Jorge Calleja’s exhibition at the 2^nd Floor Contemporary Art Center in downtown El Paso poked fun at people’s religious beliefs while mocking his lost sense of culture through his often interactive artworks.

After racing out of Juarez when the violence was at its height in 2009 and settling in El Paso with his family, Calleja said he stopped celebrating his culture when he came to the states.  “I didn’t want to be an American.  I wanted to be a Mexican and there is a different culture here.  I quit going to church and I began to let my traditions, traditions that I wanted to continue, actually fade away.  I stopped seeing prayer as a release, but as a job.” Jorge said that is when his thinking slowly became diluted regarding his own culture.

Jorge’s exhibition entitled Mother, Forgive Me was geared at making fun of himself for losing that connection to his heritage and challenging those who claim to have a religious relationship with their “higher power.”  “I created this ginormous translucent vinyl cross, labeled “Modern Faith,” because I see I am not the only one who has lost some sense of tradition.  These people are wearing crosses and the rosary like it’s a fashion statement.  When you put it on, you are a pimp.”

Calleja also poked fun of religion and candles.  He goes on to say that people want instant gratification these days; they are not willing to work for what they believe in.  “Take for example when people pay to light a candle at church or buy an idolic candle at the store…why do they do this?  So, I made rose scented candles that depict the baby Jesus in my show.  For 25 cents you can buy the candle and expect immediate results.”

Jorge created a necktie made with a pattern famous with the culture of Mexico, the Zarape, consisting of bright colors; reds, greens, pinks, yellows and blues.  He calls this “Business Casual.”  Jorge noted,  “The tie was basically a call back to when I was working in an office environment.  It was not until I had an office job in the United States did I realize it put me in a higher position than most people in Mexico.  I don’t mean that to sound arrogant, but I wasn’t doing anything important and I was still making money.   Compare that to people in Juarez who are actually working their ass off and not making any money!”

Calleja continues to poke fun at society’s adoration of gold in his piece entitled, “Trust Me.”  “We see gold as a symbol of trust.  As I was growing up, there was this guy around the corner and everyone knew he was a drug dealer.  He was tacky yet always had groupies around him and he had this big shiny gold tooth.  Well, as a society we think, the shinier the better, the more gold, the better, but in reality, it does not matter how shiny your tooth is…the rest of his mouth is full of shit.”

The title of his exhibition is an apology to Jorge’s three mothers regarding his choices in life.  “I see the concept of mother in three different forms, mother as the head of a family, mother as the religious aspect with the Virgin Mary, and mother as Madre Patria.”   Calleja wanted the title of the exhibit to say he was sorry for not following what his mother, the Virgin Mary, and his grandmother taught him in life.  The exhibition was an attempt to show what the results of those choices.

You can find Jorge’s collections at:  lapaginadejorgecalleja.net

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

A graphic designer by trade, Mitsu Overstreet feels his truest calling is public art.  His ability to integrate technology into art can be seen with his latest in installation at the El Paso International Airport labeled “Limitless”.

Your installation at the El Paso International Airport is a work in progress…tell me about it?

It’s a terrazzo floor design and installation for the remodeling update of the baggage claim area for the El Paso International Airport and the Museum and Cultural Affairs Department. This is the first time I’ve ever designed for terrazzo and so grateful for this opportunity that this project has provided to help me to grow and work on this level.

The inspiration for the main image finally came down to the Rio Grande River because of its importance to the region not only for social, political and economic reasons but for the life giving sustenance that its water brings to this area.

The next was to have a work that invited people to experience it in whole, and to somehow get the community that used the airport to get involved. I started to interview people in the baggage area, and they began telling me stories about their experiences here, their family’s stories and what they loved about the area.  I figured if we could embed quotes from people all over the region talking about what they loved and their favorite memory I could create a space that told these stories to the visitors that they could experience while walking throughout the work.

Do you have any creative habits that contribute to your success?

Well the one creative habit I can truly attribute to any success I’ve had is my work with other artists. Most of my best work has been collaborative and it’s become almost a necessary part of it. It actually kinda feels weird when I’m working with projects that are only me creating the art. I’ve recently started experimenting with personal work and it’s different thinking that way versus bouncing and responding to other artists’ input and sharing the credit. Collaborative work is just way more fulfilling and fun.

What are/is the biggest challenge(s) that artists in El Paso face?

In recently years I’ve noticed how the art economy here is beginning to take shape. We still have a ways to go. Healthcare for artists and their families is a huge deal when it comes to living on a nearly non-existent local creative economy. It will probably take more than just the city to help create that. Hopefully the organizations like the El Paso Artists Guild will help make it possible for that to exist here.

Photographs courtesy of Mitsu Overstreet

Public Works

By Hope Ishear

Tim Razo has a style that knows no boundaries…an artist who indulges in multiple mediums while drawing on buses, exploring pop culture, and creating awareness through a recent series of Asarco posters.  His attention to detail and design can be viewed through the use of neon colors that communicate his message of the southwest.  Originally from California, Tim calls El Paso home and describes himself as a Southwestern multi-media artist.

Hope:  You refer to yourself as a “Southwestern” artist, but really what you do is take iconic pieces of the Southwest and transform them.

Tim:  I grew up immersed in Southwestern art since I was a kid.  It was everywhere.  You’d go back in the 80s and I always dug the ideas behind the really good stuff I’d see.  Even if it was just really skillfully delivered landscapes, I could understand the inspiration behind it because I’ve mostly lived in the desert my entire life.  Most of my illustrations are usually mash-ups of ideas, but I keep my paintings and overall philosophy resonating with the Southwest.  It’s a vision I have of progressing that feeling of desert psychedelia that keeps me stoked.

Hope:  Your choice of colors is amazing…from paint to pencil.  Tell me about your training.

Tim:  Getting high around the age of 14 to 21 while looking at art magazines and books I bought or stole from bookstores I think is what really ingrained that thought pattern of lucid colors.  Now with 14 years of Photoshop color editing, filters and adjustments firmly established in my brain I think I just have solidified that ability.  It’s a learning process which sometimes comes naturally and sometimes you have to really work at.  

Hope:  Some people have a centralized theme in their work, can you expand on yours?

Tim:   As far as a message with my prints, illustrations, they’re usually just ideas that I have that range from pop culture to synchromysticsm (and everything in between).  My paintings are usually more geared towards the idea of a symbiotic relationship between technology and nature.  We’re coming to this point with technology that seems to be blurring the lines of human morality with GMOs, stem cell research, cloning, etc.  I like exploring what’s past that a few hundred years down the line or so.  So the Dreamcatchers for example, in my mind are GMOs gone wild.  It’s a positive spin to something that people are usually up in arms about.

Hope:  What are you currently working on and what should we look for in the near future?

Tim:  I’m working on two large canvases that will be displayed in El Paso in October and then in Santa Fe by December to early 2014.  The large canvases I’m working on are going to explore human technology even further.  No murals in the near future from what I can tell.  I’d like to work on more, I should probably be hitting the city up for funding.

 Hope:  What is the El Paso art scene missing, and how can you help bring awareness to the art community?

Tim:  If I was to say anything I would think El Paso’s art scene is missing a highly valued art market at the moment.  It seems most people would rather buy their paintings or art that they surround themselves with from anonymous artists at furniture stores or thrift shops rather than buy authentic local art usually at lower prices.  It’s a personal choice, but you have to get into the local game if you want to have a real local experience. Which is what you want to have especially if you’re looking to stay here a while.  Locals need to be more aware of the value that local artists bring to the table.

Hope:  Any comments you wish to add?

Tim:  I would say a genuine study of psychology, the occult and origins of symbols and archetypes is a good thing to have under your belt if you are a visual artist.

You can view more of Tim’s work at:  http://pazomotti.com

Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

She waits with patience for the smoke from a flame to invoke an emotional exchange between her hand and the canvas.  When the moment arises she nurtures the relationship of her brush to the canvas as the strokes are gently and delicately applied.

Adriana Peraldi is ever so slightly influenced by a sip of Bordeaux as her paintings begin to come alive.  But her attention does not stay with just one subject, she sees the need to pay care to three separate pieces, each requiring of her expertise.

“My mission is to provoke emotions from people to talk about my work,” said Peraldi.  She openly admits she loves to play with the subliminal message she receives from friends and family, even strangers throughout the day.  She transfers those images onto the canvas and works to create a painting that will suggest thought and also a dialogue.  “I want their imaginations to play, I want to entice you to talk about the piece.  I want to play with people’s thoughts and see what translates into my works.”

Adriana, originally from Juarez, now enjoying life in El Paso,  prefers to paint at night.  She feels more creative and alive as the night draws near.  “During the day you can choose to be upset and let it ruin your day, but at night, the emotion dissipates.  You can release that feeling on canvas and let it go,” said Adriana.  “I like to burn a candle and allow the waves of the smoke to mentor to me.  I can sit there for hours until I feel the passion to pick up the brush and let it guide me to the canvas.”  Peraldi says she feels more creative at the wee hours of the morning and speaks passionately about her inspirations.

“The smoke sends me a signal to my subconscious and I like to use that signal in my work,” said Peraldi.  Adriana’s work is notably soft in nature but bold in its statement.  Her pieces portray sexuality, femininity, unity and strength.  The shapes of the bodies are not strictly defined on canvas but in ones mind to decide the message it sends.  “My pieces are very emotional and yes, sometimes very sexual.  I want you to engage with my work.  I want you to speak to each other about what you feel and what you see, because each of us will have a connection to my painting, but each of us will have a different connection.  I want to hear what you feel.”

Peraldi first started experimenting in art when she was a young girl by mixing pigments that would be used in wool tapestries at her mother’s workshop in Juarez.  From there, her love of art blossomed.

She admits she is enamored by painting and sometimes finds it hard to concentrate on new people, “I look into your eyes and I see emotion, I look at you and see the ruffle on your blouse and I want to paint it, I sit in an economics class and think how I can paint the crease on his shirt, not learn about numbers, I see a couple fight and want to paint them!”

Peraldi’s work can be viewed online at http://www.adrianperaldi.com