Above: Detail of Martine Gutierrez’ “Queer Rage, Imagine Life-Size, and I’m Tyra, p66-67,” from Indigenous Woman, 2018.
Work by nine contemporary indigenous artists was assembled for “Native America: In Translation,” curated by artist Wendy Red Star and displayed at the Blanton Museum of Art.
No one was going to put me on the cover of a Paris fashion magazine, so I thought, I’m gonna make my own.”
Martine Gutierrez referring to her 2018 art magazine, Indigenous Women, Curator notes
Above left: “Queer Rage, Imagine Life-Size, and I’m Tyra, p66-67.” Right: “Identity Boots Ad, p99.” Both from Indigenous Woman, Martine Gutierrez, 2018.
Above: Detail of “Spider Woman Embrace,” Koyoltzintli, Abiquiu, New Mexico, 2019.
In 2011, I performed and choreographed ‘MotorPsycho’ in San Antonio, Texas. The performance consisted of… around 15 performers and an all female motorcycle gang ‘Ladies on Wheels’…. The roaring Harley Davidson Motorcycles were transformed into a giant therapeutic instrument that cleansed spiritual and political blockages by using sound and vibration as medicine.”
Legend by Guadalupe Maravilla for “Motorpsycho Retablo”
Above: Top left, “I Crossed the Border Retablo.” Top right: “Motorpyscho Retablo.” Bottom left: “I was born on December 12th Retablo.” Bottom right: “Performance in the Center of the World Retablo,” including string framing. All copy and design by Guadalupe Maravilla and executed in traditional retablo format by Daniel Vilchis, 2021.
Above: Illuminated glass installation with photograph and etched symbols of the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, Marianne Nicolson.
Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought…. The mind which plunges into Surrealism relives with glowing excitement the best part of its childhood.”
Manifesto of Surrealism, Andre Breton, 1924
A century ago, Surrealism emerged as a revolt against control governed by reason and reality. The artistic movement affecting literature, painting, sculpture and film upended conventions and embraced dreams as valid influences over both artistic expression and everyday life.
Organized by the Blanton, “Long Live Surrealism! 1924-Today” assembles a collection of works by artists at the avant-garde of Surrealism as well as by contemporary artists reflecting the movement’s lasting influence.
Sleeping and waking are not quite as distinctive as they used to be, I often mix them up.”
The Hearing Trumpet, Leonora Carrington, 1974
Top left: “Bano de Pajaros/Birdbath,” serigraph in ten colors, 1978. Top right: “Spiderweb,” tapestry, 1948. Bottom middle: “The Casting of the Runes,” oil tempera with gold metallic paint on wood, 1951. All by Leonora Carrington (1917-2011).
The man who cannot visualize a horse galloping on a tomato is an idiot.”
Andre Robert Breton (1896-1966)
Above: “You F*cker,” Conner O’Leary (1990-), acrylic on canvas, 2022.
Speaking of nudes, I have always had a great fondness for this subject, both in my painting and in my photos, and I must admit, not purely for artistic reasons.”
Man Ray (1890-1976)
Above left: “Masque,” Man Ray, etching and aquatint, 1969. Second from left: “Woman with Snail,” Salvador Dali, etching, 1967. Third from left: “Temptation Island,” Emily Mae Smith (1979-), oil, 2019. Right: “Wildeview,” John Wilde (1919-2006), lithograph, 1985.
Surrealism is destructive, but it destroys only what it considers to be shackles limiting our vision.”
Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Above left: Untitled sculpture, Hannah Levy (1991-), 2020. Middle: “Nude Descending a Staircase,” Peter Saul (1934-), lithograph, 1976. Right: “Topiary,” Louise Bourgeois, (1911-2010), bronze, 2005.
The Surrealist exhibition continues at the Blanton Museum of Art until January 12, but, alas, “Native America” has closed.
Its collection may not be as deep as some of its older peers, but the Blanton, part of the University of Texas at Austin, is an acknowledged leader in the college museum field thanks to its dynamic programs, commitment to research and public-facing engagement. It’s a teaching museum, in other words — just not only for college kids.”
“The Best College Art Museums in America,” Philip Kennicott and Sebastian Smee, The Washington Post, October 24, 2024
Count me enrolled. Still striving to learn, but a bit worried I can envision a horse astride a tomato.
Postcards from Barton Springs 