September 18, 2013

By Aracely Lazcano

In an effort to reinforce the art movement in Central El Paso a group of young artists, known as Colectivo 17, joined forces to create a mural and highlight the life in the border. The mural, located at the intersection of Myrtle and Cotton, is a multi-discipline three-part black and white mural depicting the artists’ interpretation of life choices.

What is Colectivo 17?

Briseida Ochoa – Coordinator for Colectivo 17

Colectivo 17 is a cooperative with eight active members practicing several mediums like painters, graphic designers, photographers and sculptors from both sides of the border. Most of the participants are art students from the University of Texas at El Paso and the Autonomous University in Ciudad Juarez. Others have already graduated from the same discipline in the US.

What is your mission?

Mario Rojo – Coordinator for Colectivo 17

Our main goal is to foster the arts and culture by promoting different mediums and art expressions. We have no limits as to disciplines or styles. We want to connect with as many artists as possible and promote open lines of communication among the artists in the area. Together we can create greater and unique projects for the residents of El Paso.

What is your contribution to this project?

Ulises Gonzales
I am doing a classical portrait. It is one of the most difficult disciplines because you really need to capture the essence and character of the person posing for you. I have been painting classical portraits for eight years now and I really take pride in my work. I don’t do a sketch of anything, it is more like a free style but it gets more complicated when it is in a large scale.

How is your creative process for this mural?

“Wox” Rincones – Abstract Painter

As an abstract artist I started this project in a very organic and chaotic way. I started by making marks and shades and little by little I developed the forms and figures I wanted to represent. Although it might seem chaotic, in reality I was able to get everything under control. Like everything in life, if you have a problem or a chaotic life you end up finding solutions, setting order, and finding your way.

I wanted to represent the cycle of life, and I included none soft pink spheres as a tribute to our evolution. The number nine is associated with human gestation, as well as other implications. There is no limits in what you want to express, we are just trying to make a mural available for other people to see and help them realize El Paso has a lot of talented artist.

To view more of their work you can check them out at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colectivo17ojos?fref=ts

Photographed by Laura Bustillos