By Deborah Rodriguez
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Face as Canvas
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June Arts and Healing Focus
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I am a storyteller. The ultimate story is the acknowledgement that we are one human race. It is my goal to express my membership in this human race through the lens of my African American soul. My art is how I share my membership.
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In the Fall of 2021 I had a solo exhibition at the Ringling College of Art and Design. The exhibition A Thousand Words shared two stories, through a series of photographic art and a series of handmade white dresses made from rice paper. Each work of art shares storytelling qualities through color, texture and form.
Art is an opportunity to acknowledge one human race, one global community. These images are part of the photographic series I created called Face as Canvas, inspired by the ancient art of face-painting and body adornment.
As cave dwellers, human beings painted their bodies as well as cave walls. They used these images as a form of communication and self-expression. This seems to me to be the beginning of art as community. This community is shared through the language of color and symbols. It includes every similarity and differences found in the human race.
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My photos are storytelling pieces.
The piece titled Unrelenting, is about grief.
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Art is seen and felt. It has power. This power can move, change minds and heal brokenness. My life as an artist has been a journey of healing. I create art to give the viewer an experience of color, texture and form. For me, making art is standing up right, taking in air, feeling the warmth of light on my face.
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Deborah Rodriguez is an artist and photographer. Rodriguez displays her award-winning art in many venues. Her work is a part of the permanent collection of the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. Her honors include being chosen National Geographic’s Photo of the Week-August 2019.
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