Not available in the gift shop, yet…

If you know my art, you know I love things in grids. A Rubik’s Cube with my images seems inevitable. I’ve seen more than a few of these art cubes in museum gift shops and yes, they are kind of kitschy. I do confess to buying a Gilbert and George cube on sale. But as their work is often in grid form, that Rubik’s Cube has my approval. And it was on sale, cheap. A few months ago I attended an art fair and where an artist had some hand-made Rubik’s Cubes. He shared his trick with me. You basically buy Rubik’s Cubes cheap and then print out your own work and replace the color squares. A certain large shipping company has great blank, adhesive labels that fit in a printer and officially are not for this purpose. And where would we be without Japantown dollar stores and knock-off Rubik’s cubes? So here it is, the 2011 Project on a Rubik’s Cube. If you’d like one, you’ll have to wait for the big Tofu museum show and always remember to exit through the gift shop.

July 25, 2011 – La Sandia

Sandia was one of the first words I learned in Spanish. It’s easy to remember and one of my favorite flavors of aqua fresca. I even make my own lime-watermelon aqua fresca at home. I also learned the word sandia from lotería cards. As it is a watermelon (or sandia) time of year and I knew the 2011 Project needed a summery piece dedicated to the most summery of fruits.

Recently I found a museum catalog from a show about lotería cards in Sioux City Art Center in 2005. I wish I had seen that show, but Iowa is not the type of place I get to. I wait for Leslie Hall to tour. The catalog is real find and I have now learned more than I imagined about lotería cards. Among other things, the image of the watermelon, la sandia, is important because of the colors red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. The ubiquitous sandia in Mexican art is more than just about an appreciation of the fruit.

When I see images of watermelon, my reaction has always been summer. For Mexicans and Mexican-Americans there is an extra meaning in a slice of fruit that represents the national colors. America just doesn’t have a good red, white and blue fruit. But then again, the American identity is defined by being a mix of different people from many diverse places. We might be best represented by a salad with colorful fruit from all over the world.

March 15, 2011 — Loteria

As a California artist, I don’t think I could do this project without including Mexican loteria cards for a piece. It seems almost everyone uses them at some point. Many artists also make their own updated versions of loteria cards. I did a little of both with today’s piece. I have been attracted to the cards and using them in art for years. I am not even sure if artists in Mexico use and are influenced by the cards as much as we are in California. For some reason many of us in California and throughout the U.S. are drawn to these little cards and images. It’s one of those instances where one culture imports something from another culture and takes off with it. Not as big as Christmas in Japan, but it’s a start.