One of many many highlights in “Eating with Rolando Briseño: A 50 12 months Retrospective” at Centro de Artes is “Spinning San Antonio de Valero.” The placing piece, created from painted Styrofoam, depicts Saint Anthony of Padua atop a processional base resembling the Alamo. The saint holds an open guide studying “Fact in Historical past” on one facet and “Historical past in Fact” on the opposite.
Because the title guarantees, the piece can certainly spin, because of a pivot bar. When it’s in motion, both the saint or the Alamo is on high. Briseño created it from painted Styrofoam for a collection of performances staged yearly from 2009 to 2012 at Alamo Plaza. They have been designed to attract consideration to the best way the story of the Alamo typically has been spun in order that Indigenous and Tejano contributions have been omitted.
It is also a reference to the idea that Saint Anthony of Padua can restore misplaced issues.
“Whenever you put Saint Anthony the other way up, you ask him for a favor,” Briseño stated. “My favor is reality in historical past, historical past in reality.”
The Gallery:
Centro de Artes101 Santa Rosa
The Work:
“Spinning San Antonio de Valero” On show by Feb. 9.
