Museum Essay #2

African Head, 1988

The Hit, 1995

  Dear Rodriguez Calero,

I think your work of art is very interesting and unique. The combination of materials you used were so unique it become a new form of style. The use of collages, prints and photographs create the mixed media, acrollage. Why did you decide to mix these? Do they represent anything to you? Was it to invoke the same emotion your pieces of art do? Because i feel if so, the combination of both the medium and the subject can make the viewer feel confusion, curiosity, or make them become deep in thought trying to figure out your point of view or what it may mean to them. How was the process to create these pieces and did it take many attempts to get the pieces of paper to the shape you wanted and needed? Because the way the paper is cut and arranged on top of another piece seems very precise. For example, “The hit” piece seems to be arranged in a specific way that shows the woman’s face in the magazine cut out, as well as the “African Head” which seems to show a face on the patterned paper. Was this on purpose to show creativity? What were your ideas and motivations? What were you trying to convey and explain to the public? I can see that your inspiration came from religious beliefs, and societal beliefs. Was this made to unite the two biggest things that seem to be governing our society? Was it to show how these things are capable of controlling people’s emotions and actions? I believe it shows great depth and outlook on what makes people in society run. I think you may have created these to show what people see and believe is good or right based on what they’ve been shown. I think you are trying to show the connection of an ‘african’ person to the wild, because of the leopard print and that this is what people may see when referring to african people,or maybe to just Africa. Also, i think “The Hit” shows what people consider to be a hit or something worthy of being on a magazine cover,such as the woman. What i wonder about your intentions is about the way you cut up the head shapes. Do you purposely create the cut outs with puckering lips or is this the way you believe the head looks like? I am very intrigued to know.And I hope you are well.

Sincerely,Katia