Huracan del Norte by Carlos Raquel Rivera (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Huracan del Norte by Carlos Raquel Rivera
Huracan del Norte
Source: Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
How should an artist approach the depiction of a natural disaster? This is a difficult question as storms and floods are necessarily comprised of motion, and art is traditionally static. Puerto Rican artist Carlos Raquel Rivera addresses this problem in his print Huracan del Norte (Northern Hurricane).

As the title suggests, the print depicts the ravages of a hurricane. However, Rivera borrows elements of Western iconography to portray the storm; here, the artist uses the Medieval dance of death motif to represent the hurricane, which traditionally represents the idea that death comes to all people. These images usually include a symbol of death in company with humans who will soon meet their demise. In Huracan del Norte, the skeletal figure of death stretches across the sky, dragging with him the distorted bodies of the men and women who have been killed by the storm. In his hand, the figure of death carries a bag, from which spews the winds of the storm. Below, a cityscape spreads across the print, portraying the wooden houses that will be destroyed by the hurricane.

In this print, the hurricane is synonymous with death. Both are forces of nature, bringing destruction and devastation to all people, regardless of economic or social status. This is a logical connection of ideas, as Rivera’s home, Puerto Rico, is regularly ravaged by hurricanes of various sizes and intensity. Rivera himself would have lived through the devastating San Felipe Segundo hurricane in 1928 and the catastrophic 1932 San Ciprian hurricane.

However, there is another way to interpret the print. Rivera was staunchly opposed to colonialism; thus, it’s possible to view Huracan del Norte as an allegory of the destructive power of colonization, with the United States standing in for the figure of death that brings desolation to Puerto Rico.

Disclaimer: I’m not an art historian or an expert on this topic. The above is my opinion, based on my interpretation of my foreknowledge of art and history. If I’ve done any additional research, I’ll note it above.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges by Henri Matisse (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges Source: Pinterest French artist Henri Matisse is rather famous for his paintings of goldfish. In fact, one of his most famous paintings, entitled Goldfish , depicts several of the aforementioned fish swimming in a bowl. Matisse is one of the most famous artists of the twentieth century. His work is closely associated with the Fauvist movement and is generally characterized by great energy and rich, intense colors. Based on my research , Matisse began painting goldfish after he traveled to North Africa. In Morocco, Matisse observed locals watching goldfish swim in their bowls as they sunk into a meditative state. The fish subsequently became a symbol for this sense of tranquility, coming to represent an idyllic version of the world only accessible through joyous day-dreams. These calming fish are prominent in this painting, which is entitled Le Chat Aux Poissons Rouges (which translates to The Cat With Red Fishes ). However, the serene energy of the f...
Read more

Mural La Plena by Rafael Tufiño (Interpretation and Analysis)

-
Image
Mural la Plena Source: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Today I want to chat about a monumental piece of art that I recently had the pleasure of seeing at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. As the name suggests, Mural La Plena is a massive mural, fifteen by thirty feet in size, that was created by Puerto Rican artist Rafael Tufiño to commemorate la plena, a wildly popular genre of music that was born in the city of Ponce around 1900. The mural, which might appear abstract or incomprehensible to a viewer unfamiliar with the subject matter, illustrates the lyrics of popular plena songs. For example, the blue-green figure that dominates the upper half of the mural represents the hurricane from the plena “Temporal,” which mourns the destruction caused by a storm. Plena, as a genre, tells stories. According to my research , the lyrics come from current events, re-telling the stories that affected the lives of the people of Ponce. It began as a way for people of low socio-economic sta...
Read more

Five Puerto Rican Artists You Should Know

-
Image
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and vibrant artistic tradition. Western, Indigenous, and African cultures have all left their mark on Puerto Rican art, creating a colorful and unique visual legacy. While Puerto Rican artists have demonstrated their excellence throughout the years— from the creators of the captivating Taino petroglyphs to the sophisticated and subtle works of the Modernist painters—Puerto Rican art has received little attention from art historians and the wider art world. Here are five underappreciated Puerto Rican artists that you should know: 1. José Campeche José Campeche is often known as the first Puerto Rican painter in the Western history of fine arts. He was primarily known for his religious paintings and his portraits of elite Puerto Ricans, and today his work is recognized as some of the finest examples of Rococo art produced in the Americas. Campeche’s personal story is also inspiring. The son of a slave who had purchased his own freedom, Campech...
Read more