Jacquard tapestry, 75 x 76 in. Edition of 8
Magnolia Editions extends its sympathy and whole-hearted support to our friend Enrique Chagoya after the violent destruction of his lithographic codex The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals at Colorado's Loveland Museum this week.
In a letter to a Colorado news station, Chagoya explained that his Misadventures, published by Shark's Ink in 2003, is a satirical work "about the corruption of the spiritual by the institutions behind it," noting: "All I do is use my art to express my anxieties, with some sense of humor." Chagoya's work often references Francisco Goya, who was called before the Inquisition in 1815 to explain his painting La Maja Desnuda, and whose subsequent work skewered the savagery and blindness of both the Spanish Inquisition and oppressive forces worldwide.
Pictures of the woman responsible for Wednesday's "criminal mischief" (the charge on which she was arrested) show her dressed in a shirt bearing the slogan "Tougher Than Nails" with an image of three large, bloody nails. Apparently, the imagery in Chagoya's artwork, which involves Christ as a figure among many in a complex and satirical collage, was too much for someone who is otherwise quite happy to advertise His grisly execution.
The staff at Magnolia Editions has the greatest respect and admiration for Chagoya and his work. We are grateful to have allies with critical and iconoclastic minds and we hope Chagoya will serve as a positive role model, encouraging others to express their own anxieties through creativity and humor rather than thoughtless violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment