As we transition towards the summer equinox this month, there is a universal push to go outside and begin to be in closer relation to each other and our environment. Resident cover artist, Suzy González has been exploring these ecological themes this season by incorporating raw materials into paintings like husks and seeds.
The San Antonio Museum of Art has commissioned González to curate a community mural that will be housed on one of the exterior museum walls downtown. During this first phase of the process, she will propose three themes which community members will be able to vote on. Community members can submit their suggestions for “ideas, themes, people, [and] histories [that] you want to see at your community’s mural site,” here: http://bitly.ws/e2DR .
Community conversations via the feedback survey is scheduled to end on June 16th,
We encourage our community members to submit their feedback on what they want to be included in the murals and begin to be in closer relation with their stories and place.
Artist Statement:
“Through Xicanx veganism, I find interest in the decolonization of one’s diet, or a desire to reclaim the pre-colonial plant-based nourishment of my ancestors through food and herbal medicine. This painting is based upon the Three Sisters, or the name that the Haudenosaunee people gave to corn, beans, and squash. These plants have long been sacred Indigenous food staples on the land called the Americas. When grown together, the corn provides a stalk for the beans to climb, the beans provide nitrogen to the soil, and the squash leaves provide shade to the roots. They’re known as companion species, which work together to help one another grow. If we take the time to listen and to consider new perspectives, we may learn lessons that we didn’t even realize nature is providing us. If we work to engage our ancestral memory, we will find there is untapped knowledge within us. This lesson that we are gifted from the Three Sisters is that when we mutually care for one another and work collectively, we grow stronger. My artwork serves as a platform for working through my own intersections as well as striving for an intercultural conversation with folks outside of my identity labels. This, I hope, will open doors to compassion and healing in this world of destruction.”
Three Sisters
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 60 in.
2018
