Are You Offended?
by Stacy Conde
Nudity, depictions of the obese eating, child labor, racial caricatures, the male gaze, in the painting “Circus III” Pablo has manufactured what could be deemed a virtual smorgasbord of offense. I spoke with the Uruguayan born artist of Chilean parents today about the piece and his intent in creating the work.
”In Chile I lived in a constant state of culture shock, classicism and soft racism, leftovers of the colonial past which are ever present”, he stated. The artist is himself of European and indigenous descent, “I could easily be offended by the ‘red’ Indian image at the bottom of the painting, I have that blood, but I don’t spend my time crying about the past, it is a part of history. The image is the vision of the artist who created the work and is a product of that particular era.”
Much of the painting is an homage to commercial artists and illustrators from art history, for whom the artist has a great affinity. The green panel in the background of the piece has a selection of public announcements, or advertisements from different epochs, principally of American and European products.
“I enjoy powerful images of how society was constructed in those days. In this painting we see machismo - advertisers selling women’s bodies more than their brands, as the men eye them with a libidinous gaze. We see a working class little girl carrying a large fish, it is likely the canning factory this image originated from used child labor at the time. The intellectual of the group, carrying an umbrella is, of course, a white man, while the woman next to him is a dancer and not at all prized for her intellect. These concepts are still at work today, though to a lesser extent.“
“Circus III is in many ways a reminder, not of race but of the genius of the great artists working in commercial art.” When I asked him about the grouping of sterotypes in the black woman, the Asian woman, and the Native American man he responded, “I see no problem with these images when they are contextualized. They are part of a surreal history, not a literal history. The relationships between the images I choose are subjective, I saw them as having a good time together. The viewer must have their own perspective, and can interpret them as they will.”
”The dead lion is a symbol of strength, and nudity is everywhere throughout art history, even Jesus is nearly always depicted as semi nude. Naked bodies are beautiful and powerful in a non pornographic way.”
Ultimately Santibáñez Servat loves history, and his body of work bears that out. He paints images of pre-Colombian sculpture, dead conquistadors, beautiful men, women and children of all ethnicities, Mayan gods, and hieroglyphs. As I’ve asserted before, he is an amalgamation of the Americas, dancing at the crossroads of race and identity, very much enjoying the circus of life.