{"id":86557,"date":"2020-02-25T10:31:50","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T16:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=86557"},"modified":"2020-02-26T14:53:48","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T20:53:48","slug":"both-eagle-and-serpent-mixed-media-exhibit-explores-themes-of-cultural-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/both-eagle-and-serpent-mixed-media-exhibit-explores-themes-of-cultural-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Both Eagle and Serpent’ mixed media exhibit explores themes of cultural identity"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Seb Peltekian<\/strong>
\nMedill Reports<\/em><\/p>\n

Luis Sahagun\u2019s art exhibit \u201cBoth Eagle and Serpent\u201d evokes the Mexican flag, which features an eagle holding a snake in its talons, as well as how Latin American immigrants arrive in the United States \u2014 by air or by land.<\/p>\n

Sahagun\u2019s artwork includes sculptures, paintings and installations to \u00a0explore cultural identity, history, spirituality, trauma and family. The exhibit is open through April 26 at the Chicago Cultural Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, I think the show is really about thinking about culture in a more nuanced way,\u201d said Sahagun, 37, an artist-in-residence at Michigan State University.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The show covers three galleries. The first gallery \u201ccould be framed as where I\u2019m from,\u201d Sahagun said. He grew up in the south Chicago suburb of Chicago Heights and said that the work in this gallery \u201caims to draw attention to the gun and gang violence on the South Side and surrounding areas of Chicago.\u201d As a former gang member, these topics are personal for Sahagun.<\/p>\n

The middle gallery “is about conquest, is about resilience, is about survival,\u201d Sahagun said. \u201cSo thinking a lot about our ancestors, thinking about Brown bodies being marginalized. It\u2019s been 500 years since the conquest [of the Americas] and thinking about how that pain and trauma has been inherited intergenerationally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The artist describes one particular work of art, entitled \u201cLo que grita mi piel\u201d (\u201cThat of which my skin screams\u201d in Spanish), a mixed media human figure with a British sailing ship for a foot. The sculpture is a commentary on how cultural inheritance can be both a celebration and a burden. The piece \u201cis a life-size puppet that is wearable,\u201d Sahagun said. \u201cBut if you wear it, it\u2019s very heavy.\u201d This is meant to represent how culture and heritage can be a \u201cheavy weight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\u201cPain is Our North Star\u201d is one of the pieces in Luis Sahagun\u2019s exhibit \u201cBoth Eagle and Serpent,\u201d currently on display at the Chicago Cultural Center. (Courtesy of Nathan Keay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The third gallery brings us to a world of fantasy where Sahagun explores ways to visualize imagination. “In my studio, I embrace the imaginary and the playful as tools to guide my [creative process],” Sahagun said. “Art teaches me about who I am and about the world around me. I would say that making is thinking [so] being playful and allowing spaces for discovery in my work is important.”<\/p>\n

Sahagun, who was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, came to Chicago at the age of 4. He was undocumented until his teens, when he became a US citizen. However, he feels that the word “immigrant” may not be an accurate portrayal of who he is. Sahagun\u2019s grandfather was a steel-worker, who came to Chicago from Mexico in the 1940s to help construct railroads and skyscrapers.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many years, in my own work, I was sort of justifying my American-ness by being like, \u2018Hey, you know, my grandfathers on both sides helped build this city that I live in. How much more do you want from me to say that I\u2019m from here?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the reason he utilizes unconventional media to make artwork – cardboard, wooden boards, nails, rope \u2014 as an homage to his family’s legacy of construction and working class roots.<\/p>\n

Exhibit curator Teresa Silva said that she hopes that the work\u00a0inspires visitors to think about identity and culture after leaving.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do want people to walk away with a little bit of an idea of how Luis has synthesized not just the materials but sort of his identities and how these are fluid,\u201d said Silva, the director of exhibitions and residencies at the Chicago Artists Coalition. \u201cI want people to also recognize that part of cultural reclamation is resilience and protection, so sort of reclaiming what your story is, owning it, but also looking toward your ancestors and to those that you know as a support system too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth Eagle and Serpent\u201d is the first in a series of public events that Silva and Sahagun will be collaborating on at the Chicago Cultural Center. Other events include a doll making workshop, an artist’s talk, and a traditional Latin American pop-up market, which will feature musicians and folk dancers.<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Luis Sahagun’s piece, \u201cLo que grita mi piel,\u201d explores themes of cultural identity and colonialism. The ship is a replica of the 18th century British vessel, the HMS Victory Ship. (Courtesy of Luis Sahagun\/Photo by Luis Sahagun)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Seb Peltekian Medill Reports Luis Sahagun\u2019s art exhibit \u201cBoth Eagle and Serpent\u201d evokes the Mexican flag, which features an eagle holding a snake in its talons, as well as how Latin American immigrants arrive in the United States \u2014 by air or by land. Sahagun\u2019s artwork includes sculptures, paintings and installations to \u00a0explore cultural […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":655,"featured_media":86609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,4892],"tags":[1607,1608,665,888,3176,2825,601,3255,3044],"class_list":["post-86557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-winter-2020","tag-art-exhibitions","tag-art-gallery","tag-arts-and-culture","tag-culture","tag-culture-center","tag-culture-chicago","tag-immigration","tag-latin-americans","tag-latino"],"yoast_head":"\n'Both Eagle and Serpent' mixed media exhibit explores themes of cultural identity - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/both-eagle-and-serpent-mixed-media-exhibit-explores-themes-of-cultural-identity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Both Eagle and Serpent' mixed media exhibit explores themes of cultural identity - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Seb Peltekian Medill Reports Luis Sahagun\u2019s art exhibit \u201cBoth Eagle and Serpent\u201d evokes the Mexican flag, which features an eagle holding a snake in its talons, as well as how Latin American immigrants arrive in the United States \u2014 by air or by land. 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