Title
Exorcism of Cultural Inquisition
Creator
Description
Acrylic on canvas
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Subject
Format
Language
Contributor
Annotation
Eloy Torrez aims to uncover the complex fusion of elements drawn from personal history, cultural heritage, and the social milieu. Connection through portraiture art is one strategy for Torrez to explore the sitter’s social context and their subconscious. As such, the artist views creation of a portrait as a moment to absorb and become part of the subject, duplicating processes of a relationship. This painting is a journey with his wife at the time, Margaret. The composition attempts to expel a one-dimensional version of culture by visualizing human intersectionality. The Indigenous roses and skull with the European mask produces a range of connections and emotions, whereas the castles and rolling hills and clouds in the background respectively gesture to Renaissance art and surrealism, particularly the art of René Magritte. Elements of Catholicism, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, and beads on the table, reference Margaret's faith and how Torrez learned about Catholicism from her. As a child growing up in New Mexico, he would attend Sunday mass at church, which felt like a museum because it was filled with devotional art. At a young age, he began to question what the artists were trying to convey, which helped him formulate his artistic intention. (Author: Zola Davis)
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