Las Ramblas, Linocut and Silkscreen, 2010

 

 

Artist Statement

Densities: People and Places

Sprawling and Crowded, Mexico City and its outskirts reveal a vitality that is intriguing to the artist’s eye.  Alive with movement and change, this second largest city in the world possesses a population in which 40% of the people live below the poverty line.  Nevertheless, what greets the artists’ eye is not simply the density of the poor but the vibrancy of the densities perceived.  Teeming with human feeling- anger, sadness, love, joy, hope—the city’s energy pulses as its inhabitants remember what was, struggle with what is and dream of what could be. 

 

According to the geographer Yi-Fu Tuan in Space and Place, *“ Ample space is not always experienced as spaciousness, and high density does not necessarily mean crowding…” (51).  The meaning of density is linked to a group’s culture and a people’s emotions.  Density need not always be associated with spiritual impoverishment.  It can create intimacy and excitement, As Tuan points out, “A crowd can be exhilarating” (63).  And it can also be nurturing. Mexicans frequently crowd into small houses or even shanties to accommodate the needs of their extended families.  This same crowding, however, can inhibit freedom and leave people powerless in the grip of the difficulties it creates: pollution and crime on a societal level; unhealthy living conditions and lack of privacy on an individual level.  “Houses have eyes,” Tuan tells us.  “Where they are built close together the neighbors’ noises and the neighbors’ concern constantly intrude”(60-61).

Intrusive or inclusive, the densities of Mexico City gain intensity from the cultural complexity of the people who live within them.  Superimposed on Mexico’s ancient religions and traditions are the faith and customs of its Spanish conquerors.  The passion of two worlds unites to shape the city as it is today.