Tag Archives: Hispanic Heritage Month

Marcando el Relámpago

August 24, 2018Library Art Gallery, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

South Texas College connects art with science in latest exhibition.

The South Texas College Library Art Gallery proudly presents “Marcando el Relámpago,” an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Tina Fuentes. The exhibit opens Monday, August 27 and runs through October 17, 2018. There will be a closing artist lecture on October 17 at 1 p.m. and a reception to follow from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery. The exhibit is located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.

Facebook.com/events/MarcandoelRelámpago

Tina Fuentes has been creating visual statements through drawings, paintings, and prints that bring her inner thoughts into a 2-D form for the past thirty years in Texas and New Mexico. Currently a painting and drawing professor at Texas Tech University, Fuentes’s most recent body of work has been inspired by the land and atmospheric phenomena of the vast desert corridor in West Texas.

This exhibit comes from a collaboration with scientist and fellow instructor at Texas Tech University, Dr. Eric Bruning, who studies atmospheric electricity, lightning and turbulence. Fuentes’s paintings capture the imagery and or sensory component of these patterns.

STC’s Library Art Gallery Program organizes exhibitions and educational programs to engage student understanding, stimulate inquiry, support academic curriculum, and inspire continued education through direct engagement with artists, scholars, and original works of art.

For more information contact Gina Otvos at 956-872-3488, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon

August 24, 2018Library Art Gallery, Mid-Valley Campus, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

STC Drawing instructor uses charcoal and water from the Rio Grande in new exhibit

South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery presents “Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon,” an exhibit featuring charcoal drawings by Luis Corpus. This exhibit marks the opening of the newly renovated Library Art Gallery at the Mid-Valley Campus and will begin Monday, October 8 and will be on view through December 1, 2018. There will be an opening reception and artist lecture with Corpus on October 8 at 6 p.m. The Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery is located at 400 N. Border in Weslaco. Admission is free and open to the public

In this current body of work, Luis Corpus uses a symbolic medium of handmade charcoal from branches and water from the Rio Grande River. He creates portraits using these materials, attempting to express a cultural identity whose dual nature does not handily offer itself to absolutes. Corpus is an instructor of Art at South Texas College.

“Artists are simply catalysts reacting to their environment. The best singers create tone by allowing the sound to bellow from deep within their diaphragm,” said Luis Corpus. “Art should be created with a similar concept in mind. It should emanate from a person’s ‘core’, translating experiences and the concept of self in the process.”

For more information contact Gina Otvos at 956-872-3488 or gotvos@southtexascollege.edu, or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

Facebook.com/events/Hydrogen-Oxygen-Carbon

Yo Solita Me Enseñé

September 26, 2017Library Art Gallery, Pecan Campus, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

South Texas College presents the work of Jenelle Esparza ‘Self-Taught’

McAllen, TX (September 27, 2017) – South Texas College’s Library Art Gallery proudly presents “Yo Solita Me Enseñé,” a multi-media exhibit with photography, handmade paper, bronze sculpture, fabric, and found objects by Jenelle Esparza.

The exhibit opened Monday, September 11 and runs through October 11, 2017. There will be a closing artist lecture on October 11 at 1 p.m. and a reception to follow from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery. The exhibit is located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.

Esparza is a San Antonio-based artist who works primarily as a photographer. She was awarded the 2015 NALAC (National Association of Latino Arts and Culture) Artist Grant for her project El Color de la Obra about the interconnected histories of South Texas cotton fields. Esparza will be the Texas Artpace International artist in-residence for 2018. She is currently an Education Coordinator at the McNay Art Museum.

“We are excited and honored to work with Jenelle Esparza. Her dedication, thoughtfulness and ability to bring together under told stories of South Texas is exceptional,” said Gina Otvos, STC Art Gallery Associate. “The skill with which she moves between mediums will be exciting to experience.”

Esparza’s work combines her own history as well as the collective history of South Texas with artwork such as hand-cast bronze cotton burrs and a photo of a vast cotton field titled, “Si La Tierra Podría Hablar.”

“The exhibit title, Yo Solita Me Enseñé, comes from women, Tejanas, from the early twentieth century in South Texas as they describe how everything in their environment was made themselves or was self-taught including deshilado, bailes, caseros, food, music and artwork,” Esparza said. “I like that meaning because everything in this show was not only made by me, but it represents a community and a history of people who made things in their own way.”

STC’s Library Art Gallery Program exhibits regional, national and international artwork, explores new visions and theories of creativity, and introduces innovative artistic expressions to the South Texas region.

For more information contact Gina Otvos at 956-872-3488, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryart.

Photo: Si la Tierra Pudiera Hablar, Archival pigment print, 2016.

Mapping Mexican History: Territories in Dispute, Identities in Question

August 29, 2017Library Art Gallery, Mid-Valley Campus, Pecan Campus, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

STC exhibits maps from the University of Texas Austin rare documents collection

South Texas College’s Pecan Campus Library Art Gallery presents “Mapping Mexican History: Territories in Dispute, Identities in Question,” a traveling exhibit featuring reproductions from UT’s Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection.

There will be a free digital map workshop on September 19 at 10 a.m. at the Pecan Campus Library, room F220 and at 1 p.m. at the Mid-Valley Campus CLE, room A105. Parking will be available on campus and no citations will be issued for guests. Lunch will be served. Space is limited to 30 people. Registration closes Wednesday, September 13.

“The maps presented in this exhibition span from 1580 to 1847, and reflect the intertwined relationships between indigenous and European, secular and religious, as well as national and foreign identities in Mexico’s evolution from colonial territory to modern state,” said Julianne Gilland, director of the Benson’s Latin American Collection. “Taken together, the maps featured in the exhibition tell a story of Mexican territory as it was defined, redefined, and contested through three centuries.”

The exhibit will be on view from Monday, August 28 through Friday, October 27, 2017 at the Pecan Library. Admission is free and open to the public.

StoryMapJS, a web-based authoring platform will be introduced for the presentation of map and visual material analyses. Using historical Mexican maps held at the University of Texas at Austin’s Benson Latin American Collection, attendees will learn how to create a set of zoom-able images, host them on Github, and bring them into StoryMapJS to create a dynamic visual-based story. No prior knowledge is necessary, and students or faculty from any discipline are encouraged to attend.

STC-McAllen workshop: https://storytelling_mexican_maps.eventbrite.com

STC-Weslaco workshop: https://mapping_mexican_history.eventbrite.com

Workshops will be led by Itza Carbajal (Master of Science in Information Studies Candidate) and Albert A. Palacios (LLILAS Benson Digital Scholarship Coordinator) from The University of Texas at Austin.

For more information, contact Gina Otvos at (956) 872-3488 or gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/lag.

Inspired by the Deep Blue

August 29, 2017Library Art Gallery, Previous Exhibits, Technology CampusHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

South Texas College exhibits work by UTRGV Master of Fine Arts Candidate

South Texas College’s Technology Campus Library presents an exhibit, “Inspired by the Deep Blue,” with Natalia Soto. The exhibit opens Tuesday, September 6 and will be on view through Friday, December 8, 2017. An artist lecture will be held at 6 p.m. at STC’s Technology Campus Library on November 14. The library is located at 3700 W. Military Hwy. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.

Natalia Soto Sanchez is an active artist with the Women of Action Collective and is in her last semester of the MFA program at UTRGV. In this exhibit of drawings, lithographs, and collage, Soto pays close attention to line detail in a series of fantastical underwater images.

For more information contact Gina Otvos at (956) 872-3488, gotvos@southtexascollege.edu or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/libraryartgallery.

Gesticulaciones de la Vida

October 31, 2014Library Art Gallery, Pecan Campus, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

South Texas College’s Pecan Campus Library presents “Gesticulaciones de la Vida (Life’s Gesticulations),” an exhibit featuring artworks by Beatriz Guzman Velasquez. The exhibit opens Thursday, Sept. 18, 2014 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. and artist talks are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the library’s Rainbow Room. The exhibit will remain on display through Dec. 9. The gallery is located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd. in McAllen. Admission is free and open to the public.

Through her brightly painted images of local cemeteries, Guzman Velasquez seeks to cherish and understand the role death plays along the Mexico-Texas border.

In her works, life and death co-exist in the same place, just like in the Mexican holiday, el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This popular celebration holds many traditions including building private altars called ofrendas, and honoring the deceased by leaving gifts of sugar skulls, marigolds, favorite foods, beverages and possessions at their grave sites.

Guzman Velasquez earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in painting from the University of Texas Pan-American and participated in the San Miguel de Allende Study Abroad Program in Guanajuato, Mexico.

“Guzman Velasquez’s breathtaking use of color is what initially draws viewer’s in,” said STC Art Gallery Associate Dawn Haughey. “It is then the movement and play of the medium that holds our attention. We are so excited to be able to share her work with all of our students, faculty and community members during el Día de los Muertos.”

STC’s Library Art Gallery exhibits regional, national and international artwork, explores new visions and theories of creativity, and introduces innovative artistic expressions to the South Texas region.

For more information, contact Dawn Haughey at (956) 872-3488 or via email at dhaughey@southtexascollege.edu, or visit http://library.southtexascollege.edu/newsevents/libraryartgallery/.

Tim Z. Hernandez to visit STC – Oct 2

September 8, 2014Author / Scholar Visit, Library Events, Pecan Campus, Previous EventsHispanic Heritage MonthElizabeth Hollenbeck

South Texas College’s Center for Mexican American Studies and Library will have a special visit from author Tim Z. Hernandez on October 2nd, 2014 at 4pm in the Pecan Campus Library Rainbow Room, which is located at 3201 W. Pecan Blvd in McAllen. There will also be a book signing immediately following the event. Admission to each event is free and open to the public.

Tim Z. Hernandez is an award winning author and performance artist. He teaches at the University of Texas – El Paso and has been featured on NPR and other news outlets.

His novel Mañana Means Heaven is a love story of impossible odds. It tells the story of Bea Franco, the real woman behind famed American author Jack Kerouac’s “The Mexican Girl.” Set against the backdrop of California in the 1940s, deep in the agricultural heartland of the Great Central Valley, the book reveals the desperate circumstances that lead a woman to an affair with an aspiring young writer traveling across the United States.

“We are honored and fortunate to be able to host such a celebrated author as Tim Z. Hernandez at South Texas College,” says CMAS coordinator Victor Gomez.“His book is inspired by the Jack Kerouak story from On the Road however, it is also the sweeping story of sacrifice and love.”

For more information call 956-872-6485.

Inventa La Vida (Invent Life): Works by Juan De Dios Mora

August 7, 2013Library Art Gallery, Mid-Valley Campus, Previous ExhibitsHispanic Heritage Monthgotvos

South Texas College’s Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery presents “Inventa La Vida (Invent Life): Works by Juan De Dios Mora.” The exhibit opens Thursday, Sept 19, 2013, with an artist lecture held at 6 p.m. The exhibit will be on view through Friday, Dec. 6 at the Mid-Valley Campus Library Art Gallery, located at 400 N. Border in Weslaco. Admission is free and open to the public.

Mora’s detailed, black and white print work depicts characters interacting with devices that are poorly made, yet highly adorned. These customized inventions are made up of hybrid cultures of the Mexican-American border and are decorated with traditional imagery, food, objects, materials, banners and sayings. Through these devices, the artist expresses the characters inventiveness, resourcefulness and their strong will to survive. Mora’s surrealistic visions are filled with symbolic meaning and a hopeful optimism that our character will live on forever.

Mora was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States in 1998. He received a Masters of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in printmaking from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is currently an art instructor at the UTSA Art & Art History department.

“It’s inspiring to see characters of little means depicted so proudly by Mora,” said STC Art Gallery Associate Dawn Haughey. “When he portrays a man with a broom, the broom is then embellished with flags, wings, mirrors and a saddle. His work reflects the idea of making the most of what you have and never feeling ashamed of what you don’t. This series, although focusing on Mexican-American culture, is empowering to people of any race.”

For more information, contact Dawn Haughey at 956-872-3488, or via email at dhaughey@southtexascollege.edu.

Author Talk for Hector P. Garcia Day at Pecan Library

September 21, 2011Author / Scholar Visit, Library Events, Pecan Campus, Previous EventsHispanic Heritage MonthElizabeth Hollenbeck

Every third Wednesday of September, the day is designated Dr. Hector P. Garcia Day. (Learn more about Dr. Hector P. Garcia here.)

THIS Wednesday, Sept 21st at 6:00 PM, scholar Ignacio Garcia will give a presentation at the Pecan Campus Library in honor of this Civil Rights leader. The lecture will be entitled “Pursuing Justice: What Would Dr. Hector P. Garcia Have Thought of Today’s Politics?” and he will be signing books afterwards.

Ignacio Garcia is a well regarded scholar that teaches Western and Latino history at Brigham Young University. He has written five books including United We Win (check availability), Chicanismo (check availability), Viva Kennedy (check availability), and Hector P. Garcia: In Relentless Pursuit of Justice (check availability). These books and his most recent book White But Not Equal (check availability) can be found at the STC Library.

To find out more about STC’s Mexican American Studies Program click here.

Co-writer of the Film “Machete” to talk at Pecan Library

October 1, 2010Author / Scholar Visit, Library Events, Pecan Campus, Previous EventsHispanic Heritage MonthElizabeth Hollenbeck

On Tuesday October 5 at 7:00 pm screenwriter Alvaro Rodriguez will visit the Pecan campus library to discuss the movie Machete.

Rodriguez is a Valley native and screenwriter whose work includes MACHETE, SHORTS and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: THE HANGMAN’S DAUGHTER. He has worked as a reporter for The McAllen Monitor, and is the author of a series of short stories set along the Texas–‐Mexico border, many of which have been published in journals including El Paso’s Bordersenses and The Mesquite Review. He will be a panelist at Austin Film Festival in October 2010.