Project 5C

MoLAA stands for Museum of Latin American Art. The knowledge I've learned this semester definitely enhanced my understanding of the artwork found in MoLAA in a few ways. Learning about the 3 different stages of Latin American culture help to understand who Latin people are, starting with where they came from, who influenced them and eventually how they influenced themselves.

Miguel Antonio Bonilla: El Nudo / The Knot, 1994

http://www.molaa.com/n_exhibitions_permanent_collection.html

I came across this artwork by going to MoLAA's website and looking for an artist that represented Nicaragua, the country where halfof my family is from. This artwork relates to humanities because it represents a significant point in time when civil wars errupt and how people feel about the government.

Observation: In the painting I see a man on one side that appears as a politician and on the other side a man in the uniform tied together by a candy cane knot with cloouds in the background. It is made of acrylic on canvas. The artists uses shading to the artworks benefit.

Interpretation: The artwork reflects political corruption, makes fun of two figures connected by a candy-cane stripped cord, which suggests that the politician and military leader are conspiring together for personal gain in suppression of individual civil rights.

Judgement: I decided to choose this work of art because the description of the artwork started with "civil war and political unrest had a severe impact on Central American countries.." and eventually listed Nicaragua. I feel like this art is ironic because while the beaurocrat and the military leader are suppose to be conspiring, the candy cane cord connecting them is tied in a knot implying that they cannot get along.

Questioning: I would like to know what the candy rope symbolizes. Also, in the background the clouds above the military figure are bigger than the clouds around the politician. Does this have any significance or have an implication that one has more or less power than the other. Does this artwork suggest anything more about Latin American culture? Military clashes between left-wing guerillas and conservative right-wing governments ignited in the late 1970s and escalated into civil war during the 1980s, which is why their is a knot between the two.