The imagery is infused with Catholic iconography that Rodrigues Calero says has left a deep impression on her since childhood. Most often the collage elements make up a central human form created out of various parts. Rodriguez Calero refers to her works on canvas as “acrollage.” She describes the process and says she uses an acrylic emulsifier to transfer collaged images onto painted canvas that has been further interfered with by gold leaf, stenciled patterns, and rice paper. In a review at The Brooklyn Rail (September 2015), Jessica Holmes describes Rodriguez Calero as an artist whose methods and processes are so intricate that she had to invent a unique term of classification to describe them. The commonality in my acrollage works, is that the imagery evokes a range of symbolic themes with a new vocabulary of classical and urban origin. Cruz De Loisaida morally elevates and symbolizes the human, social and political burden placed upon one’s community. The image represents the body and blood of man’s dwelling place. RoCa: “The cross composition depicts a person injecting himself with heroin and the colors are synonymous with the textures of a church. The title translates as “Cross of the Lower East Side.” Rodriguez Calero describes the LES community as mostly Puerto Rican with a culture that embraces their religious faith. The image above is titled Cruz De Loisaida, acrollage painting, 62 x 42 inches (1994). Arranging visual elements produces a dialogue that creates a tension between conflict and harmony with an element of surprise. RoCa: It’s important to shape and capture the experience, to produce an eye-catching and dynamic piece. I use posters, fashion photos, images from music magazines and all sorts of other sources in order to project a more fragmented, fast-cut and figure-centered vision of street life. The choices are mostly abstract, intuitive, yet the composition is based on a knowledge, which is observed, studied and absorbed. There is no single focus, so that the image will seem to flow. RoCa: My approach is a dialogue based on many factors. Critics say her images are alternately tender, moving, passionate, challenging and, at times, disquieting. Her collages juxtapose images of pop culture icons, as well as dancers, children, or fashion models – all appropriated from contemporary urban magazines. She describes Kurt Schwitters (German, 1887-1948), as an early inspiration. Rodriguez Calero’s collages create a postmodern, hip-hop version of early 20 thcentury art, inspired by the Cubist and Dada movements. The image above is titled Gloria Maria, collage, 8 x 6 inches (1992). Back in NY, she studied at the historic NY Taller Boricua, a multidisciplinary cultural space founded in 1969 to use the arts to promote collective action and community pride in El Barrio/East Harlem. Rodriguez Calero lived and studied abroad, in both France and Spain. RoCa: “Leo Manso gave me the passion to pursue collage.” She studied with (among others) Leo Manso (American, 1914-1993), a master collage artist. She returned to NY to attend classes for several years at the famed Art Students League of New York. It is the physical, spiritual and human world interacting and how ideally one interprets, accepts and contributes to these factors.Īs a young adult, Rodriguez Calero returned to Puerto Rico and received her artistic education at San Juan’s prestigious Escuela de Artes Plásticas. RoCa: The main influences and stabilizing factors in my life have been my culture, personal experience and community. Community is broad and comprises many elements. RoCa: The pose is about being provocative (voyeurism), the pattern on their faces is about not being too literal, and the body language of their figures is meant to engage the viewer in an abstract and formal way. Q: Why did you cover their faces with pattern, and why are they posed this way? RoCa: Collage has a language and reason, which is impelling and enables me to translate an area of imagination, creative inventiveness and intuition into visual form. I asked Rodriguez Calero to talk about the title and image. The title of this work is Seduction, collage and acrylic. The images for the artist’s collages and acrollage paintings that follow are presented in chronological order (1992 – 2020), and include critical comments excerpted from exhibition monographs and reviews, as well as RoCa’s response to my questions. The images are from my observations, vision, experience, and are a reflection of complex moments that explore the themes of sexuality, gender, spiritual and socio-political concerns.” My work proudly represents my culture and community. She says: “I am a Nuyorican” – a New York Puerto Rican. Rodriguez Calero, aka RoCa, was born in Puerto Rico, raised in New York, studied art in Puerto Rico, and lives on the Lower East Side (LES).
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