Paintings
CARMINA CORTES Exhibit
CURVES & ANGLES: La Forma Feminina
Art and Photography Exhibit
Curated by RuthAnne Tarletz
August 2004
INTRODUCTION TO THE EXHIBITION
Curves & Angles: For some when they see the photography along side the paintings, it may be hard to understand why the title of this show is Curves & Angles: La Forma Feminina. It all started when the original title was Buscando Identidad that more logically encompasses both art forms. However, one needs to think about the twists and turns one takes searching for one’s identity and the forms that one focuses on in that search. For Carmina those twists and turns, the Curves & Angles, are becoming part of an integrated whole.
Buscando Identidad: Sometimes we seek an unknown, unresolved element in our lives. We search for that missing puzzle piece in the hope of resolving who we are. As individuals, we are not familiar with the shape or color of that piece. We believe that piece will complete us. For five years Carmina has been looking for that one piece of the puzzle: that unknown piece that will fill the gap in her existence. She believes that she has found it now: the HEART, the place of love, joy, peace, hope and family.
El Corazon: The Heart has its curves and its angles. The Heart is not only that which has physicality, but also that which has spirituality. When one speaks of love, joy, peace, hope and family, one is speaking of that spirituality. It is that special something that holds all of them and holds them together. The physical Heart can be seen in the paintings. The spiritual Heart can be seen in the photography.
Curves & Angles: La Forma Feminina: So as Carmina further explores the shape of the Heart, it's curves and angles, we see it fitting into La Forma Feminina, allowing one to accept the feminine form as it is with all its curves and angles. And as the spiritual expression the curves and angles of the Heart are reflected through photographs of her family and familial places in Mexico. And all this represents the Curves & Angles, the twists and turns, in her life as she works on encountering her identity through expressions of her art both in painting and photography.
We welcome you to explore with Carmina the Curves and Angles of her search for identity. May it be a time of personal reflection about what are the pieces and shapes of our own identity. Step back and view the exhibit as a pieces becoming part of a whole.