Interestingly enough, politics was what inspired “El Barrio and Beyond: A Celebration of Latinx Culture,” Featherstone Center for the Arts’ newest exhibition showcasing some stunning Latinx children’s book illustrators. Although almost 20 percent of the population in this country identify as Latinx, until recently, children with ancestry from Mexican, Brazilian, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Guatemalan, and other Southern and Central American or Spanish cultures have rarely seen themselves represented in books, movies, museums, and popular culture.
Guest curator and seasonal resident Richard Michelson, an awardwinning poet, children’s book author, and founder of R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, shares, “When the book banning started again, they were overwhelmingly by Black, Latinx, gay, queer, and marginalized writers and illustrators. So I knew it was imperative to give those artists a microphone and spotlight. After immigrants from south of the border were flown, without warning, to the Vineyard, it seemed fitting to celebrate the many facets of Latinx culture. It was important for people to see the full breadth of what Latino and Latina illustrators are doing today.”
The show reflects the wide interests of artists who are some of the most important and awardwinning Latin illustrators in the country. Featured artist Raúl Colón is one whose book about baseball player Roberto Clemente was recently banned by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, because there is a line in the book that said that the white newscasters treated him unfairly. Although the book was written some 15 years ago, interestingly, after the banning, sales have skyrocketed. “I think that people were so upset that they went out and bought it,” Michelson says.
The series captures Clemente leaping, running, hitting, sliding into base, and catching the ball at an impossible angle, revealing Colón’s talent in expressing the very essence of the famed ball player. We also see Colón’s illustrations of civil rights leaders, a reinterpretation of Don Quixote, and portraits of such well-known Hispanic Americans as Desi Arnaz and Sonia Sotomayor. Perhaps his most recognizable piece is “Primavera,” in which a dancing Hispanic couple swirl in the middle of an urban landscape. It is, in fact, the original painting for a huge mosaic at the 191st Street subway station in New York City’s Washington Heights.
“The whole exhibition is about how you can’t pigeonhole Latinx illustrators, that they have multiple interests,” Michelson explains.
Juana Martinez-Neal’s fairytale books are immensely charming, with samples from the book “Fry Bread,” which is about Native Americans, and “La Madre Goose,” which, like “La Princesa and the Pea” is the familiar story, but with Spanish words inserted that readers of any background can learn. Michelson says of the latter book, “It’s just a beautiful bedtime story for all children that shows that Martinez-Neal is both interested in her heritage and in familiar fairy tales.”
Eric Velasquez’s illustrations for “Mambo Mucho Mambo” are delightful, capturing Black, Italian, Jewish, and Puerto Rican couples exuberantly swinging the night away but coming together in the joy of music, showing, as Michelson says, “that groups can be different, but can all be together in a greater whole.”
There are the endearingly joyous illustrations by Joe Cepeda, including the piece “Shake Your Shoulders” for the book “Peeny Butter Fudge.” He uses acrylics with bold, saturated colors that are sure to delight the eye. You can’t help but smile looking at the wild grandmother raucously kicking up her heels, quite literally dancing with three ecstatic kids, with records flying in the foreground. “They are just joy incarnate,” says Michelson.
On the other end of the spectrum are Edel Rodriguez’s spare portraits rendered in archival pigment of Leonard Nimoy, immediately recognizable as Spock in the appropriately titled children’s book “Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy.” Interestingly, Rodriguez came to America from Cuba on the Mariel boatlift, and learned English watching “Star Trek.” In a totally different style are Mike Curato’s finely rendered illustrations for “All the Way to Havana,” which have so much detail that people who have been to the city will likely recognize the locations.
David Diaz’s stunning oil on canvases for “Me, Frida” subtly evoke the feel of this iconic Mexican artist. Michelson also included Diaz’s fascinating pieces for “Smokey Night,” which was about riots in Los Angeles. Diaz hung each illustration inside a wooden frame that creates a shallow Joseph Cornell–like box that includes additional small enigmatic elements around the depictions of a family reacting to the unnerving events.
Yuyi Morales’ images for “Dreamers” are nighttime lullabies that exude a marvelous quality. Among her works, like quite a few of the other artists, including Lauren Castillo, are those of children reading and enjoying books. “If there is any one common theme here, it’s how many Latino artists found books a salvation to them and at the same time, found it hard to find those who spoke to their culture,” Michelson says.
Featherstone has included copies of the various books next door to the gallery so you can compare the originals to the final product. And while the art was for children, you don’t have to be a kid to find the exhibition fascinating. “With the large variety of unique styles, I think if you see a show like this, it makes it very difficult to keep any preconceived notions you have in mind, when you see how engaged in the world these artists are, and how different from one another,” Michelson says.
“El Barrio and Beyond: A Celebration of Latinx Culture” is at Featherstone Center for the Arts through July 30. The gallery is open daily, noon to 4 pm.