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Written by Kat Murrell, Contributing writer
Apr 7, 2011
Carlos Cortez’s work is shown with contemporary artists who also reflect on social justice and labor issues. – Photo: Courtesy
Walker’s Point Center for the Arts relocated to its new home last year and has blossomed as a vital center in the community.
On one recent Saturday, a youth theater group was busy rehearsing in one of the galleries and the fruits of WPCA’s youth art programs were displayed in a classroom space. The new exhibition “Carlos Cortez and Allied Artists” had just opened, imbued with a sense of timely importance through its focus on social justice issues and labor rights.
Carlos Cortéz Koyokuikatl (1923-2005) is the historical and spiritual nucleus of this show. A Milwaukee native, Cortez was born into a socially progressive family. In his adult life, he worked, as he put it, as a “harvest hand, construction worker, loafer, jailbird (and) vagabond factory stiff,” all in support of his true calling as an artist, poet and activist.
The exhibition features primarily works on paper, with art by Cortez from the 1980s and ’90s shown in conjunction with contemporary prints from the Just Seeds and World War 3-illustrated collectives. The imagery of the exhibition is largely hard-edged, with a graphic punch and social poignancy that sets these works apart as art with a mission.
The pictures have come together from various sources, including public and private collections, and the artists themselves. A variety of prints in the show are available for sale at nominal prices for those with a penchant for art collecting, or for those who wish to obtain them as historical documents related to the current labor struggles playing out in the state.
Cortez’s work has a graphic presence similar to German expressionist prints. The raw directness of his images and written statements reflect an impassioned life, distilled into artistically powerful images of workers, laborers and immigrants. They are portrayed with intense lines and monumental dignity. Cortez offers commentary on the lives of people in his community, but also becomes an icon himself.
A self-portrait underscores his stature. Done in 1985, Cortez stands frontally, clad in a black shirt set off from the black background by a thin, authoritative line. His face is weathered and wise, with a direct stare behind square glasses. There is a sweeping texture in the brim of his hat, the shock of hair over his shoulder and his dramatic, long mustache.
Cortez is a figure of influence and of homage. Next to his self-portrait, Favianna Rodriguez shows her 2010 work called “Maestro Carlos Cortez.” Rodriguez places him against a vibrant field of red, but positioned off center and cropped on one side. The details of his face and appearance are recognizable, but simplified into broad forms, transcending the naturalistic tendencies of a portrait and becoming an icon. A long, curvaceous form looms in the background, something like a foreshadowing of things to come or a reminder of unfinished business from the past.
A trio of distinctive images are tucked away in a corner in the second gallery. These three monotype prints come as something of a visual surprise because of their alternative style in comparison to the rest of the works in the exhibition. The artist, Susan Simensky Bietila, creates images of workers with a timeless feel. The wrinkled shirtsleeves, the hats and the somber dignity recall the monumentality of peasants painted in the 19th century by Jean-Francois Millet.
For a look at things on a somewhat lighter side, check out the student work in the rear galleries. Work from children of various grade levels graces the walls with portraits, still lifes and a number of intriguing landscapes. In some of these pictures of rolling hills, a sense of Milton Avery-style flatness and color percolates. In others, linear rhythms undulate like the imaginative topographies of Chicago artist Joseph Yoakum. There is a sense of freshness and optimism in these drawings, as young artists revel in the pleasures of art.
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