latin american art || carlos zerpa
TRANSCRIPT
Carlos ZerpaAuthor(s): Luis CamnitzerSource: Art Journal, Vol. 51, No. 4, Latin American Art (Winter, 1992), p. 15Published by: College Art AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/777279 .
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Carlos Zerpa, This Bolero Is Mine, from the Vitrine series, 1981, assemblage in glass and wood showcase, 87? x 118 inches. Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas.
Both my father and grandfather had department stores, and as a child I found it fascinating to play with the shoes, manne-
quins, little bottles, boxes, etc. Before the stores finally closed, I succeeded in buying a quantity of these things from the 1950s, which have been the source of the fetishism of my work. My first glass cases were homages to the objects of my past.
We inherited a damaged country, ruined by irreversible
processes, and it would be utopian to try to change this
degenerative process. When I use images like Bambi, it is a confrontation with my childhood seen again (via films) through my son; through Bambi I try to relate the purity of the little deer to urban aggression. I also use images from
popular religious cards and color reproductions. These repre- sent a confrontation with religion, though I do not believe they
are irreverent. They are my reinterpretations of well-known
images. The Devil becomes a high-heeled woman. In the
Bible, the Devil is the closest thing to God, he is the most beautiful angel-Luzbel. Therefore I represent him as a woman. In the Death of the Just (another popular image), I show the Devil dying since, according to the scriptures and
contrary to what one expects, even the most criminal can reach heaven with repentance. This is how I refocus the stories. It is not a pleasant job; all hinges on the viewer and how the work is seen.
CARLOS ZERPA, trained in design, photography, and
printmaking, does paintings, drawings, sculptures, cartoons, performances, assemblages, and installations. He has exhibited
internationally and won many prizes.
ART JOURNAL
15
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