Life Streams

Description

Life Streams explores the paintings, videos, sculptures, and installations of Alberto Rey, an artist whose work addresses issues of identity, cultural diversity, environmental studies, and global sustainability. As a Cuban-born artist living in western New York State, Rey's current work emphasizes his involvement with his community and its local landscape, especially its trout streams and their surrounding environment. Through Rey's travels from his home in the upstate New York village of Fredonia to the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and to almost every state in the United States, he has gained an understanding of people, places, flora, and fauna.

This book provides biographical information about Rey and a contextual study of his work. The contributors have written about Rey's work from perspectives based on cultural studies, identity studies, literary studies, and philosophical studies. Interest in his Cuban and American identities are linked to his interest in global culture and his recent study of fish species and environmental issues. As such, this book reflects current approaches that focus attention on connected cultural issues and contemporary concerns about the environment, conservation, restoration, and preservation. Rey's work provides a new perspective on these topics as he combines art with activism on a local, regional, national, and international level.
Acknowledgments

Foreword
Scott Propeack

Introduction

Life Streams: The Cuban and American Art of Alberto Rey
Lynette M. F. Bosch

1. Alberto Rey: Intersections
Lynette M. F. Bosch

2. The Construction of Identity in Art: Alberto Rey’s Journey
Jorge J. E. Gracia

3. Alberto Rey’s Balsa Series in the Cuban American Imagination
Isabel Alvarez Borland

4. Absent Presences and the Living Dead: Alberto Rey’s Haunted Aesthetics
Mark Denaci

5. Trout as Form and Symbol
Lynette M. F. Bosch

6. Reading the Waters: Early Works of Influence on the Literature of Fly-Fishing
John Orlock

7. Biological Regionalism: Scajaquada Creek. Erie County, New York, USA—Artist’s Statement
Alberto Rey

8. Time Submersion: A Portrait of Two Creeks
Sandra Firmin

9. Alberto Rey: Beneath the Surface
Benjamin M. Hickey

10. Conclusion: Bioregionalism and Animal Studies
Lynette M. F. Bosch and Mark Denaci

Biographical Timeline
Locations Investigated by Alberto Rey
Curriculum Vitae
Index

Sujets

• Film
• États-Unis
• Regional
• SS Central America
• Central America
• History of the Americas
• South America
• Region
• Ethnic studies
• Visual culture
• History of art
• Nature in Art
• América del Sur
• Película fotográfica
• United States of America
• USA

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 14 mars 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438450582
• Langue: English

Extrait

LIFE STREAMS
SUNY series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture

Jorge J. E. Gracia and Rosemary Geisdorfer Feal, editors
LIFE STREAMS
ALBERTO REY’S CUBAN AND AMERICAN ART
Edited by
Lynette M. F. Bosch
and
Mark Denaci
Cover image courtesy of Alberto Rey.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2014 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu
Production by Eileen Nizer Marketing by Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Life streams : Alberto Rey's Cuban and American art / edited by Lynette M.F. Bosch and Mark Denaci.
pages cm. — (SUNY series in Latin American and Iberian thought and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-5056-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Rey, Alberto, 1960—Criticism and interpretation. I. Bosch, Lynette M. F., editor of compilation. II. Denaci, Mark, 1969– editor of compilation. III. Rey, Alberto, 1960– Works. Selections. N6537.R44L54 2014 709.2—dc23
2013019603
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To all those who made their way here to build lives, to those who will come, and to the ones who have gone
—Lynette M. F. Bosch
In Memoriam: Mayda Rey
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
S COTT P ROPEACK
Introduction
Life Streams: The Cuban and American Art of Alberto Rey
L YNETTE M. F. B OSCH
Chapter 1
Alberto Rey: Intersections
L YNETTE M. F. B OSCH
Chapter 2
The Construction of Identity in Art: Alberto Rey’s Journey
J ORGE J. E. G RACIA
Chapter 3
Alberto Rey’s Balsas Series in the Cuban American Imagination
I SABEL A LVAREZ B ORLAND
Chapter 4
Absent Presences and the Living Dead: Alberto Rey’s Haunted Aesthetics
M ARK D ENACI
Chapter 5
Trout as Form and Symbol
L YNETTE M. F. B OSCH
color photo gallery
Chapter 6
Reading the Waters: Early Works of Influence on the Literature of Fly-Fishing
J OHN O RLOCK
Chapter 7
Biological Regionalism: Scajaquada Creek, Erie County, New York, USA
A LBERTO R EY
Chapter 8
Time Submersion: A Portrait of Two Creeks
S ANDRA F IRMIN
Chapter 9
Alberto Rey: Beneath the Surface
B ENJAMIN M. H ICKEY
Chapter 10
Conclusion: Bioregionalism and Animal Studies
L YNETTE M. F. B OSCH AND M ARK D ENACI
Biographical Timeline
Locations Investigated by Alberto Rey
Selected Curriculum Vitae
Index
This book would not have been possible without the support of the following:
SPONSORS
State University of New York, Fredonia, New York
The Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, New York
State University of New York, Geneseo, New York
The Geneseo Foundation, Geneseo, New York
Will Kelly, CFP, Managing Director, United Capital Financial Advisors, Buffalo, New York
St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York
REPRODUCTIONS SPONSOR
The color reproductions were funded by a generous subsidy, courtesy of Professor Jorge Gracia, holder of the Samuel P. Capen Chair in Philosophy and Comparative Literature, University of Buffalo, New York.
Acknowledgments
The formation of an artist is the product of inborn talent, hard work, ambition, and support that comes in many forms and from many sources. Alberto Rey would like to thank the following for their unstinting support over the years: Janeil Strong Rey, Graciela Rey, Diego Rey, Mayda Rey, Enrique Rey, and Olga Rey.
Alberto Rey, Lynette M. F. Bosch, and Mark Denaci are grateful to the director and the curatorial staff of the Burchfield Penney Art Center for the support they have given to this project. We thank: Anthony Bannon, executive director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center; Scott Propeack, associate director and chief curator; Tullis Johnson, associate curator and manager of Archives; Don Metz, associate director of Public Programs.
We especially thank for additional support: Dennis Hefner, president, State University of New York at Fredonia; Virginia Horvath, president, State University of New York at Fredonia; John Kijinski, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; David Tiffany, vice president for University Advancement and executive director of Fredonia College Foundation; Anne Baldwin, director, Sponsored Research, State University of New York at Geneseo; Savi V. Iyer, dean of Curriculum and Academic Services and chair of Art History; and Dorothy Limouze, professor of Art History, St. Lawrence University.
We also thank contributors to this volume: Jorge Gracia, Isabel Alvaréz Borland, John Orlock, Sandra Firmin, and Benjamin Hickey.
A special thank you from Alberto goes to those special individuals who have knowingly or unknowingly supported and inspired him through their work, their friendship, and their lives: Johanna Drucker, Robert and Elizabeth Booth, James and Andy Hurtgen, John Straight, Jim Wilcox, Mirta, Pepe, and Joel Alvarez, Mirta and Greg Rice, Omar and Leysa Alvarez, Jorge Santis, Doug and Ann Manly, Chuck McKinney, Mike and Fran Filkens, Jason Dilworth, Mike and Ethel Suchar, Tim Frerichs, and Matt Dorn. For friendship and support the editors of this volume thank: Dorothy Limouze, Larry Silver, Annette Bosch, and Arielle Marcus.
For personal support, the editors of this book thank Charles E. Burroughs, Elsie B. Smith Professor and Chair of Classics, Case Western Reserve University, whose observations about Alberto Rey’s work made us think more and better; and Paul Dwaine Fournier, whose continued personal help and support has been valuable toward the completion of this project.
Foreword
SCOTT PROPEACK
The Burchfield Penney is committed to recognizing cultural integrity and to celebrating the excellence of our artistic community.
— Mission Statement, Burchfield Penney Art Center
Science asks us to test and retest hypotheses and learn, over time, whether our original ideas hold true. Alberto Rey is a scientist who communicates in visual terms, which is undeniable in his most recent series of works in Biological Regionalism . While the essays in this book—contributed by Lynette M. F. Bosch, Mark Denaci, Jorge Gracia, Isabel Alvarez Borland, John Orlock, Sandra Firmin, and Benjamin Hickey—allow the artist to take precedent, flipping this alignment from artist/scientist to scientist/artist is necessary when introducing the artist.
Rey visually documents circumstances over time, and reconsiders the motivations that started processes—evolutions that initiate and complete works of art, or movements of individuals from location to location, or biological realities and their transformations over time. With Rey’s paintings, videos, installations, and sculpture, we gain visually stimulating information that becomes part of our shared record. But what remains is greater than a data set or a pie chart—it’s a compelling visual statement that helps us find the artist, our community, and ourselves in the world.
The premise of examining change is also the perfect way to understand the relationship between Rey and the Burchfield Penney Art Center. In addition to the series, Biological Regionalism: Scajaquada Creek, Erie County, New York, USA exhibited in conjunction with the publication of this book, Rey’s work has been in several exhibitions at the Center over more than two decades. So, too, have Rey and his work become subjects of study at the Center: with the acquisition of Holy Angels Church and Chair , 1987, the Center was the first museum to collect his work. The museum has made four additional acquisitions since, and each of these— Binary Forms: Floating Between, 1991; Appropriated Memories: Vinales, Cuba, 1996–97; Waters of Caibarien, Cayo, Brujas, Cuba, June 14, 2004; and Aesthetics of Death VII , 2008—have contributed to our understanding of the scientist/artist and his work.
In his series, Biological Regionalism , Rey achieves what we hope to find in science and celebrate in the arts; by extrapolating information from accumulated data, we better understand a subject—and that subject helps us come to know ourselves.
On behalf of the Burchfield Penney Art Center, we are proud to present this catalog in conjunction with the exhibition titled Biological Regionalism . The Board of Directors wish to acknowledge the support of all of those who have made this publication possible, notably Will Kelly and United Capital Financial Advisors.
Scott Propeack Associate Director, Chief Curator Burchfield Penney Art Center
LIFE STREAMS
Introduction
Life Streams: The Cuban and American Art of Alberto Rey
LYNETTE M. F. BOSCH
T his book is a collaborative project intended to provide an overview of the life and artistic career of Alberto Rey, a Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia. The catalyst for this volume is a projected exhibition of Rey’s work at the Burchfield Penney Center for the Arts in Buffalo, New York, titled Biological Regionalism: Scajaquada Creek, Erie County, New York, USA scheduled for March 14–June 22, 2014. The art historians and curators contributing chapter essays to this volume are an interdisciplinary group composed