RECENT WORKS BY MALAQUIAS - Malaquias Montoya

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Introduction Visual artist, poet and teacher, Malaquias Montoya is one of an endangered species—a contemporary artist who believes that art can make the world a better place. Montoya is deeply ideological in the leadership role he fills for the Chicano Art Movement; he is iconoclastic, to American eyes, in his opposition to capitalism and imperialism; he is humanistic in his opposition to discrimination based on race, sex or class. Moreover, after lifelong devotion to “the cause,” he remains profoundly idealistic. Regardless of one’s politics, any thinking person has to admire an artist who has so selflessly “dedicated his life to informing and educating those neglected and exploited peoples whose lives are at risk in milieus of racism, sexism, and cultural oppression.” 2 In short, it is truly invigorating to find a contemporary artist who shares this institution’s belief that art can be the catalyst for positive change in individual lives. For all of these reasons it was a pleasure and an honor for the Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, to participate in the exhibition and publication of Montoya’s most recent body of work. We were especially grateful to be able to prepare this exhibition since Montoya seldom ventures into the mainstream American art system—namely, he does not produce his art for the purpose of selling, he does not exhibit in commercial galleries, and he is suspicious of museums. Premeditated: Meditations on Capital Punishment is the artist’s prolonged consideration of the death penalty What concerns me is, why do we kill, what happens to our humanity and to us, as a culture? -Malaquias Montoya in America, as realized through the creation of a series of images depicting individuals being put to death.These images challenged faculty and students of Notre Dame, as indicated by their thoughts shared in the exhibition comment book. One student stated, “This exhibit struck me in a profound way. Indeed, our indifference to the systematic execution of our fellow human beings is a disturbing thing.” Another asked, “Where are the pictures of the victims of those portrayed here?” While Montoya promises to consider the plight of crime victims in future work, this exhibition focuses on those who are put to death as punishment for crimes they committed—or, possibly, did not commit. As such, it features important historical references. The Electrocution of William Kemmler (2002, charcoal) depicts the first person to be executed in the electric chair. The first attempt to kill Kemmler with a seventeen-second-charge of electric current was a failure. The severely–burnt Kemmler was in agony throughout the time required to recharge the chair. The second, successful attempt lasted over one minute, and several witnesses expressed revulsion at Kemmler’s moans of pain, the odor of burning flesh and the smoke emanating from his head. Ruth Snyder; First Woman Executed, Sing Sing Prison, 1928 (2002, acrylic painting) depicts two firsts. Not only was Snyder the first woman to be executed in the electric chair, but a newspaper photographer who had smuggled a camera onto the scene documented the event. The following day a photograph of the electrocution appeared on the front page of the Daily News. George Jackson Lives, Murdered in 1971 by San Quentin Prison Guards (1976, offset lithograph) depicts the killing of this Black 5
6 Panther, an event that was immortalized in Bob Dylan’s song “George Jackson.” Mumia Abu-Jamal (1999, charcoal/collage) celebrated a series of public events that occurred on September 11, 1999, to protest the continued incarceration of Mumia Abu-Jamal, who has been on death row since 1982. Additional images depict more generic executions, lynchings, and hangings. The images are paintings, drawings, and silkscreen prints. Some have collage elements; others include texts from eyewitness accounts to executions or statements made by journalists and other writers. For example, Abolish the Death Penalty (2000, silkscreen) includes the following statement by Susan Blaustein, “We have perfected the art of institutional killing to the degree that it has deadened our natural, quintessentially human response to death.” The images are either black and white or they utilize strong, primary colors; the strokes are expressionistic, aggressive and gestural; drips suggest blood, vomitus, and other body fluids. In short, they are intentionally graphic— effectively designed products of the graphic arts and unpleasantly, vividly descriptive—designed to shock us out of the indifference described in Blaustein’s quote. Finally, and so typical of Montoya, proceeds from the sale of this catalog will benefit organizations opposed to the death penalty. Charles R. Loving Director and Curator of Sculpture Snite Museum of Art University of Notre Dame April 14, 2004 Numerous studies…report that the death penalty has no deterrent effect.
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Page 11: 10 George Jackson, a member of the
Page 14 and 15: How time flies… Our memories fade
Page 17: 16 Lynching During the heyday of ly
Page 23: 22 Hanging Survival time: 8-13 minu
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Page 41: 40 Lethal Injection When the IV tub
Page 45: 44 The Killing of the Mentally Ill
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Page 52 and 53: Death Row Exonerations, 1973-2004 B
Page 54 and 55: Malaquias Montoya is a leading figu
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18. Justice Thurgood Marshall, spee
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A portion of the proceeds from the
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RECENT WORKS BY MALAQUIAS - Malaquias Montoya

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