ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
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| El viaje, 2000. Grand Central Press. Etching, shaped plates, edition of 30. Image size 22x 30, paper size 22x30 inches Project: Exhibition GCAC Gallery, Juegos Ilegales and print edition with James Lorigan |
By Mike McGee
Curator
Curator
Aniada Hernandez is a
Puerto Rican artist who is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Originally
trained as printmaker, Hernandez has been working as a sculptor and
installation artist for the past twenty years. Her work is often collaborative
and community-based. In recent years, she has engaged such issues as
immigration, domestic violence, human rights, and cultural dislocation.
This print was published
by Grand Central Press and produced by master printmaker James Lorigan at
Watermark Printmaking in the Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art Center in
Santa Ana. Hernandez was the artist-in-residence at the center in January/
February 2000. During her residency Hernandez went to local shoe repair shops
and asked them for old shoe soles. She intended to gather 150 pairs of soles
and use them to create an outdoor installation in the promenade plaza in front
of the art center.
Hernandez laid out all
thhe soles she collected in her studio; increasingly she became interested in
the diversity of patterns on the soles. To create this print Hernandez worked
with Lorigan to etch the image of the soles from a Birkenstock sandal in a zinc
plate, diligently etching the plate to achieve the same depth of relief in the
original sole. The outline of the sole was then cut out with a jeweler's saw so
that the image would emboss into the paper.Hernandez is also interested in the
metaphoric and symbolic aspect of the shoe soles.
Shoes are also emblems of
identity, providing indications of social class, societal roles, and even nationality
and geographic location that have cross-cultural and international meaning.
And, from the jackboot to the mobility limiting high heel, shoes are about
power.
Walking is the most basic
and essential form of human transportation. Since the beginning of time people
has traveled to pursue aspirations that would improve their lives. The
footprint is a form of documentation, a record of where people have been and
where they are going.
During her
artist-in-residence Hernandez also created as series of 150 small one-inch
square linoleum-cut stamps of images and symbol-mostly of images she discovered
in Santa Ana. Rather than assign a traditional written title to the print she
used two of these stamps to serve as a visual title or reference. A red arrow
and airplane are imprinted on each print where the title is customarily placed.
The arrow is a universally understood sign indicating direction. The airplane
is a rich emblematic contemporary symbol that represents the most advanced form
of transportation on earth, a testament to human achievement, and a vehicle for
hopes and aspirations.
Lives in New York, NY
