Tuesday, September 03, 2013
New photographic discovery...
As some of you know, for years I have been researching on the history of Roberto Estalella, who at age 24 in 1935 made his debut with the Washington Senators.
While everyone knows (and the world owes a huge debt to) that Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues, what many people do not know, is that he was not the first man of African descent to play in the modern Major Leagues - Estalella was.
While white Cuban players had been playing in the Major Leagues for decades prior to Estalella's debut with the Senators, "Tarzan", as the American press nicknamed him, was the first Cuban player who managed to "pass" the color test by being identified as a "Cuban" rather than as a black man. This is but one of many examples of the embarrassing and erroneous American tendency to use race, ethnicity and national origin interchangeably.
Cuban newspapers of the period had a good time discussing the fact that while everyone in Cuba "knew" about Estalella's racial background, he was such a good player that Clark Griffith's Senators were quite happy to look the other way, cough, cough and pretend that the handsome half black, half white third baseman was "white"; after all, the many Cuban players who preceded him had blended in perfectly fine into the all white Major Leagues. A Cincinatti newspaper even described a couple of them who played for the Reds in 1910 as "two of the purest bars of Castille soap that ever floated to these shores."
But back to Estalella, I've just come across the below picture, which is possibly the earliest known photo of Estalella in Washington.
We see Estalella in uniform shaking the hand of the Cuban consul in Washington. To his left is Joe Cambria, the Italian-born agent who signed Estalella (and over 400 other Cuban baseball players) to play professional baseball in the US; to Cambria's left is Clark Griffith, owner of the Senators.
Who knows what private suffering and insults in baseball's harsh racial climate of the 30s, 40s and 50s this powerful man endured in his many years in professional baseball, and like Robinson, was forced to bite his lip and look the other way?
That's also Estalella to the right.
We tip our hat to this unsung hero.
Later I will tell you about Manuel "Chino" Hidalgo, quite possibly the first baseball player of Asian ancestry to play professional baseball in the US.
While everyone knows (and the world owes a huge debt to) that Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in the Major Leagues, what many people do not know, is that he was not the first man of African descent to play in the modern Major Leagues - Estalella was.
While white Cuban players had been playing in the Major Leagues for decades prior to Estalella's debut with the Senators, "Tarzan", as the American press nicknamed him, was the first Cuban player who managed to "pass" the color test by being identified as a "Cuban" rather than as a black man. This is but one of many examples of the embarrassing and erroneous American tendency to use race, ethnicity and national origin interchangeably.
Cuban newspapers of the period had a good time discussing the fact that while everyone in Cuba "knew" about Estalella's racial background, he was such a good player that Clark Griffith's Senators were quite happy to look the other way, cough, cough and pretend that the handsome half black, half white third baseman was "white"; after all, the many Cuban players who preceded him had blended in perfectly fine into the all white Major Leagues. A Cincinatti newspaper even described a couple of them who played for the Reds in 1910 as "two of the purest bars of Castille soap that ever floated to these shores."
But back to Estalella, I've just come across the below picture, which is possibly the earliest known photo of Estalella in Washington.
That's also Estalella to the right.
We tip our hat to this unsung hero.
Later I will tell you about Manuel "Chino" Hidalgo, quite possibly the first baseball player of Asian ancestry to play professional baseball in the US.
Monday, September 02, 2013
This is Che
Below is a recent work depicting the mass-murdering racist psychopath known as Ernesto Guevara de La Serna Lynch... this piece will be part of "The Art of Political Change" show that opens at MOCA DC on September 14.
The image is appropriately ripped off from a Commie photographer and reinterpreted in the context of the truth.
My goal is to try to change the way that people who do not know about the real Che Guevara perceive him. Would you wear a T-Shirt with this man's face on it? Only if it says "MURDERER" written across it.
Comunista comemierda.
The image is appropriately ripped off from a Commie photographer and reinterpreted in the context of the truth.
My goal is to try to change the way that people who do not know about the real Che Guevara perceive him. Would you wear a T-Shirt with this man's face on it? Only if it says "MURDERER" written across it.
Comunista comemierda.
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| This is Che Charcoal, conte and embedded electronics on paper 24 x 20 inches |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
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| This is Che (Detail) |
Sunday, September 01, 2013
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Trawick Prize Finalists
The Trawick Prize: Bethesda Contemporary Art Awards is a visual art prize produced by the Bethesda Arts and Entertainment District that honors artists from Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The annual juried competition awards $14,000 in prize monies to selected artists and features the work of the finalists in a group exhibition.
Lauren Adams - Baltimore, MD
The 2013 competition was juried by Cynthia Connelly, Alexander Heilner and Vesela Sretenović - interesting to note that possibly for the first time or second that I can recall, there are no Richmond-based jurors, and thus the lack of Richmond-based artists. The MICA juror brings in two Baltimore artists (and possibly the Annapolis artist), but the rest are DMV area artists, reflecting the other two DMV-based jurors.
The 2013 exhibition will be held September 4-28 at Gallery B, located at 7700 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite E, Bethesda, MD 20814.
Congratulations to the 2013 finalists!
Lauren Adams - Baltimore, MD
Selin Balci - Annapolis, MD
Travis Childers - Fairfax, VA
Adam Hager - Washington, D.C.
Mariah Anne Johnson - Washington, D.C.
The 2013 competition was juried by Cynthia Connelly, Alexander Heilner and Vesela Sretenović - interesting to note that possibly for the first time or second that I can recall, there are no Richmond-based jurors, and thus the lack of Richmond-based artists. The MICA juror brings in two Baltimore artists (and possibly the Annapolis artist), but the rest are DMV area artists, reflecting the other two DMV-based jurors.
Cynthia Connolly, Photographer and Visual Arts Curator at Artisphere, Arlington, VA, was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Washington, D.C. where she attended the Corcoran School of Art (bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design 1985). In 2003 she received a certificate from Auburn University’s design/build architecture program The Rural Studio. Internationally shown and a prolific artist, she is known for works in the Beautiful Losers exhibit, the book Banned in DC, her post cards, and curatorial work at DC Space, the Ellipse Arts Center and Artisphere. Her photography is in many private collections as well as the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Her art connects disparate places, people and things.
Alexander Heilner is a multi-disciplinary artist who works in photography, video, digital imaging, installation, lighting design and sculpture. His work has been exhibited, screened, and performed nationally and internationally, from MoMA to Burning Man. Earlier this year, he won Baltimore’s Baker Artist Prize and his commissioned digital collages were featured in the new Johns Hopkins Hospital complex. Alex earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and his master’s degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has been teaching photography at Maryland Institute College of Art since 2003, and currently serves as the college’s Associate Dean of Design and Media Studies.
Dr. Vesela Sretenović is senior curator of modern and contemporary art at The Phillps Collection in Washington, D.C. She joined The Phillips Collection in January of 2009, bringing significant experience as a museum professional and scholar. Prior to joining the Phillips, Sretenović spent 10 years as curator at the David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University. She has also taught courses in contemporary art and art theory at the Rhode Island School of Design. Earlier in her career, Sretenović worked for the University at Buffalo (SUNY) Art Gallery and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, as well as several galleries in New York. She received her doctorate in humanities from Syracuse University; a master’s degree in modern art history, theory, and criticism from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a bachelor’s degree in the history of art from the University of Belgrade, former Yugoslavia.
Who's gonna win? I'm like batting 70% picking these, so let me do a little research and by next week the Lenster will have the inside scoop on the potential winner... I like the fact that for the first time the Trawick had an artist in its jury panel...
Who's gonna win? I'm like batting 70% picking these, so let me do a little research and by next week the Lenster will have the inside scoop on the potential winner... I like the fact that for the first time the Trawick had an artist in its jury panel...
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