Advanced Life Drawing : Political Body

Given the current political climate, I was really excited to do this project. The past month, let alone the beginning of the new administration, has led to an abundance of different news topics, policies, tragedies, scandals, and natural disasters. Normally I’m presented with an assignment, I’ll choose something that I can relate to or something I’m familiar with. This time I wanted to choose something that was an experience/ perspective that I haven’t had.

I decided to choose the commonwealth status of Puerto Rico and all the resentment and division that comes with it. The United States acquired Puerto Rico in 1898 and has since become an organized, unincorporated territory. Those on the island are Americans, making them natural born citizens, however, they are not granted the same rights as those who live on the mainland. They cannot vote for president and are disenfranchised on the national level. The local government has held many referendums on the status of the island to stay with the status quo, statehood, or independence. This question has deeply divided the people over the past decades. In 2017, a 5^th referendum resulted in a 97% vote for statehood, however, they had a historically low voter turnout of 12.4%. Both hurricane Irma and Maria have led to increased tension and frustration with the United States and their management of the island.

I began my research of artists who made political statements. The first artist I came across was Ai Weiwei, whose art is critical of the Chinese government. This is a good parallel that I wanted in my own drawing. His “Marble Arm” sculpture shows a portion of a figure giving the middle finger. I thought this was both a funny and provocative piece that made me consider how I wanted the figure in my drawing to pose. Another artist I found was Hans Haacke and his “State of the Union” exhibition. These works prominently display the American flag and how the U.S. has become a more divided nation. The prominence of the flag made me want to incorporate the US and Puerto Rican flag into my own piece somehow since they are both so similar. Displaying both flags or using words to connotate a county would better anchor my drawing. Luis Camnitzer is a Latin American artist who uses text frequently in his works. His work “Leftovers” conveys the political turmoil in the region. It represents how insignificant and trivial certain members of society are. The text being used is the label “Leftover” alongside a number. Most of his artwork displays some kind of caption alongside the work and often with criticism of the government. One other significant influence is Barbara Kruger. Her powerful use of both caption and image was something I wanted to implement. Her consistent use of a red bar behind her text is seen in my drawing, a call to her and the red used in both the American and Puerto Rican flag.

Since this was a drawing focused on Puerto Rico, I wanted to see work from people who came from or still live one the island. Arianna Chikki Cuesta took a photo during a demonstration for the US government to audit the tremendous debt. This photo shows the people coming together and being politically active during a difficult time. The people of Puerto Rico are continuously upset with the United States government and how is still imposes its colonial rule. This influenced me to have a woman displaying her frustration with a sign, usually seen in protests. A few years ago Rosenda Alvarez painted “La Puerta de la Bandera” on a giant door in Old San Juan. This mural quickly became a symbol of national identity and a prominent piece of art in the town. It was later painted black when the fiscal oversight board was imposed over the island. I decided to also incorporate this into my drawing to show the increasing disappointment with the United States through the growing black consuming the red portion of the flag.