Mutant Variety

June 17, 2004 10:15 AM

RayAbeyta. "At first glance, many of Abeyta's works appear to be Spanish colonial paintings dating from the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries. However, the artist incorporates present-day imagery with Spanish colonial and indigenous elements." A short bio and history here. Here's one of my favorites.
posted by protocool (4 comments total)

Very nice. Thanks for the link, protocool.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:59 AM on June 17, 2004

This guy is actually a good and worthwhile painter, and I wish him all the best. But he only proves my point that a painter should keep his or her mouth shut and paint. No single pursuit in the world has generated more incredible verbal bullsh**t over the past 30 years than the visual arts, and to see this excellent painter running off at the mouth with the same painful cliches as artists who don't have one tenth of his talent breaks my heart. I mean to say:
It is at the point of introduction and divergence that I have begun an exploration of the convergence of two distinct cultures whose confrontational relationship continues to define the present moment... The dualistic aspects of this relationship defy the dialectic argument for synthesis, as the historical construct of ... Yaaaaaaaaah! (Runs screaming from the room, tearing hair.)
posted by Faze at 2:08 PM on June 17, 2004

i love these--thanks! I'm reminded of the japanese artists that mix the traditional style with modern iconography and objects, but these are more appealing to me (i don't know whether it's because the japanese prints are utilizing a much more rigid format, or that i'm more familiar with this traditional style, but i find the japanese prints gimmicky, and not these)

Faze, you should always ignore artist's statements unless you're confused about the work, or really hate it on sight and want to figure out why, i find. They're pretty useless otherwise.
posted by amberglow at 7:51 PM on June 17, 2004

this is what i mean re: the japanese prints: Masami Teraoka
posted by amberglow at 8:04 PM on June 17, 2004