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Melissa A. CalderónI would consider myself a bricoleur of texture and medium; jumping from soft, ephemeral tissues to resin, copper and steel roosters. I enjoy working in different ways and consider it vital to how I can create a cohesive idea. I'm interested in exploring the connection or rather, disconnection I feel towards my own cultural background. Much of my time in making work involves going out into my community, putting an ear to the ground and interpreting my reaction; it's almost become an anthropological study of sorts since my disconnection, at times, feels so great. It's not easy living between cultures. As future generations becoming more assimilated into American society, I feel the need to question and explore this cultural gap becomes a necessity. My tissue work is obsessive, compulsive, emotional, hyper-reactionary, ephemeral. It wrings its hands in its own agony and self reflection. It speaks of the internal conflicts of the stereotypical Latina role in society and how outward expressions of emotions are classified as dramatic and over exaggerated. Calling attention to the vulnerability of the medium, I use tissues to illustrate the whirlwind of emotions and clashing cultural ideologies. I challenge the new dynamics Latina women face having to balance the traditional and modern feminist roles. In my recent work, I explore the creation of a transnational "fantasy heritage". The work addresses the discourse of the construction of a hybrid identity from the 2nd generation Latino perspective while exploring the ideas of cultural alienation and rememory. Using installation, photography, sculpture and video, I examine stereotypical imagery within the context of the American assimilative process of Latinidad. Whether masculine or feminine in their nature, an acceptance and even touting of stereotypes has become synonymous with "latino identity"; a precipice for self realization as well as an outward acceptance of societal ideologies that becomes an intrinsic part of Latino culture regardless of the negative connotations they invoke. http://www.melissacalderon.com ContributionsArtwork - Issue Four: Spring 2009 |