“˜Transcultural Pilgrim’ exhibit at Fowler displays global visions
"Transcultural Pilgrim”
Through Jan. 8, 2012
Fowler Museum, FREE
By Mette-Marie Kongsved
Sept. 13, 2011 11:38 p.m.
For more than 30 years, Cuban American artist José Bedia has travelled the globe, seeking a deeper understanding of various cultures and their spiritual practices.
From today through Jan. 8, an exhibition tracking his journeys, entitled “Transcultural Pilgrim: Three Decades of Work by José Bedia,” will be on display at UCLA’s Fowler Museum. The title of the show refers to the artist himself and his sojourns in countries such as Peru, Mexico, Zambia and his native Cuba.
The exhibition is guest curated by Judith Bettelheim, professor of art history emerita at San Francisco State University. She said that exhibited artworks will unfold as a narrative of these transcultural journeys.
“For me, he is the quintessential artist who is able to blend a spirituality of his own religion with contemporary art practices,” Bettelheim said. “His art shows how his spiritual horizons have been opened by his transcultural encounters, and how he has translated those experiences aesthetically.”
Bedia’s works include large-scale vibrant acrylic paintings, downplayed, monochromatic charcoal drawings and installation pieces that mix various media such as sculpture art, collages and paintings.
Despite the variety of materials he employs, most of his works, some of which he has painted with his bare hands, are characterized by strong graphic lines with a frequent incorporation of spiritual symbols and sacred texts.
According to Beth Rosenblum, a doctoral candidate in art history currently finishing up her dissertation on Cuban artists in the 1990s, Bedia was one of the masters who emerged during the renaissance of Cuban art in the 1980s.
Rosenblum said that Bedia, who immigrated to the United States in 1993, represents a new kind of contemporary artist who explores a steadily growing multicultural society.
“I think that now, in this age of transnationalism and globalization, there is this new notion of the transient artist ““ an artist that represents countries other than his or her homeland,” Rosenblum said.
Robin Lee, a second-year global studies student, said he believes there is a way to understand a culture from an artist’s perspective.
“I think an exhibition like this is interesting, because you are presented with something more than just objective facts,” Lee said. “You also get to see the world through someone else’s eyes.”
Several works which will be on display at the Fowler are site-specific installations that have been newly commissioned specifically for “Transcultural Pilgrim.” One of these works, “Figura Que Define Su Propio Horizonte” (Figure Who Defines His Own Horizon Line), consists of a bronze statue set up to look like it is a painting on a large canvas.
“I would really urge students to stop by the Fowler, because these are installations that should be experienced corporally by the viewer,” Rosenblum said. “It’s a whole different experience feeling your whole body interacting with the work ““ an experience that reproductions of the work don’t do justice.”
According to Bettelheim, who said she has been dreaming of executing this exhibition for 16 years, what makes Bedia’s work so fascinating is the notion that he not only explores different cultures, he embeds himself into the different cultures he visits.
“He is not just a tourist; it is much deeper than that. He apprentices with people,” Bettelheim said. “He becomes fully initiated in the religions and cultures he explores, so on a lot of levels he goes way beyond what an academic anthropologist might do.”
