Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Individual Artists
Domestic Scenes: The Art of Ramiro Gomez Details
Review “What a fortuitous meeting of artists this book is: Gomez’s parents are working-class Mexican immigrants, and their lives, along with Gomez’s own years working as a nanny, inform his powerful assertions, both in his paintings and on the streets of Los Angeles, of the importance of the ignored: the workers who make everything in Lotus Land work. Weschler, who has the journalist’s eye, the art-history chops, and the writer’s feel for narrative required to make all of this come alive, is inspired to produce some of his finest work. The result is aesthetic and intellectual delight punctuated by clarifying jabs of outrage.” (William Finnegan, author of Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life)“I can’t remember the last time—if ever—that I read about an artist and had the overwhelming urge to give them a hug. Not to mention the writer.” (Liza Lou, artist)“Ramiro Gomez’s body of work is absolutely essential in documenting our era, and Lawrence Weschler, wide-eyed and astute as ever, brings us closer to the artist, illuminating the context—the art world and the real world—upon which Gomez so brilliantly comments.” (Dave Eggers, author and founder of Mcsweeney’s)“Ramiro Gomez and Lawrence Weschler have created a gorgeous book that illuminates the networks of hygiene, immigration, class and race lying just outside the picture plane: proof that great artists can change the way we see the world, and great writers can change the way we see art.” (Fred Tomaselli, artist)“Once again, Lawrence Weschler, the ever-probing reporter and champion of creative process, has set his sight on a rich and unique artistic enterprise: the work of LA artist Ramiro Gomez. This should be required reading for anyone interested in the place where the highest values of aesthetics and social engagement meet most potently.” (Bill T. Jones, choreographer & founding artistic director New York Live Arts) Read more About the Author LA-born Lawrence Weschler is the award-winning author of Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees (about Robert Irwin), True to Life (about David Hockney), Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonders, and Everything That Rises: A Book of Convergences, among many others. He lives in New York City. Read more
Reviews
Intrigued by Ramiro Gomez' artwork, author and passionate David Hockney fan, Lawrence Weschler spent some time with the young artist, delving deeper into his psyche and what it is that drives him to create. Starting out with an interview in the NY Times, it turned into a full-fledged art book.Ramiro Gomez appropriates art from masters like David Hockney, Jeff Koons and Diego Velázquez, and adds his own twist by replacing or adding the (mostly) latino household workers of the affluent rich. Born in a household of Mexican immigrant parents and drawing from his own experiences, Gomez knows all too well the differences between the elite and the workforce that serves them. With his works he brings to light the contrasts between these two worlds. (images 2 and 3)For other works, cardboard is the medium, out of which he creates human-sized cutouts, and which are then given a space of their own in the real world. (image 4)What I particularly liked are his magazine creations. Tearing out regular ads in magazines or newspapers, in these too, he offsets again the lives of the workers against their luxurious working environments. (images 5 and 6)Weschler manages to perfectly capture the artist. Gomez comes over as a very humble guy. He is curious and driven. He is not one to demand attention to his artistry. But he doesn't need to. With the talent he has, it will automatically come to him.(image 1) Ramiro Gomez with his cardboard cutouts/credit: Damon Casarez for The New York Timesother image credits: Ramiro Gomez (from his Facebook page)(image 2) Hockney's "American Collectors, Fred and Marcia Weisman", 1968(image 3) Gomez's "American Gardeners", 2014(image 4) cardboard as medium(image 5) "Maria's paycheck", 9 x 11 in. Acrylic and ink on magazine, 2014(image 6) "Isadora's reflection" 9" x 11". Acrylic on magazine, 2014Review copy supplied by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a rating and/or review.
