Local News

AWC professor takes first at Texas art exhibit
BY SARAH REYNOLDS, SUN STAFF WRITER
--See Image(s) Below--

Published on: December 14, 2006

Angel Luna is turning his personal experiences on the U.S.-Mexico border into art.

"I was born here, I’m an American, but my family was born in Mexico. My family has ties to Mexico and I live on the border. So it’s hard not to be affected by it," Luna said. "Artists create work dealing with their environment, so it’s hard not to create work like this living down here."

The Arizona Western College fine arts professor’s latest project, the "Border Monster," a series of sculptures, deals with the issue of personal borders, identity and perception. One of those pieces recently won the top honor at a Texas art exhibit.

Luna’s "Border Monster: Devil" sculpture won first place at the 14th annual international juried exhibition "Crossing Borders" at the Laredo Center for the Arts in Laredo, Texas.

The piece is an immigrant wearing a traditional Mexican mask — a devil mask, in this case.

The sculpture was among 216 entries submitted, only 38 of which were actually shown. The show focused on works dealing with border issues.

“ ‘Border Monster: Devil’ is a unique, quirky, sculptured piece that is simultaneously funny and scary," wrote Georgia Tambasis, the exhibit’s juror, in a statement on the piece’s win. "... Atop the odd, sturdy and formidable body is a devil’s head — a feature that prompts the viewer to consider the figure’s intent."

Luna said the sculpture — and the rest of the "Border Monster" series — came out of a comment a friend made about the perception some have of illegal immigrants as "monsters."

"I always comment, we have our own masks," Luna said. "It’s always this facade of, what is a person showing you? ... The reason I put the mask on them is there’s this faceless identify of border crossers. You see it in the news and you’re really desensitized from it, because you see it all the time ... I look at it as we have our own borders. Personal borders and personal views of the border."

Luna has been working on the "Border Monster" series for years now. He has completed 20 figures and said he plans on making at least 10 more.

"I don’t know where the series is going. Every time I think I’m done ... I keep getting dragged into making more," Luna said.

The "Crossing Borders" exhibit opened Dec. 1 and runs through Jan. 20,
2007, in Laredo.

Sarah Reynolds can be reached at sreynolds@yumasun.com or 539-6847.

ARIZONA WESTERN COLLEGE professor Angel Luna has been recognized for his work in an international contest. He was awarded a first place prize for his "Border Monster: Devil" sculpture. FILE PHOTO BY TERRY KETRON/THE SUN

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