The Spirit Speaks

Thursday, May 2, 1996

Chicano artists Arnoldo Vargas and Richard Alvarez capture the
spirit of their people in art. The new Kerckhoff Art Gallery
exhibit, ‘Por Mi Raza Habla El Espiritu,’ celebrates their work and
their culture. By Rodney Tanaka

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The two artists showing at the Kerckhoff Art Gallery share
common traits: a high school, a love of art and a desire to explore
issues dealing with Chicano culture.

"Por Mi Raza Habla El Espiritu," at the Kerckhoff Art Gallery
through May 10, features the work of UCLA art student Arnoldo
Vargas and his high school teacher Richard Alvarez. Their paintings
draw on images and myths from Chicano culture and celebrate Cinco
de Mayo.

"Artists carry the spirit of the people," Vargas says. "We
struggle a lot as Chicanos and Chicanas and that struggle is always
depicted through art."

Alvarez uses the buffalo to depict the strength and magnificence
of one of his heroes, Chicano attorney and writer Zeta Acosta. His
painting "Zeta" shows a brown buffalo surrounded by red. Acosta
battled for Chicano rights in the courtroom and in his books. He
wrote in his book "Autobiography of the Brown Buffalo" that
Chicanos are "people without a country."

"In America we deal with racism and Mexicans tune into the fact
that we’re not Mexicans either," Alvarez says. "We feel this double
oppression from both sides. This caused him great pain and grief to
come to this realization of who he was."

The buffalo images in Vargas’ work take on different meanings
for the artist. "La Buffala" merges a human female torso with the
head of a buffalo.

"This is my dream girl, a beautiful brown woman with Zeta on her
mind, a buffalo head," Vargas says. "She understands what it means
to be a Chicana. She’s a Chicana who’s aware and she’s not afraid
to show that she is a buffalo."

"El Muse Contemplates Hyatt St." incorporates the buffalo into a
mixture of images drawn from Vargas’ neighborhood. One section of
the painting shows Vargas’ childhood friends and the local store
that features a large mural on the wall. Above his friends a
buffalo emerges from the neighborhood.

"He’s coming out, exposing things through art," Vargas says.
"He’s letting known what’s going on in his head by living on the
street and being an artist."

The painting also features the image of the indigenous man in a
palm tree.

"It showed itself to me," Vargas says. "It’s acknowledging the
indigenous lifestyles that were here before everybody else
was."

Alvarez’s painting "For God, Glory and Gold," completed in 1992,
uses the indigenous man’s profile to interpret the anniversary of
Columbus’ arrival on America’s shores.

"It’s part of a process in which I often wonder what the Mayan,
Inca and Aztec empires could have evolved into if they had been
approached by more honorable, peaceful intentions by Europeans,"
Alvarez says. "Most of my pieces pay homage to the sense of going
back and discovering my own history."

Alvarez pays homage to an influential Chicano leader with "El
Ultimo Surco: La Muerte de Cesar Chavez." Chavez created the United
Farm Workers to fight for the rights of farm laborers. The United
Farm Workers’ flag shows a black eagle centrally located over a
white circle of light.

"In this painting the black eagle, which is in essence his
symbol, has left that circle of light," Alvarez says. "Intruding
into the circle of light is a Christian cross, which to me is an
immediate recognition of death. The squiggly lines at the bottom is
representational of the vineyard where he struggled all his
life."

"El Muse" gives a face to another figure that inspires Alvarez.
The painting shows with simple lines a creative source that the
artist has communicated with throughout his life.

"He’s my friend," Alvarez says. "He’s there for me and he helps
me solve art problems. He’s my mentor."

Vargas views Alvarez in a similar light. The young artist, now a
UCLA freshman, studied photography with Alvarez at Banning High
School in Wilmington. The teacher takes pride in the
accomplishments of his student, and says he enjoys watching Vargas’
artistic growth.

"His work shows a lot of courage," Alvarez says. "It talks about
his generation of young Chicanos and allows us to see and
understand things that they think about."

Alvarez opened up new possibilities for his student. Vargas
credits his teacher for introducing him to the idea of studying art
as a major.

"Through photography and art I began learning about my culture,"
Vargas says. "My pride grew and he showed me what I could do."

Vargas wanted to include his mentor’s work in this exhibit
commemorating Cinco de Mayo.

"It’s art from a Chicano perspective, it’s a unique perspective,
our own way of looking at life," Vargas says. "I hope they think
about all that’s being said, just understand and know that we’re
here."

ART: "Por Mi Raza Habla El Espiritu" at the Kerckhoff Art
Gallery through May 10. Artists’ reception May 6 at 6 p.m.
Admission is free. For more info, call MEChA at (310) 206-6452.

"El Ultimo Surco: La Muerte de Cesar Chavez" by Richard Alvarez,
on display until May 10.

Photos by

FRED HE/ Daily Bruin.

"La Buffala," by UCLA art student Arnoldo Vargas.

Richard Alvarez’s

"La Virgen de los Muertos," featured in "Por Mi Raza Habla El
Espiritu."