Gleatoi)

Soledad in the Year of the Death of Her hather. 1986. Gelatin silver print. 14x14".

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Topy Glealop

La Madonna Morena (The Black Madonna). 1990. Gelatin silver print. HxMâ&#x20AC;?.

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c o

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size this sense of loss one step further by describing Eurocentric values that are firmly in place within these “designated Native regions.” In the Midwest plains, the horizon line is an inescapable visual element. Arens’ pho­ tographs begin at the horizon line and move forward - set­ tling on what he found and only alluding to what was lost.

Dominating his field of vision are signs that say “no hunt­ ing,” “house of bargains” and “Indian Post No. 1.” But the horizon persists and our eye travels back. Arens describes this movement within his photographs as a journey through “the decline of self sufficiency farming, the crip­ pling effects of alcoholism and finally, the meaningless contracts.” Arens uses the horizon line to suspend the view­ er between what is lost and what is gained in the same way that he feels suspended between “my sovereign roots and con­ temporary society.”

Tony Gleatons portraits explore the borders between and among cultures. For the past several years he has been making portraits in Mexico, Central America and South America of the present day descendants of the Spanish slave trade. Gleatons personal heritage encom­ passes Africa and Europe. In this work, Gleaton states that he is interested in ‘‘giving a narrative voice by visual means to people deemed invisible by the greater part of society.” Gleatons aim in making these portraits is to “craft an alternative iconography of what beauty and family and love and goodness might stand for.” Gleatons portraits are elegant, simple and straightforward. Each portrait is an exclamation of dignity, from the technical quality of the prints to the ease that each sitter assumes before his camera.

By celebrating and acknowledging the influence of people who are separated from any dominant group, Tony Gleaton is able to locate common affinities that bind us together in the human condition. Like a mirror that shines back at us with unflinching resolve, Gleaton clearly acknowledges that the integrity of any culture is reflected in the identity of every individual.

n their recent photographic work, Flavia Gandolfo, Rhett Jalane Arens and Tony Gleaton measure our understanding and use of borders. Humans didn’t invent borders, we just perfected the practice of using them to con­ tain, include, exclude and control. Natural borders existed long before humans developed the consciousness and then the terminology to describe them. The shoreline is a nat­ ural border that separates bodies of water from land mass­ es. Generally life forms can only flourish on one side of the beach - one side is safe, one side is not. Theories of evolu­ tion tell us that all life started in the waters and, over time, some life forms moved to the land, evolved and stayed put.

Theories of creation tell a different story while introduc­ ing another border -- one between heaven and hell. Both theories embrace the concept and practice of creating bor­ ders which makes borders a basic component of human understanding.

Flavia Gandolfo looks at the border between life and death. Her images begin with portraits of women at a beauty salon. Through a series of darkroom manipula­ tions, Gandolfo transforms these innocent portraits into dark and sinister representations. In one image, Gandolfo transfigures a portrait of a woman under a hair dryer into a visage of an eerie death chamber caught in the midst of an electrocution. In another, a portrait of a woman who might be waiting between a shampoo and a set is made to look like the only thing she is waiting for is the lid of the coffin to close. By connecting such a routine ritual as a trip to the beauty parlor with the specter of darkness and death, Gandolfo creates potent metaphors. By associating death with the activities of women at the beauty parlor, Gandolfo makes somber links between issues of identity, aging, femininity and death.

In his photographs, Rhett Jalane Arens asks us to think about the border between loss and gain in the midwestern landscape of Indian Reservations. The Reservations themselves are defined by boundaries of loss.

Arens’ photographs from inside the Reservations empha-

Jeffrey Hoone

Jeffrey Hoone is an artist and the Director of Light Work, a non-profit, artist run organization in Syracuse, New York.

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mismas se definen como fronteras de perdida. Las fotografias de Arens tomadas dentro de las reservaciones dan un toque enfatico a esta sentido de perdida al puntualizar valores eurocentricas ya firmemente establecidos dentro de estas Ubautizadas regiones de los pueblos autoctonos.” En los llanos del area mediano oeste de Estados Unidos, la linea del horizonte es un elemento visu­ al ineludible. Las fotografias de Arens comienzan en la linea del horizonte y se mueven hacia adelante, posandose en lo que el se va topando en el camino y siempre aludiendo a este sentido de perdida. Son predominantes en su campo visual los rotulos que dicen uProhibido Cazar,” uTienda de Gangas ’ y ‘Tuesto Indio No. 1.” Sin embargo, el horizonte perdura y nuestra imaginacion se va en un vuelo. Arens describe este movimiento en sus fotografias como un viaje “a traves de la decadencia del cultivo o labranza que produce lo suficiente para el sustento, los efectos deteriorantes del alcoholismo y, finalmente, los contratos sin significado alguno.” Arens se vale de la linea del horizonte para dejar embelesado al espectador entre lo que se ha perdido y lo que se ha ganado de la misma manera en que el se siente embelesado entre l(mis raices soberanas y la sociedad contemporanea.”

Las fotografias de Tony Gleaton exploran las fron­ teras entre las culturas. Durante varios anos el ha estado tomando fotografias de los descendientes actuales de la trata de esclavos espanola en Mexico, Centro America y Sur America. La herencia cultural de Gleaton es tanto africana como europea. El comenta que esta interesado en darle a su obra “una voz narradora a traves de medios visuales sobre las realidades de personas marginadas por gran parte de la sociedad.” La intencion de Gleaton es “crear una iconografia alterna de lo que la belleza, la familia, el amor y la bondad pueden representar.” Las fotografias de Gleaton son elegantes, sencillas y directas.

Cada fotografia es una exclamacion de dignidad, desde el punto de vista de la calidad tecnica al igual que la serenidad de sus modelos.

Al celebrar y reconocer la influencia de personas que se apartan de los grupos autoritarios, Tony Gleaton logra ubicar las afinidades que nos unen como seres humanos. Al igual que el reflejo deslumbrante de un espejo, Gleaton reconoce que la integridad de cualquier cultura se refleja en las caracteristicas personales de todos los individuos.

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* n su reciente obra fotografica, Flavia Gandolfo, Rhett Jalane Arens and Tony Gleaton miden nuestro entendimiento de las fronteras y como las utilizamos. Los seres humanos no inventaron las fronteras; solo prefeccionaron la pratica de utilizarlas para encerrar, incluir, excluir y controlar. Las fronteras naturales existian mucho antes de que los seres humanos desarrollaran su conscientizacion de las mismas y de que luego impusieran la terminologia para describirlas. El contorno o borde de la playa es una frontera natural que separa cuerpos de agua de la tierra firme. Generalmente los seres organicos florecen en un lado de la playa - un lado es seguro, el otro no lo es. La teoria de la evolucion nos indica que lavida comenzo en las aguas, y que con el correr del tiempo algunos seres organicos pasaron a tierra firme, evolucionaron, permanecieron en el mismo lugar. La teoria de la creacion nos cuenta otra historia diferente a la misma vez que nos impone otra frontera - una frontera entre el cielo y el infierno. Ambas teorias arropan el concepto y la pratica de crear fronteras, lo que hace de las fronteras un componente basico del entendimiento humano.

Flavia Gandolfo ve las fronteras como algo entre la vida y la muerte. Sus imagenes comienzan con retratos de mujeres en un salon de belleza. Por medio de una serie de manipulaciones tecnicas en el cuarto oscuro, Gandolfo transforma estos inocentes retratos en representaciones tenebrosas y siniestras. En una de las imagenes, Gandolfo torna el retrato de una mujer bajo una secadora para el cabello en una espeluznante cdmara de muerte en el preciso instante en que se esta electrocutando. En otra imagen, el retrato de una mujer que puede estar esperando su turno para el champu y el peinado nos da la impresion de que esta esperando a que se cierre la tapa del ataud. Al fundir una practica tan rutinaria como la de visitar un salon de belleza con el espectro de la muerte rodeada de tinieblas, Gandolfo crea metaforas muy energicas. En esta asociacion de la muerte con las actividades de mujeres en un salon de belleza, nuestra artista hace un enlace sombrio entre los asuntos de las caracteristicas personales de los individuos, el envejecimiento, la femineidad y la muerte.

En sus fotografias, Rhett Jalane Arens nos pide que reflexionemos sobre las fronteras desde el punto de vista de que se ha perdido y que se ha ganado en las zonas de las reservaciones de los pueblos autoctonos. Las reservaciones

Jeffrey Hoone es artista y Director de Light Work, una organizacion sin fines de lucro administrada por artistas y ubicada en Syracuse, New York.

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