By C.Daniel Dawson
I was fascinated with Arzuaga’s understanding of the importance of Central African or Kongo traditions in the formation of Cuban culture, especially since it confirmed much of my personal research, and was somewhat independent of the official ideas in Cuba regarding their own heritage. The official line on the island could be called Yoruba-centric with an emphasis on the Orisha and traditions from Nigeria. Already an educated and accomplished painter in his homeland, Arzuaga has continued developing in the United States both as an artist and as an intellectual. Much of this development is because he is an open and active thinker who is continuously engaged with the gallery, museum and music worlds of the Bay Area. The Kongo-Cuba theme in Arzuaga’s work has expanded into deeper and clearer manifestations of his ideas since I first encountered them. In particular, his use of Kikongo terms has become more focused on the intrinsic power of those terms, and on the transformative ability of sound and music in general. The Bakongo people in both Africa and Cuba believe that words can be minkisi, that is, medicines for physical, social and spiritual healing. In addition to the visual and auditory beauty of his artwork, Arzuaga is impregnating it with his curative concerns. In the sense of German philosopher Goethe, he is “intending” an interaction and a result with his art.
New York April 2006
“I have known Rafael Arzuaga as a Cuban born,San Francisco artist since 2003. As an Africanist art historian,part of my work at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University is to find contemporary artists whose works meaningfully reference diverse artistic,cultural and philosophical precepts found in Africa. This helps maintain a sense of continuity between works in our collection and the current thoughts and approaches to interpretation that contemporary artist may provide. Arzuaga’s work precisely fits this paradigm. He comfortably manages an artistic language that is intimate to him; where his Cuban, American, Latin American and/or African American identity or identities seem to coalesce through the essence an African world view and views.”
Manuel Jordan Perez, Ph.D.
Curator
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Cantor Arts Center Stanford University
"My artwork is influenced by the traditions, religion and symbology of the Kongo region of Central Africa and the rich cultural heritage that emerges from the African Diaspora and the creolization process. The art becomes an interpretation of the heritage of my slave ancestors as I strive to attain a connection with their legacy and the diffusion of their roots..
In my recent work, “Touching the Spirits,” I find inspiration in Mbuti design, symbols and body art. In this series, I am reviving portraits. I use bright colors and layers of texture to reflect the soul. Symbols and shapes greet us along the road like ancestors, while diverse objects help us to reach for and touch our beliefs and traditions. The deep contrast and fantastic ornamentation represent the journey of hope as we pursue optimism at the sacred core of the African tradition."
Rafael Arzuaga
