Intermission by Benito Huerta
Houston artists David McGee and Benito Huerta get together for a special talk this weekend at Houston Museum of African American Culture, discussing art, politics and Huerta’s latest exhibition Works on Paper. The show is centered around themes of politics, money, war and Mexican culture, and is on display through August 16.
An image of artist Benito Huerta
“What I was trying to do here was make people stop to contemplate and think about what we’re all seeing right in front of us,” says the artist, a Corpus Christi native who now lives here. What audiences can see in front of them, as far as the exhibition goes, is 40 years of works by Huerta, including drawings, watercolors, prints and multimedia works made of photographs, collages and paper drawings, many of which explore historical moments. For instance, a grim pencil drawing depicts a hijacked plane about to collide with the Twin Towers, with the work’s title, Intermission, written across the middle. “It’s a sense of reflection,” adds Huerta. “I want people to think about how they should judge what they see in front of them both in art and society.”
Before and after the talk, attendees can see the artist’s works, which, according to HMAAC’s CEO John Guess, reflects upon the social environment in Houston and beyond. “His concept that there is a discussion that goes on at the center of the world between what is heavenly and what is earthly…I thought was representative of the social, political and economic dynamics working their way through Houston right now,” says Guess. “We’re working through this whole contemporary and future identity of the city. That’s why places like HMAAC are important and thats why I wanted to bring the work here.”
Saturday, June 27. 2. Free. Houston Museum of African American Culture, 4807 Caroline. 713-526-1015. hmaac.org
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