"Gestuario" By Antonio Martarell; 2011; Prints
'Gestuario' By Antonio Martarell is a collection of life sized prints depicting the silhouettes of Puerto Rican community members. Each print has the image of an individual unique from the rest of the silhouettes. The silhouettes are in different positions making different gestures giving them different characteristics. This piece has a strong sense of communal identity through the aspect different types of individuals from his community. Each print shows aspects of who they are as individuals, but since it is a collection of prints you can sense the identity of the community too.
The first print I notice is the one of the younger man leaning against a wall. He is wearing baggy clothing, his shoe laces are untied, and his hat is backwards. He appears to be relaxing or waiting for a friend to arrive. He has the appears to be relatively care free and happy. He represents the identity of youthful Puerto Ricans, possibly how he saw himself as a teenager.
The other print that jumps out to me is of what appears to be a topless woman with her back turned. She has an almost seductive stance. She mirrors the young man in the way that she is directly across from him, and that she is the fancy of many young men. She may represent the lust of the youth of Puerto Rico. She acts in unison with the young man to provide a more complete view of his cultural identity.
This piece demonstrates cultural identity through the identity of individual members of a community. The different prints of individual act in unison to show different sides of an individuals identity, so that you can look at them all and get a sense of the identity of them as a whole.
The first print I notice is the one of the younger man leaning against a wall. He is wearing baggy clothing, his shoe laces are untied, and his hat is backwards. He appears to be relaxing or waiting for a friend to arrive. He has the appears to be relatively care free and happy. He represents the identity of youthful Puerto Ricans, possibly how he saw himself as a teenager.
The other print that jumps out to me is of what appears to be a topless woman with her back turned. She has an almost seductive stance. She mirrors the young man in the way that she is directly across from him, and that she is the fancy of many young men. She may represent the lust of the youth of Puerto Rico. She acts in unison with the young man to provide a more complete view of his cultural identity.
This piece demonstrates cultural identity through the identity of individual members of a community. The different prints of individual act in unison to show different sides of an individuals identity, so that you can look at them all and get a sense of the identity of them as a whole.
"Norwalk Community College curator Susan Hardesty has announced that Antonio Martorell, a “well known Puerto Rican painter, graphic artist, writer and radio and television personality” (according to his Wikipedia page) will be exhibiting a series of wood cut prints in the NCC East Campus Gallery. Martorell will give an artist’s talk at the Opening Reception on September 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Guest Curator Benjamin Ortiz will introduce the artist and give an overview of the exhibition.
Martorell, a resident artist at the University of Puerto Rico, regularly exhibits in Puerto Rico and the United States. Martorell also directs the Ramón Frade Museum at the University. In 1986 Martorell won the prestigious Bienal de Arte de San Juan prize. Martorell maintains printmaking workshops in Puerto Rico and New York.
Titled “Gestuario/”Gestures,” this exhibition is Martorell’s depiction, in silhouette, of the gestures and attitudes of Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean nationals, “who consciously, or not, speak with their bodies, rendering into images that which is unspoken.” Martorell began thinking of his theme while on a family vacation taken years ago in Mexico. On this trip, a woman in the marketplace asked if they were Puerto Ricans before they had even spoken. When they asked her how she knew their nationality she replied, “Only Puerto Ricans point with their lips.” " (1,Norwalk)
Martorell, a resident artist at the University of Puerto Rico, regularly exhibits in Puerto Rico and the United States. Martorell also directs the Ramón Frade Museum at the University. In 1986 Martorell won the prestigious Bienal de Arte de San Juan prize. Martorell maintains printmaking workshops in Puerto Rico and New York.
Titled “Gestuario/”Gestures,” this exhibition is Martorell’s depiction, in silhouette, of the gestures and attitudes of Puerto Ricans and other Caribbean nationals, “who consciously, or not, speak with their bodies, rendering into images that which is unspoken.” Martorell began thinking of his theme while on a family vacation taken years ago in Mexico. On this trip, a woman in the marketplace asked if they were Puerto Ricans before they had even spoken. When they asked her how she knew their nationality she replied, “Only Puerto Ricans point with their lips.” " (1,Norwalk)