I really, really was not pleased by this Virgen Angelina thing:
Artist/Title unknown.
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But this carving in an Albuquerque cottonwood tree is awesome:
© ybonesy at RedRavine:
The story goes that in 1970 a parishioner of the 300-year-old San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque’s oldest Catholic parish, carved the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe into the open wound of an ancient dying cottonwood. The Virgen saved the tree’s life.
Isn’t that one of the coolest things ever?! Read the full post here.
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Fatima, the Virgen of Abu Ghraib by Kim Alphandary
This painting is dedicated to Fatima, an Iraqi woman who was held in Abu Ghraib Prison.
Fatima was arrested sometime in 2004 and managed to smuggle a letter out to her family. Here is an excerpt from her heart-wrenching letter:
“… I am your sister in God (Fatima). They raped me on one day more than nine times. Can you comprehend? Imagine one of your sisters being raped. Why can’t you all imagine it, as I am your sister. With me are 13 girls, all unmarried. All have been raped before the eyes and ears of everyone… Brothers, I tell you again, fear God! Kill us with them so that we might be at peace. Help! Help! Help!”
Fatima’s elder brother organized a hundred men and launched an attack on the prison; Fatima was struck fatally in the head during the bombardment and died on December 21, 2004.
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Artist/Title unknown:
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Some Virgen de Guadalupe manga by elquijote at DeviantArt:
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Ad Vitam Aeternam print by six06:
Says the artist:
i painted an encaustic [oil and wax] painting specifically for the annual Fiesta Guadalupano at MECA, honoring the Virgen de Guadalupe. the latin phrase “ad vitam aeternam” means “to eternal life [to life everlasting]“.
You can buy prints of this artwork at her Etsy page.
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The Crowning, from artist Sara Schnelle’s feminist icons series:
When I set out to paint The Crowning of Mary giving birth to Jesus, I wondered if it had ever been painted before. My research turned up nothing. So I committed to painting my own image. [These] images are the closest I could find.
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Here’s an old NPR interview with LA-based tattoo artist Mister Cartoon. He has some interesting commentary on masculinity and Virgen tattoos as a passage to manhood.
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Artist/Title unknown:
Another one I wish I knew the backstory to. I love the colors.
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Luchadora by Alma López:
The Virgin of Guadalupe still inspires artist Alma López, she says, because, ‘It’s so much a part of who I am culturally.’ The outfit worn by a female wrestler in the 2006 work Luchadora is based on the virgin’s traditional clothing, she said.
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And finally, did you really think I was gonna leave out that controversial Playboy cover that came out in Mexico a few months ago?
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Also, something I completely forgot to mention in earlier collections: please feel free to tell me in the comments section if any of the information is incorrect (for instance, if I attributed the wrong title to a certain painting, etc), or if you have any information regarding the “artist/title unknown” art. I’ll be happy to correct the info asap!
My other Virgen Art posts:
ybonesy said,
7 July, 2009 @ 2:14 pm
These are all great. I took the photo of the Virgen in the cottonwood. It is the coolest.
I don’t care for Angelina as a virgen. Give me a break.
The Playboy virgen seems pretty scandalous. Reminds me of the “Madonna in a Bikini” piece that artist Alma Lopez did back in ‘01. I wrote about it in this post:
http://redravine.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/writing-topic-take-a-risk/
ybonesy said,
7 July, 2009 @ 2:15 pm
I should have added, except Lopez’s piece was art; Playboy’s piece just controversy.
silvia said,
18 September, 2009 @ 12:55 am
i dislike Sara Schnelle’s, and that playboy shit is really fucked up they should be ashamed to fuckin print sumthin like that