Canadian artist finds beauty and meaning in La Chureca
Sep 5th, 2008 by Jon Posted in Nicaragua News | No Comments
Canadian artist Susan Norman would not be the first artist to venture into the infamous garbage dump La Chureca in Managua. Like artists before her she strives to find meaning, understanding, and perhaps even beauty amoung the human suffering and desperation.
Sample artwork, “Last Word” by Susan Norman.
Her artwork, done in textiles, photos, and layered imprints from other materials, create a unique vision of the scenes from La Chureca. Like a complex tapestry the article from the Brantford Expositor describes:
“One of the most striking works in the Nicaraguan dump series is Recycled Lives. A young girl, head looking back towards the camera, holds her toddler sister as they stand in a clearing while two garbage trucks in the distance push refuse towards them.
There are layers of meaning here, as Norman meditates on the toxic lifestyle passed down among generations of slum dwellers. An even more sinister tone is added by the girl’s garb: she wears a womanly dress and a pair of high heels — seeming to hint at her potential fate as a prostitute within the dump, servicing the men who drive the garbage trucks. ”
A very poignant description.
The responsibility of the artist
As an artist (a photographer) and a person struggling to help Nicaragua is meaningful ways, I get mixed emotions when I read about people writing, photographing, or depicting the plight of the less fortunate because it’s “interesting”. I am not implying that this is what Ms. Norman is doing, rather what I’m suggesting is that we artists and reporters of the world need to take things a step further. (Ms. Norman is actually a teacher, which makes her a saint in my book!).
Performing our craft for the purposes of education or “getting the message out” sometimes isn’t good enough. A photograph or art piece of a child in poverty may be moving to the artist and observer, but it lacks personal meaning if you let your inspiration stop there. Take the next step… the harder step.
Turn your craft into action - sell artwork for charity, teach inner-city kids how to paint, network with other gifted individuals to create something that will benefit your community or people in need.
Artists draw inspiration of the world around them. Artists therefore should inspire the world.
Technorati Tags: Susan Norman, La Chureca, Managua, artist, Nicaragua
