The Dragons from the Castle Ate My Most Sensitive Parts

Kristal King

This past Sunday I dropped by the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in order to visit Esterio Segura’s work in his first solo exhibition in the United States. Esterio was born August 1970 in Santiago de Cuba where he went to school at Escuela Elemental de Artes Plásticas of Camaguey and Escuela Provincial de Artez Plasticas y Ballet. Later on in life he began instructing at Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, which lasted five years from 1989-1994.

MOLAA has two rooms dedicated purely to Segura’s sculptures, drawings, and instillations; which makes sense because most of his pieces are quite sizable.  It’s been 16 years since his last solo show and he must have had time to sincerely delve into his art. Most of the pieces I viewed were mixed media on linen with limited color involved.  It was an apparent theme through out the exhibit of comparing man made things like trains, bridges, power lines, and cranes to the human male body. A quote from Esterio stood alone on the wall, “I developed a reflection on architecture and man, and vice-versa. Architecture is functional, and describes us in a philosophical and human way. All in all, the human form is an architecture shape.” I think this is a somewhat superficial description of the pieces shown, but I can appreciate the small glimmer of what was going on his mind when creating them.

            My favorite by far was Los Drangones del castillo me comieron los partes mas sensibles, or, The Dragons from the Castle Ate My Most Sensitive Parts made in 1996 with watercolor, India ink, and pencil on paper. Even without knowing the history of Cuba, the title of this piece would have led me to believe that the ruler or his supporters were seeking to weaken and harm the subject. It shows a total of five dragons attacking a naked and vulnerable man. His chest is bloody, as if it has already been thoroughly gnawed and the dragons moved onto his hands, eyes, and groin area. I think this symbolizes the complete control Fidel Castro tried to have over his people. I am surprised there is not an additional dragon assigned to his mouth.

The political and social aspect to this particular piece transcends a feeling of anxiousness and angst. Putting myself in his position, I can see how frustrating and disabling it must have been to grow up in a place that limits your freedom to such a far extent. I admire the courage of this piece, and the statement behind it. I can see various line variations, successful value, and correct proportions of his subject. Not only is this piece a cultural narrative but also it is visually stimulating and simply beautiful. I really enjoyed the work I saw by Esterio, and hope to see more in the future.

Fire Breathing Cobra

      My name is Kimberly Perez and I attended the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. While on my visit i viewed the Egyptian art exhibit. There were many different pieces that exposed many beliefs, and important icons held within the culture. Many people circled the sarcophagus and stelle because they were the most identifiable pieces to the culture however i was drawn to something a bit smaller and not as easily identifiable.

   I found a figurine that measured about thirteen inches tall and was made in the twenty-sixth dynasty,circa 664-525 B.C. The figure I was so intrigued by was sculpture in the round and standing flat footed in the silent march position. The figure is depicted in human form with a head of a lioness. She is standing tall adorned with a headdress that is complete with a sun disc and Uraeus. The statuette has one hand by her side with a clutched fist and another extending out in front of her also with a clutched fist. The human figure is treated in such a supple manner, with contours of the breast, abdomen, and thighs which are clearly visible beneath the thin cloth she is wearing. Incised details are carefully given to areas like the lion mane, broad collar, armbands, and bracelets.

When I first saw the statue I had no idea who she was or what she symbolized in the Egyptian culture but, after reading the curator notes I discovered this was a statuette of the goddess Wadjet. This particular statuette was used as an offering in the temple of Wadjet which is evident by the inscription of the donors name on the base of the statue. The curator notes told me who she was but why she was important was still a mystery. Upon further research i discovered that Wadjet was one of the original goddesses and was the daughter of the sun god Ra hence the sun dis on her head. She was viewed as a protector and fierce warrior which explained the cobra on her head. She was seen as a figure who would strike any enemy of the king. She was the protector of  upper Egypt and would later be depicted with her sister the protector of  lower Egypt symbolizing unification and a whole Egypt. 

The trip to LACMA was very informative and was something nice to do on a Friday night. The museum was free for people who lived in Los Angeles county and they had a live jazz band. They do require an ID with a Los Angeles county address on it for free admission.   

LB Museum of Art. Posted Vitaly.V.

     Wow.

         

          I had a chance to see such a spectacular painting which was created by Greg Simkins aka Craola.

      

     

         Greg Simkins was born in Torrance, California. His artistic ambitions bloomed as early as age three. At the age of 18, Simkins began doing graffiti under the name “CRAOLA”. Graffiti drove his inspiration to create and gave him the confidence and experience to paint large scale works. It also taught him color theory and perspective while further developing his artistic skills as later demonstrated in his masterful work with acrylics. After graduating, Simkins went to work as an illustrator for a number of clothing firms before moving on to the video game industry where he worked on games for Treyarch/Activision such as Tony Hawk 2X, Spider man 2, and Ultimate Spider man. With blessings from his former bosses at Activision, he made the leap to full-time artist in 2005.

The painting that i saw calls 'The Pearl Thief'.

  One of the most detailed paintings I have ever seen; it was like ten paintings in one.The atmosphere of this art  charms you. Painting tells the story of a greedy monster, which travels the world stealing the imaginations of unsuspecting souls. The stolen imaginations exist in the form of pearl, but not the type of pearl that we are familiar with. In Simkins' world, the pearl holds much more value.           "Inside of everyone's mind, there is a place which holds all the ideas, all the thoughts and creativity that a person will need for a life time. We have some notion of it from our dreams where it sometimes surfaces as a cloud of images jumbled together. In fact it is in the deepest part of our dreams where these confused clouds become most potent and luminous. This my friends is a Pearl. It is also what 'The Pearl Thief' lusts for the most and has devoted his entire existence to taking each and every one in to his possession, both as treasure and as currency."

Take a look at it closer!!! 

I advise you not to lose the chance to look at this magnificent work.

Thank you for your attention.

Post by:  Vitaly.V.

Wassily Kandinsky

Patricia Martin
LBCC Fall
Beginning Drawing

Wassily Kandinsky
Russia, 1866-1944

Wassily Kandinsky is often credited with the initial transition from representational to abstract art. It is his works, while he was a teacher, on display at LACMA that attracted me to him. He was born in Moscow and learned to play the piano and cello as a child and study drawing with a coach. He attended University of Moscow to study law. As an adult he saw Claude Monet's "Haystacks at Giverny" which inspired him to give up law and move to Germany to study art full-time. He had a theory of music and color which gave him his ideas on theories of art. During WW1 he move back to Russia and was influenced by the constructivist movement based on hard lines, dots and geometry. He taught at Bauhaus school in Berlin.

His work "Three Free Circles" 1923 and "Melodious" 1924 are the ones I liked the best. Their color and geometric shapes were fascinating. Their simplicity of line and the contrasting colors are beautiful. The drawing below was not in the collection at LACMA but represents the works that attracted me. I was able to find a picture of Melodious.

Merry Structure

Melodious

I enjoy contrast in art. Color, shapes and forms. I think that is why I enjoy drawing so much. Its purity of contrast of pencil and paper. Kandinsky's color combinations gave me new insight on how color can be used in drawing to increase the intensity of contrast. How color can influence imagination and spark emotion.

Hello, I'm Yvonne Nuno:

The artist I observed is named Esterio Segura Mora.  Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba in 1970, Esterio is one of the most controversial artists of his generation.   He was educated in the arts, and  from 1989 to 1994, began instruction himself at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana. New York, Berlin, London, Havana and now California’s very own Museum of Latin American Art, have had the pleasure of presenting his meaningful art in solo exhibitions.  His artwork can be found in museum collections throughout various American states as well as cuba.

                For our observation assignment, I chose Esterio Segura’s “Pinocho y Napoleon cuentan  la historia.” [Pinocchio and Napoleon tell the story] (2006). Through this series, Esterio means to express his political, historical and ideological themes that inspired him by growing up in his country during a time of diverse situations.

The first piece I chose is called Napoeon y Pinocho Cuentan la historia. It is acrylic and white pencil on black paper, and it depicts Pinocchio, at the very bottom left corner, standing on books (of Cuban history and heroes). He is holding his hands behind his back and his nose has grown so long that it reaches the top right corner. At the very end, Pinocchio’s nose turns into an airplane. 

A second image I observed of that collection is called Tierra Fantasma, meaning phantom land.  This is also acrylic and white pencil on black paper.  It depicts Pinocchio “trotting” as Esterio describes, with his head held high and his nose has begun to enlarge. The end of it is far away from his face now, but by the looks of his face, Pinocchio seems not to mind at all.

Esterio Segura @ MOLAA Museum

    Hi I'm Sir Paul Chock,  My visit to MOLAA(Museum Of Latin American Art) was a awesome experience. I  haven't been to an art museum since 3rd grade, but going back to MOLAA as an adult was wonderful. Esterio Segura was born on August 22, 1970 in Cuba. Esterio study in Sculpture, drawing and installation.
       This drawing  is called The Conquistador drawn in 1997, water color on paper. Theirs something about Esterio Segura drawing that catches my attention. Maybe the drawing he draws and the things he draws that symbolize a meaning that catches my attention. To me the flame is the ignition of the light to show the path to a new adventure. The feather symbolize the connection of the spirit to keep you safe from evil spirits and the knife is to protect you from harms way.
       This drawing makes me think of a world full of mystical creature and demi gods. The color in the picture keeps me cool and relax. I wonder what Esterio Segura felt when he was drawing this picture back in 1997.

     This picture is called The Dragon In The Castle Ate My Most Sensitive Parts-1996, watercolor, India ink and pencil on paper. I wonder why he drew this picture and called it the dragon in the castle ate my most sensitive parts for? I felt that the dragons was symbolizing his past companion-er. The dragon biting his hand means to me that the girl was just using him for his money and his hard work.
  The dragon that biting his private part was a women that just use him for his pleasure not for his heart and love. The two dragon biting his eyes probably was a women that deceive him and was no good to him. The blood on his right was probably from a women that took his heart and that he can never love again. I think Esterio Segura was fed up with women that miss treated his love, so he took his sadness and drawn it to a nice fine piece of art.



    

      This very nice piece of art is called Energy -2001, mixed media on canvas. This piece right here make me feel some type of way like gloomy. A very sad person searching for happiness, facing himself wondering when is their going to be a spark to happiness in his life. I feel like the telephone pole is his connection to energy or his communication to keep in touch with him selves.
      This piece is my favorite out of all his drawing. I can relate to this picture, sometimes i feel like i need to communicate with others people to feel alive. I'm very glad that i got a chance to visit the museum of Latin American art, the drawing really touch me and made me feel all kinds of emotion.

Sabrina Chock
Art 15, LBCC Fall 2014

 

 Esterio Segura 

Esterio Segura (MOLAA)  

  Hello, My name is Sabrina. I enjoyed my second visit to the Mueseum Of Latin American Art. The last time I've visited MOLAA i was in the 5th grade. I didn't really know much about art then, as much as I do know now.When i visited MOLAA it has its first solo artist exhibition Esterio Segura. I find his work amazing and unique. Esterio Segura is a Cuban artist. He was born and raised in Santiago de Cuba on August 22nd, 1970. He went and graduated from Prestigious Institute Superior de Arte  in Havana in 1994 where he also taught professionally. Most of his work are painting, sculptures, photography and insalliation. Mr. Segura work are inspired from the humorous imagery that address socially and politically charged themes from the cuban history. His work has been displayed all over the world such as his own country Cuba, the United States, Germany, Span, England, Argentina, Brazil and other places around the world. He is the first solo artist to display his art work at MOLAA from November 22, 2014 - February 15, 2015. If you want to see his amazing art work yourself.

 

 Mr. Segura worked with all different types of essientials from mix media to water colors, charcoal, conte crayon, graphite pencil etc. This drawing of his attracted me in many ways. This drawing is called Tierra fantasma/Phantom Land, 2013. He used Acrylic and white pencil on paper. It reminded me what i learned in class of positive and negative drawing. It's very clean with just using acrylic and white pencil. Mr. Segura likes to express his theme of exile and immgration. So as i see this piece represents a young boy wanting to leave no matter what the consquences are.

 This other piece from Mr. Segura is called El final nunca esta en el horizante/The end is never in the horizon. 2001 is used with mixed media on linen. I like how clean Mr. Segura used his visual of capturing a man looking into the horizan. And how smooth the charcoal is used and white pencil you can clearly see in the drawing. Also how he used point perspective in this drawing. All of Mr. Segura drawings represents something. As i see this drawing it stands for a man looking into a horizon overlooking endless possiblities.



I can say going and visiting MOLAA and looking at Esterio Segura's work is amazing and brilliant. I love artists who expresses their feelings into their work and what it stands for. And i think thats what Mr. Segura was going for. Expressing his voice into his drawings is incredible. I wish i caught Mr. Segura's opening exhibition i would love to meet him and tell him how amazing his work is. If you're intrested in seeing Mr. Segura's work visit MOLAA and check it out yourself! His exhibition will be going on at MOLAA from Novemeber 22, 2014 to Februaray 15, 2015

 

Castle Overlooking a River

The drawing I analyzed is called “Castle Overlooking a River,” located at The Getty. This charcoal drawing is very simple yet incredible. Maxime Lalanne, a French painter and printmaker in the 1800s, created it. Many of his paintings are actually a call for a political protest. During the mid 1800s, when France fell into its Second Empire, Lalanne drew paintings of political symbolism to criticize the living conditions of their country (in terms of industrialization and poverty). This painting is a reference for one of his many architectural drawings that show a quiet side of France, opposed to what he usually drew. It encompasses the nature and true beauty of France despite the fallen side to it (slums).  

This drawing caught my eye because it covers one of the drawing elements we were required to do for this course. It focuses on the simple sketches and use of charcoal in a 15 ¾ x 11 5/8 in. piece. Through charcoal, Lalanne was able to intensify the nature by making it look as realistic and serene as possible. It almost looks like a really quick sketch but the amount of detail stops it from making it seem so easy. For example the color, there really isn’t any besides the vintage look due to the time the drawing was created in. charcoal isn’t meant to have color, just color in terms of composition and themes. I think the painter captured the essence of a calmer and less industrialized version of France in the late 1800s.

Something inspiring about this piece of art is the technique he used to create the piece. For instance, one could automatically notice how he used soft vine in the background of the artwork. He might have used lighter shades of charcoal in the upper left and upper right hand side of the trees. Then he finally used a darker charcoal to intensify the details of the tree trunk, bushes, and part of the trees. The texture of the paper helps bring out some of the strong elements of charcoal. At a distance, we can actually see the castle to the left hand side to maybe portray how close yet how far we are to nature in comparison to the industrialized areas of the world, which seem close and persistent.

Esterio Segura

 Lisa King

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to MOLA (Museum Of Latin American Art), where I viewed the artwork of Esterio Segura. Esterio Segura was born August 22, 1970 and had an interest in the visual arts at an early age.

 He studied at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas of Camaguey Cuba from 1982-1985. He began his instruction a few years later at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, which he finished in 1994. With a backround in sculpture he is equally known for his drawings, painting, and prints. Additionally, recently he has begun adding text to his artwork. Images from mythology, popular imagery, religious art, and art history are subjects utilized in his work. Recurring themes in his work include eroticism, religious rituals, and the use of symbols.

I was quickly and readily able to relate to Esterio Segura’s work. The display of his artwork was primarily very large in mixed media pieces. The composition appeared to have evoked strong emotions and thought provoking images. I found it to be quite delightful visually, it also succeeded in stimulating my mind which is an enjoyable experience. The themes utilized referenced as metaphors, visually combining them in his open-ended syncretism. I especially loved the apparent chaotic and hybrid context in which his works offer contradictions that allow Segura to allude to universal dilemmas.

There were numerous pieces that I really liked by Segura. It would be difficult to pick just one. I contemplated many different ideas and interpretation of his work. I saw several components of his work which I could relate to topics covered in class, such as perspective and line variation.

 I truly enjoyed visiting The Museum Of Latin American Art. Esterio Segura has now become one of my favorite artists, due to the fact that his work is not only thought provoking but visually intriguing as well.