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Mel Casas
Also Paints with Words

by Wendy Weil Atwell

The newest paintings from one of San Antonio's leading Mexican-American artists, Mel Casas, are on exhibit at Carrington/Gallagher Ltd., Fine Art during Contemporary Art Month. The paintings are grouped by series and hung in the window and door-like formations, suggesting the transportability of Casas' work. By doing so, the curators make a metaphorical allusion to art's ability to open new possibilities of meaning for the spectator. Casas' artistic style and the paintings' titles indicate the semiotic nature of his images. Specifically, the importance of his work stems from the type of objects rendered and how their meanings vary for the spectator. Due to the complexity and diversity of our environment, neither words nor objects alone may be relied upon as sufficient means of fool-proof communication. Depending on a person's subjectivity, each word and object possesses an unlimited array of meanings. Consistent with his earlier works, the latest exhibit, "I Am Talking To You," deals with the subtlety of communication. Critic Dave Hickey defines this territory in Casas' work as the "mysterious border between language itself and the actions, images, values and imperatives it signifies and validates."

Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1929, Casas' birthplace is symbolic of the dominant theme in his paintings, borders, also prevalent throughout his life. His distinguished and varied personal background ranges from a strong involvement in the Chicano art movement in the early 70's to a Korean and Vietnam disabled war veteran, to a highly-lauded professor with over 30 years of teaching experience. His work is in numerous books and articles discussing Mexican-American and Chicano art.

Though Casas comes from divided territory, his work tends to unify rather than separate. By suggesting alternative meanings for objects which the viewer may assume differently, he opens new doors. In this sense, his art offers an inviting sort of challenge for understanding. Casas takes familiar objects, with popular, homogenized, assumed meanings and ascribes other meanings to them. The titles and content often are plays on words, and aside from evoking humor, they also hint at alternative meanings. Whether it is the simplicity of a shoe or his innovative definition of the Italian landscape, the tendency to see differently is characteristic of Casas.

Appropriately, Casas identifies himself as a "cultural adjuster." The term aptly defines his art's function, which is the reassessment of meanings in the sense that it reminds the spectator of the possibility of other meanings and the fact that such meanings exist.

The medium chosen by Casas adeptly and eloquently carries out this task. Acrylic paint is poured on canvas. Shiny, bright colors define clearly rendered objects in a simple, layered, three-dimensional manner. Without the precise, heavy detail of realism, Casas

[[black center bar]] Casas identifies himself as a "cultural adjuster." [[/black center bar]]

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