PHOTO NEW YORK 2005

VICTOR CARTAGENA

We all feel the need to cry or laugh. Alone, in the presence of others or often in a collective way we express our fear, anger, sadness, elation or complete joy through crying, an expressive trait that recognizes human beings particularly, or through laughing, an expression we share with many representatives of the animal kingdom. In laughing and crying there is an incredible depth and breadth of emotion I am interested in exploring and interpreting along with the viewing audience, who bring their own sorrows and lived lives to the process. This project was a collaboration with actress Lia Zobrafou.

Salvadoran-born Victor Cartagena has been making art in the SF Bay Area for more than a decade. The work that Cartagena produced in the early to mid-1990’s battled with memories of the violence in El Salvador and the pain and separation that he experienced in relocating to the U.S. Cartagena has moved beyond solely articulating the immigrant experience and tackles numerous social issues in the U.S. such as consumer culture, homelessness, and material waste. His artistic palette has also branched out to include sculpture, audio and video. Using time, space, and seemingly incoherent mechanisms, Victor creates unions between symbols that function at a practical level to inspire the viewer to question cultural, economic, and political topics as they relate to issues of individual identity.