: The Currier Museum of Art will present a special exhibition,
"Voces y Visiones: Highlights from El Museo del Barrio's
Permanent Collection," on view March 10-June 26. The exhibit will
celebrate Latin American and Caribbean art and culture and
features more than 100 objects encompassing a broad range of
media, styles, and cultures by artists from 15-plus countries.
Founded in 1969 in Manhattan's Upper Eastside neighborhood or el
barrio, El Museo del Barrio is the nation's premier museum
dedicated to historic and contemporary Puerto Rican, Caribbean,
Latin American and Latino art.
This vibrant and engaging exhibition marks the first tour of El
Museo's finest holdings ranging from pre-Columbian artifacts from
the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries through to recent Latino
art. The Currier is the only New England venue on this national
tour
This exhibition reflects the complex and diverse reality of
contemporary Latino perspectives on identity and culture.
Organized thematically, the exhibition begins with Taíno
pre-Columbian objects, such as ceramic vessels and stone tools,
from this indigenous culture that flourished in Puerto Rico, the
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.
The popular traditions of Latin American and the Caribbean,
particularly devotional arts from the Nineteenth and Twentieth
centuries, also comprise a major component of the exhibition.
Ranging from the rich religious and artistic meanings embodied in
santos (carved and painted wooden figurines of saints used for
worship in the home) to the convergence of symbols from Christian
and African-Caribbean religions in art devoted to orishas
(deities) and the important mask-making traditions, El Museo's
collection reflects the prominence of the folk arts in Latin
American culture.
The strong graphic traditions that have helped shape community
identities through depictions of the political and civil
struggles in the Twentieth Century are also featured.
Juan Sánchez (born 1954 New York), "El Padre, El Hijo, El
Espíritu Santo (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit),"
1995, lithograph with affixed color Xerox, 22 by 30 inches
(irregular), El Museo del Barrio, New York, gift of Robert
Blackburn, director of The Printmaking Workshop, New York.
-Eddie J. Bartolomei photo
Drawing on a wide range of sources, many of the contemporary
Latino artists included in the exhibition continue to explore the
intersection of the past and present and of different cultures
through their work.
The Currier's presentation of "Voces y Visiones" will be a
multimedia one highlighting the "voices and visions" of Latin
American, Caribbean and Latino artists through a series of
audiotaped interviews with artists commenting on individual works
of art. These "voices" amplify the visual interpretation by
offering a variety of personal viewpoints. Additionally, all
interpretive materials will be presented in Spanish and English.
With a lack of major museums dedicated to showing Latin American
art in the New England region, "Voces y Visiones" is an
opportunity for Currier visitors to see and experience the
significant contributions made by Latin American and Latino
artists to the history of art and culture.
For a complete schedule of programs in English and Spanish, visit
www.currier.org. The museum is at 201 Myrtle Way. For
information, 603-669-6144, extension 108.
