Jim Reitz

Black and White Photograph of a Found Crucifix Sculpture on the Ground

2008

Black and white photograph by Houston, Texas photographer, Nash Baker, of the Chapel of St. Basil. Titled, signed, and dated by artist on matte. Matted and framed in black aluminum f...

Black and white contemporary photograph by Houston, TX artist Delilah Montoya. This conceptual photograph captures a young child with long, dark, curly hair, resembling that of Christ's, also wearing a white dress with a thick, patterned lining. The young subject also holds what appears to be a heart figure, also replicated as a graffiti on the wall. Signed and labeled at the back. Framed and matted in a black wooden frame. Dimensions Without Frame: H 23 in. x W 18 in. Artist Biography: Although she was born in Texas and lived in Nebraska into her twenties, photographer and printmaker Delilah Montoya has deep roots in northern New Mexico through her mother's family. Raised by her mother, Montoya observes that women have empowered her family for five generations. Montoya studied photography and printmaking at the University of New Mexico, where she received her bachelor's degree, master's degree, and master of fine arts. She works in a variety of two-dimensional photographic and printing processes as well as creating larger installations. The artist describes her approach as postmodernist and uses documentary strategies to interpret her own distinct vision. Politically, Montoya is committed to exploring issues of identity in terms of a Chicano cultural context:"In my own evolving ideology I question my identity as a Chicana in occupied America, and articulate the experience of the minority woman. I work to understand the depth of my spiritual, political, emotional and cultural icons, realizing that in exploring the topography of my conceptual homeland, Aztlan, I am searching for the configuration of my own vision. " (Montoya n.d.) Montoya is committed to the expression of Chicana experience and history, but she does not consider herself as a feminist. Indeed, Montoya rejects identification as a United States-style feminist because she believes that "Feminists don't give us solidarity. As a Chicana my issues are multifaceted, not just gender, but class, race. " The border, for Montoya, is a politically imposed construct, a part of a United States colonialist enterprise that was forced upon the Chicano community. It is the environment in which Chicano life and history unfolds. Montoya's work explores contemporary and historical issues, sometimes win a humorous twist. Her artist's book for the 1992 Chicano Codices exhibition organized by the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, Codex Delilah: a Journey From Mechica to Chicana (including text by poet Cecilio Garcia-Camarillo), traces the imaginary journey of Six Deer, a character who embodies the contact between indigenous and Spanish culture in her trip "pal norte" towards Aztlan, the "spiritual homeland of her ancestors." As she journeys to the north, the character also journeys forward in time, meeting important Chicanas from the past, including La Llorona...

Image of crucifixion in white, rose and yellow gold on black glass, in a black lacquered frame by Julian Brooker.

A sculptural interpretation of the Crucifixion by the Catalan artist Xavier Ruscallleda (1944 - 2008). Born in Sant Feliu de Guixols he went to study art at Sant Jordi School of Fine Art in Barcelona. He left to focus on informalism and abstraction in painting during the fifties and sixties. However, he also experimented with sculpture. In this case he created an abstract interpretation of the Christian principle symbol of the Crucifixion. The sculpture is made out of raw iron metal whereby he has used traditional blacksmith methods of smithing and forging to shape the metal. The metal has then been oxide to generate this green patina effect. The base of the object is placed with a rough black rock which holds it in place and allows it to retain its balance. It is an interesting object.