VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

The Consulate General of Mexico presents Atlantic Diaspora: Art Exhibit by José Manuel Pellicer.  Guest curator, Andrew Lubetkin.  Opening reception with the artist Friday, March 20, 2009, 6:30-8:30 pm, Consulate General of Mexico, 4506 Caroline St., Houston, Tx. 77004. Exhibit on view thru April 30, 2009.

The exhibit features photographs and video installations by the exceptional Mexican photographer José Manuel Pellicer. Atlantic Diaspora art exhibit confronts the aesthetic, the political and the economic questions of origins. The portraits and photographic dreamscapes awaken the memories and recognition of Atlantic crossings and passages of time and the people who have emerged.

José Manuel Pellicer is a member of a family whose foundation in poetry, cinematography, art, and politics directed the young Pellicer to discover his conscience and act. Photography was the media that answered his nascent yearning for cultural and political resonance.

In 1968 he decided his separation from the professional world of commerce and to work more closely with the communities of Mexico. Participating in an experiment of production, creativity, and development with a group of Purépecha Indians in the state of Michoacán under the direction of the sculptor James Metcalf, he discovered the struggle of the craftsmen inside and outside their communities.

His work with the artisans led to a government post, during which time he had the opportunity to open the doors of the penal system in the Costa Chica for Véronique Flanet, who wrote Viviré si Dios Quiere. The book examines this region populated by Mixtecan Indians and black Mestizos.

From this moment art became his sole activity with a clear political focus. The contradiction between the indigenous people and the black people of Mexico became an important element to confront.

He worked as a producer in Chanel 11 at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional until he changed his residence to Houston,Texas. His work as curator, videographer, and photographer has been presented at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, the Houston Center for Photography, and the Blaffer Gallery. The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Project Row Houses, the Lawndale Annex, the Station Museum, The Art Car Museum, Pascal Robinson Gallery, Pedazos del Mundo Gallery, Talento Bilingue de Houston, and the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington DC have exhibited Pellicer’s installations, photographs, and video documentaries.

Through his works Pellicer unpeels the ethno-cultural chauvinistic filters that have blinded people to the dynamic reality. Where records, documents, and art historically categorized the Indians, the black people, the Mestizos, and focused on their disparate realities, Pellicer celebrates the whole spectrum and frames the rich music, dance, artistry, and politics of the roots branching into the “Atlantic Culture of the Americas” alongside the remaining indigenous people.

We acknowledge the kind support of Mexico’s Tourism Board.