Colombian-American artist Mateo Blanco pays homage to Native Americans, to his own roots and to “Star Wars” with his new work, the sculpture “Hopi Girl” (Hopi Girl), which is exhibited at the Orlando Museum of Art ( Florida).
Blanco, who uses all kinds of elements of nature and objects to create his works, has chosen this time a strong material such as rope or cabuya as a metaphor of the sufferings of women and the strength they have to continue growing and advancing in the life, according to Eduardo Serrano curator and art critic.
But also with this sculpture the artist seeks that the public discover the influences of the Hopi culture in the cinema and other arts.
The hairstyle of the girl represented in the work is the same as that of the famous Princess Leia of the George Lucas movie saga “Star Wars” (Star Wars) and has become a representation of female strength.
But few know that those runners on both sides of the head are traditional among the Hopi, a native people of North America that has about 20,000 members, according to the 2010 census.
“On a recent trip to Arizona with my parents, I was able to reconnect with my roots, my mother is descended from Native Americans, so I wanted to create a sculpture that was a tribute to her and our ancestors,” says Blanco.
Fan declared “Star Wars”, the artist believes that “Hopi Girl” also provides an “excellent opportunity to draw attention to the influences that the Hopi tribe has had on our culture”.
The artist from Orlando, who is also a tenor and in 2017 presented his first exhibition in Miami, has achieved fame with his portraits made with unusual materials, some even edible.
Chocolate, peanuts, playing cards and dice, dog hair, Colombian coffee, sugar, feathers, scraps of cloth and puppet eyes have served for Blanco’s creativity.
One of his most important works so far, which is exhibited at the Slugger Museum in Louisville (Kentucky, USA), is a portrait of actress Jennifer Lawrence made with 10,000 grains of peanuts.
Colombian actress SofÃa Vergara portrayed her three-dimensionally with colored feathers.
As he says, “anything can become a work of art.” (EFEUSA) .-
