Art and Poetry - An Introduction
Art can be described as the stored honey of the human soul, or, an activity that involves a person's creativity in delivering auditory, visual or performing artistic works. Poetry, on the other hand, portrays decorative elements used to describe an absolute concept – love, war, activism among others.
Guillermo Gómez-Peña - A Multifaceted Artist
Guillermo Gómez-Peña, a Chicano – person of Mexican descent – is a writer, performance artist, educator, and activist. Due to the advent of advanced technology, for example, the worldwide web, Guillermo maximizes the global platform to display his ingenuity. His creativity, furthermore, made him venture into multiple media, i.e., photography, installation art, video, and experimental radio. Additionally, he has published books incorporating experimental poetry, essays, chronicles and performance scripts using both Spanish and English – Spanglish. Nonetheless, the piece seeks to outline the life, masterpieces, and artistic interventions portrayed by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, inclusive of the impact his poetry had on his respective audience.
Early Life and Education
Guillermo Gómez-Peña, born in 1955, admired arts. He went on to study at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) where he majored in Latin American Literature and Linguistics from 1974-1978. In 1978, he pursued further studies in the US where he earned a B.A. and M.A in 1981 and 1983 respectively at California Institute of the Arts. The period from 1983 to 1990, he focused most of his intellectual and artistic work on Mexico and the U.S., including controversies and political affiliations concerning the 'brown body,' and border culture. Gómez-Peña has been regarded as a "reverse anthropologist" due to his complexity and the ability to study his crowd, being in sync with their affinity to deliver a witty performance, preferably a legendary piece (Heathfield 11). He was known to defy the fundamentals of poetry by creating a unique, yet creative mythos inclusive of his desacralizing of deities and their great icons.
Exploring Cultural and Physical Attributes
His literature and artwork explored the cultural and physical attributes depicted by Mexico and the U.S., inclusive of the activities which take place at the U.S.-Mexico border. Furthermore, his work has touched on concepts of "extreme culture," violence as a Latino culture, new technologies, and globalization. Gómez-Peña uses provocative complexity to deliver his art pieces while focusing on impacts of politics, religion, gender and language, multiculturalism and race to the overall Chicano community. One might be obliged to describe Guillermo as a man who advocates, or, desires to expound more on the effects of intercultural disputes in modern society. Focusing more in-depth into his literary works, he has a collection of eight books, including; Codex Espangliensis (2001) and The New World Order (2001) which portray elements of experimental poetry, chronicles, and essays (expressed in both Spanish and English).
Identity and Cultural Activism
Guillermo defined his identity through incorporating his writing capabilities and performance skills as fundamental practices of expressing art. Growing as an advocate, especially one who seeks to represent the need for appreciating diverse racial backgrounds, he has revolutionized the world through dramatic performance. Moreover, having experienced life in two, highly unique cultural domains (the US and Mexico), he developed the urge to fight for the 'voiceless.' After the catastrophic 9/11, he transformed his art and became more inclined to deliver hope – a form of poetic will which he employed in his work in line with a holy icon. However, his ability to apply tension intertwine in linguistic manipulation between play and seriousness continues to flourish in performances. At some point, during a symposium at Hemispheric Institute, New York he described himself as an evanescent and slippery artist – one that fits in the ever-changing society (Mendieta 540).
Exploring Art and Technology
The global, yet the virtual world has undergone rapid globalization which makes it an uneasy environment for an artist seeking to invest in their talent. Technology has grown to be a segregating factor separating poetic influences from interacting with the rest of the world. However, technology has been significant in improving the techniques used in expressing art. The ability to develop sounds and images and incorporating them into poetic pieces has been made a reality. The internet is developing into a global resource which allows an artist to perform and ensure that diverse audiences explore their work within their respective realms. Therefore, Guillermo was forced to develop a revolution, portrayed through political, theoretical and literary means, depicting the impact of technology. The "webspora" – a term he further described as a home away from home, was a movement aimed at showcasing the borderless limits for an artist. Guillermo, a conscious artist with highly fragmented thoughts encompassed by theoretically, symbolically and politically-charged words, used the internet to establish his performances (Guillermo 17).
Challenging Societal Arrogance and Discrimination
Furthermore, Guillermo became manifested as a "reverse anthropologist" where he signifies himself as one who understands social consciousness, inclusive of his audience and the general public, with the sole purpose of making his audience recapitulate and contemplate their thoughts. The media, considered as a vital platform for extending one's message to all corners of the world, became a publicized movement due to Guillermo's influence and how he incorporated aspects of racial discrimination (Tan 152). In 1991, he was the first Chicano to receive a MacArthur fellowship reward, being his most significant award, inclusive of many other relative honors. He was the founder of Border Arts Workshop – a platform for showcasing poetic art, talent expressed through literary pieces focusing on aspects that affect the contemporary society. This was a significant contribution to the art industry as it portrayed a person willing to use his talent to revolutionize the world.
La Pocha Nostra - A Trans-Disciplinary Institution
Gómez-Peña was part and parcel of La Pocha Nostra – a trans-disciplinary institution majoring in arts with the intent of providing support and forum for creative minds despite their respective disciplines, ethnic backgrounds, and generations. The movement was developed to eradicate the clash between politics and art, theory and art practice, spectator, and artist. Furthermore, the shift between the US and Mexico has been addressed by this movement to develop collaboration and unity despite race, gender, occupation, and disparities in location (Roybal 73). Guillermo has conducted performances in Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Russia, Europe, South Africa, and Australia in order to create universal awareness in addition to creating publicity. In addition to his multivalent identities, Gómez-Peña has used controversy to create "shock" in the audience in order to pass his intended message. He has been adamant concerning the evolving world, especially the emergence of the pop culture which he described as crude entertainment. Needlessly, he failed to adopt the primary attributes used to make pop a multifaceted artistic movement.
Art as a Medium for Social Change
After 9/11, neo-nationalism movement was established which evolved as a virulent entity with the purpose of fighting for the freedom of, not only Arabs but people from the South as well, from accessing the US. The movement was to fight for the verbally-elbowed societal members who could not air out their concerns on how such policies affect their social and emotional well-being. Furthermore, the movement grew further to Europe where it was described as Fortress Europa where the inhabitants' considered other people as barbarians with the sole intention of destroying their utopia. However, the identity crisis hitting the United States and Europe needs to be addressed through such movements whereby, dramatic performances, art pieces, and essays come in handy to fight for the 'voiceless.' La Pocha Nostra seeks to confront the profound arrogance hovering in society and how its eradication will help people appreciate each other more neglecting physical and ethical disparities between them.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Guillermo Gómez-Peña has been an iconic, yet highly admired artistic figure who has conquered all odds to express his talent. He has been an acknowledged figure, one that portrays the ability to reveal thoughts towards an undesirable subject without fear. The passion towards poetry and developing it as a tool to liberate the modern society from its sickening segregation attitude. Furthermore, he has been on the forefront to deliver performance around the world without being compromised by the environment and being able to use the audience to offer his thoughts. His ability to induce cultural, literary, performance, and theatrical techniques to develop a nostalgic, yet poetic presence to make you relate to the artwork. Guillermo's relentless culture of not backing down till the society adopts rationality instead of discrimination has been a vital aspect of his life. Being one of the most controversial but still sought after artists, his impact nonetheless has developed a positive outcome, especially at the Mexican and the US border.
Work Cited
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo. “The New Global Culture, Somewhere between Corporate Multiculturalism and the Mainstream Bizarre (a border perspective).” TDR/The Drama Review 45.1 (2001): 7-30.
Heathfield, Adrian, and Hugo Glendinning. Live: Art and Performance. Tate Pub. (Worldwide)/Routledge (USA), 2004.
Mendieta, Eduardo, and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. “A Latino philosopher interviews a Chicano performance artist.” Nepantla: Views from South 2.3 (2001): 539-554.
Roybal, Kren. “Pushing the Boundaries of Border Subjectivity, Autobiography, and Camp- Rasquachismo.” Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies 38.2 (2013): 71-94.
Tan, Kenneth Paul. “Racial stereotypes in Singapore films: Commercial value and critical possibilities.” Race and Multiculturalism in Malaysia and Singapore. Routledge, 2009. 138-154.
