By Cristina Martinez
February 9th, 2023
"Swagger and Tenderness: The South Bronx Portraits" by John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres.
Right now, the Bronx Museum of Arts is displaying the casts and statues of various locals from the South Bronx. The artists were partners back in the 1980s, casting locals in plaster and creating portraits featuring their Bronx neighbors, a controversial and radical subject matter at that time. "This major survey exhibition mirrors the creative and loving residents of the South Bronx whose personal stories and innovative aesthetics both reflect and shape culture internationally" (The Bronx Museum).
The exhibit has various works from Ahearn and Torres, both separate and collaborative pieces. While there is a lot about their works that are similar due to them working together for so long, as well as with the same artistic medium, they are both able to let their individual artistic visions shine through. This can most obviously be seen in the difference in coloration.
Rigoberto Torres's pieces are marked by their solid and vibrant colors. He seems to be invested in realism, trying to capture the subject exactly as they are in person. The piece shown is titled,
"El Presidente" was a solo piece from Torres.
I was drawn to the piece due to the vibrant colors and the emotion he was able to convey. The colors match the smile on the subject's face making the cast a captivating sight.
Rigoberto Torres
"El Presidente", 1980
Acrylic on Plaster
Courtesy of the artist, Alexander and Bonin, New
York and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
John Ahearn's coloration is the opposite of Torres's. Rather than having vibrant opaque colors, his pieces seem more spotty and transparent, giving his subjects an almost ghostly appearance in comparison.
I was drawn to this cast mainly because it was of the subject showing off his tattoo. The image and the title combined present a story to the viewers, one that makes the subject even more interesting to look at. Looking at the images show the obvious difference between the two artists and their works. It is less obvious in the pieces they collaborated on. Their styles are fused, vibrant colors with a spotty application, or opaque coloring with less vivid colors. Regardless the artists are able to capture the likeness of their subject and there is a sense of realism that might not be conveyed through another medium.
John Ahearn
"Devon with His Father's Last Tattoo", 2019
Acrylic on plaster
Courtesy of the artist, Alexander and Bonin, New
York and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles.
Viewing these pieces evokes a feeling of familiarity in me, even though I don't spend a lot of time in the Bronx, I was born and raised in Brooklyn. Many of these faces and scenes were familiar to me because they represent a common story. I wonder if what I felt was similar to the natives and subjects seeing these pieces in public. When the statues were placed in the streets did they ignore them, or stop and observe the works based on their neighbors? I think there is something lost in viewing these works in a museum as opposed to viewing them on the street. There is a loss of ambiance, a silence that isn't common in the streets.
The exhibit doesn't only display the works of art, but it also contains other attributes that are familiar to the streets of NYC. There is music accompanying a series of statues, a domino table that is encouraging visitors to play, and a couch with a game of skully open to play. Overall, this was an interesting experience and these works are definitely ones that should be seen. Especially when the Bronx Museum has free entry.
Edited February 14th, 2023.
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