In an explosive performance of bright colors and spirited energy, six student dancers from African Rhythms personified the potent energy of the Afro-Latino Art exhibition they were asked to introduce last night.
Exhibiting the artwork of seven Philadelphia artists, the newly opened Afro-Latino Art Exhibit at the Fox Gallery in Logan Hall merges unique aspects of both African and Latino cultures.
"We all came from one source, and it is always great to celebrate another culture while sharing our own," Wharton sophomore Denise Sarkor said.
All the artists in the exhibit, whose work will be on display until next week, have Afro-Latino heritage.
"People tend to consider Latinos [as being of] European [descent], but there is a great population of Latinos with African heritage that are often overlooked," said Napoleon Garcia, executive director of Latina Art, a nonprofit organization that helps Latina artists gain more exposure. "This exhibit gives these people a voice and an opportunity to share their ideas with the world."
Four of the seven artists were present at the exhibition to speak about their work, which offered a fresh perspective to the 30 or so students, staff and Philadelphia residents in attendance.
Costa Rican artist Jose Sebourne said he plays with shadow in his artwork to evoke the drama of movement by forcing the viewer's eyes to move from areas of light to areas of dark.
Colombian artist Gina Echeverry, on the other hard, said she depends on color to build a sense of time in her work.
Red, a color she uses liberally, "represents the sublimation of the past in a color," Echeverry said, adding that blue represents the future.
The exhibition features several paintings from Echeverry's series of red and blue women looking upward, which Echeverry said shows how women are always struggling to maintain balance in society.
Venezuelan artist Ali Paz said that he paints "like a reporter." Paz uses the brightness of sunlight in an otherwise normal scene -- like a community market -- to evoke "light in the viewer's heart."
Instead of manipulating light, artist Juan Gomez melds realism and abstract art to depict the frenzy of today's society.
Part of a series of events celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, the exhibition is a collaborative effort of Makuu -- the black cultural resource center -- and La Casa Latina.
For some, this coordination proves the benefits of collective effort.
"This exhibit speaks to the collaboration of different resource centers on campus to work toward the greater purpose of unity on campus and to raise intellectual and cultural awareness," Makuu Program Coordinator Crystal Wyatt said.
