HABLA Deivis Garcia


		Target Marketing: Golgatha Oil on Canvas, 24"x30" © 1999 Deivis Garcia The above painting is featured in the video below. The following are commentaries on each painting.

Mother Myth
Oil on Wood Mirror-Frame, 27" x 37"
1999 Deivis Garcia
Mother Myth is very much influenced by the visionary works of the prolific poet/engraver William Blake. Blake's engravings often depict spiritual themes with astonishing depth and layers of meaning, and Garcia has always been drawn to the profundity of his work. Complimentary colors make brown when mixed, so there is a play on the idea that orange (fire) and blue (water) make brown (earth) when combined. In this sense, this particular device within the painting also attempts to reflect the alchemical formula (attributed to the fabled Hermes Trismegistus): "The higher blends with the lower to actualize the middle."

Mother Myth is also highly influenced by the many images of the Madonna and Child. Being partial to themes of nature as well, Garcia aimed to create a kind of archetypal version of Mary (as Mother Earth) and Christ (the Dove) that was rooted right back in nature. The painting uncannily became a trinity, though, as an eye-shaped wood-grain in the frame above was underscored by a window of branches and leaves, adding one more layer of meaning (Holy Spirit).

Songoro Cosongo
Acrylic on CAnvas, 30" x 40"
2008 Deivis Garcia
Songoro Cosongo is a work that directly reflects the influence of Bomba y Plena, a Puerto Rican folkloric music and dance tradition that is centuries old. Garcia is particularly indebted to the music and dance ensemble Segunda Quimbamba of Jersey City, NJ. Through their inspiring workshops, performances, and friendship, Garcia was inspired to explore his Puerto Rican heritage by paying homage to those who keep ancient traditions alive as a gift to one's own community.

The painting also attempts to depict the circularity of true community folk art (which Segunda Quimbamba exemplifies) by way of an inspiring quote from Jory Farr's book Rites of Rhythm: The Music of Cuba, which reads:

"Music was a bridge between visible and invisible worlds. It was part of the genius of the people, and the genius was an aspect of spirit, a gift from the gods that wasn't complete until it was given back to the community and offered up again to those same gods."

Lastly, the painting's title is a nod to the Hector Lavoe song of the same name (Garcia's favorite Salsa composition).

Corazón en Fuego
Acrylic on Canvas, 16" x 20"
2009 Deivis Garcia
Corazón en Fuego [Heart on Fire] attempts to capture the great suffering that one can at times endure spiritually - beneath the surface of outward appearances. This piece intends to capture what the heart can endure by using very vivid graphic terms: fire. That humanity can endure so much beneath the mask of daily appearances is at center here. In short, Garcia attempts here to pay homage to quiet inner strength amidst great turmoil.

Isla Poderosa*
Acrylic on Canvas, 18" x 24"
2009 Deivis Garcia
Isla Poderosa [Powerful Island] is Deivis Garcia's second painting that depicts elements of Bomba y Plena, a centuries-old traditional Puerto Rican music and dance folk art which preserves West African influences.

The drum, at the center, is a Bomba drum. Bomba drums were originally made from rum, or lard, barrels and are used to speak to one's ancestors through the window of traditional, thundering,

drum patterns as played by one's hands. This is why the island is partially shaped like a hand. The white flame surrounding it represents this spiritual aspect.

Surrounding the "island" are 5 partially submerged islets which point further to Puerto Rico. The famous singing Coqui frog, an octopus which is a favorite staple food of the island's fishermen, a crab, a pair of maracas, and the Cuatro guitar (the country's national instrument). These icons are partially submerged to underscore the artist's recognition that one's own rich, profound, ancestral legacies are only slightly beneath the surface. Merely a little exploration leads to a treasure trove of exponential self-discovery which can never be sufficiently quantified.

The "island" is further shaped like a bird with the addition of the head of a tropical macaw, with a Puerto Rican Hibiscus for an eye. The red grid beneath the sea represents the straight line of the cartographer's hand (or manifest hubris), as a juxtaposition of the apparent historical "discovery" of something that was already there for a very long time - the spiritual as scarred by the material.

*A curious note:
During the process of this painting's growth, Garcia described Isla Poderosa to his friend Juan Cartagena, musical director of Segunda Quimbamba. Cartagena pulled a book from his marvelous library and showed Garcia images of traditional Puerto Rican wood-carvings called "La Mano Poderosa." La Mano Poderosa, which literally means "the Powerful Hand" (and exists in other Catholic influenced countries such as Mexico), depicts the hand of Christ, wound at center, with 5 saints atop each finger. Garcia had never heard of this religious folk-art tradition and they both marveled at the indirect, yet subtle, uncanny similarities. The painting's title was thus influenced by "La Mano Poderosa."

Target Marketing: Golgotha
Oil on Canvas, 24" x 30"
1999 Deivis Garcia
Target Marketing is themed around the Vietnam War and the dubious legacies of remaining consumer ties with sweatshops through corporate manufacturers. The 3 cross-hairs allude to the Crucifixion. The young Vietnamese girl represents innocence and thus is centered where Christ is.

The African-American soldier represents the many African-Americans and Hispanics who were sent to the front lines of the war in disproportionate numbers, so he is placed, in the context of the Holy Crucifixion, in the historical position of the repentant sinner. They, young girl and soldier, retain their humanity in the face of death, while the soul-less helicopter war-machines are placed in the position of the unrepentant sinner.

VIDEO BELOW: On October 30, 2009, a Boyle Heights youth art class for disenfranchised youth took a field trip to the HABLA Underground. Chaperone David Aldava, father of two of the youth and an artist himself, was touched by the works of HABLA Underground artists Deivis Garcia and Rufus Sanders. He comments on his reflections of their work. The video features the song Starboard Cork, Deivis"Deivito" Garcia's most popular song. His (first) bilingual maritime mythic tall-tale is also a fun homage to salsa legends Hector Lavoe and Johnny Pacheco. Combining the chorus from their pan-Latino classic "Mi Gente" with the Mexican traditional "Canta y No Llores," Starboard Cork takes the listener on an outlandish Caribbean odyssey that is equal parts "Big Rock Candy Mountain", "Margaritaville" and T. Rex's "Cosmic Dancer."The video ends with a still photo montage of Fall 2009 events at the HABLA Underground.