South Texas College Library Art Gallery celebrates folklore in new exhibit at the Mid-Valley Campus.
Artist lecture and reception: October 6, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Weslaco)
The South Texas College Mid-Valley Library Art Gallery presents “El Canción del Perro (Song of the Dog),” an installation featuring soft sculpture and painting by artist Angelica Raquel Martinez.
A reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, October 6, 2022, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., where she will discuss the inspiration and process that led her to create this exhibition.
Can’t join us in person? Register for the live broadcast at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom webinar:
https://southtexascollege.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_48YaSkhiRPGJLbBeoocA1Q
Angelica Raquel Martinez is a Texas State University and the University of Texas San Antonio graduate and is now a high school educator. In her multi-disciplinary studio practice, Martinez uses narratives focused on folklore, familial storytelling, and her personal experiences to investigate the ideas of morality and the soul using animal imagery.
“Canción del Perro is a celebration of the dog from stories and familial experiences I heard growing up in my hometown of Laredo, TX. A large installation of various soft sculpture techniques will conjure a terrifying moment from my late Grandfather, who told me how the dogs of his neighborhood kept a menacing spirit at bay one night while he was stargazing. Warnings, gritos, and cries appear in many of the works for this exhibition, centering on a leyenda I heard since childhood – ‘If a dog howls three times in a row, it means a spirit is approaching.’ The dog is a connection to our wild other, domesticated, but still, a thread tied to a spiritual side quieted by modernity. As familiar as we are with the dog, they have a mystery and magic that we seldom notice,” says Angelica R. Martinez about the exhibit.
The exhibit opens on August 22 and will be on view until December 9, 2022, at the STC Mid-Valley Campus Library located at 400 N Border, Bldg. E, in Weslaco, TX. The exhibition, artist lecture, and workshop are free and open to the public.
STC’s Library Art Gallery Program organizes exhibitions and educational programs to engage students’ understanding of art and its role in culture, support the academic curriculum, and inspire continued education through direct engagement with artists, scholars, and original works of art.
Contact (956) 447-6663, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu for more information or visit https://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.
To view Angelica’s talk, watch here:
