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[THURSDAY OCT. 18, 1984] SAN ANTONIO LIGHT Hispanic visual arts SAMA seminar topic [[left column]] By KATHY VARGAS Arts writer During the past decades Hi- spanic art in the United States has truly come of age. As evidence, Hispanic art exibitions such as the MIRA show, which is current- ly on display at the San Antonio Museum of Art, have Inc. How- ever, Hispanic art continues, for the moment, to be a new and not yet clearly defined area in the arts field. "Images for the '90s - A Symposium on the Hispanic Visual Arts," which is scheduled Satur- day at the San Antonio Museum of Art, seeks to clarify some of the questions surrounding contempo- rary Hispanic visual arts. The symposium, sponsored by Arte-Arts of San Antonio and the San Antonio Museum of Art, will take place between 1 and 4 p.m. in the museum auditorium, and will take the form of a moderated panel discussion. The panel, con- sisting of four artists/curators/ arts administrators, will discuss four topics posed to them by the moderator. The topics are: "State of Mind, State of Geography,", "Iconographic Adoption and Adap- tation," "The Museum Esthetic as it Relates to Hispanic Art," and "Trends and Directions." The four panelists are Ralph Maradiaga of San Francisco, a filmmaker and the curator of the Galeria de la Raza/Studio 24; Jack Agueros of New York, involved in theather and script-writing and executive direc- tor of El Museo del Barrio as well as one of the jurors for the MIRA exhibition; Louis LeRoy of San Antonio, a painter whose work is included in the MIRA show and who is also executive director of the Arts Council of San Antonio; and Javier Sanchez Garcia of Monterrey, Mexico, a restoration architect and photographer who also owns the Galeria Olinca and who will give the Mexican view of Hispanic art in the United States. Mel Casas, a painter and the chairperson of the Art/Adver- tising Art Department of San Antonio College will act as moder- ator. Since the panelists and moderator are all active art makers as well as arts administra- tors, they will discuss Hispanic art from the view of both the artist and the curator. David Garcia, director of Arte- Arts, said he saw the need for this symposium when Sosa & Associ- [[right column]] ates, the advertising agency repre- senting Hiram Walker Inc., first consulted him about possible ap- proaches in assembling and mounting the MIRA show. Ac- cording to Garcia, "they had no clear idea of how to put such a show together." Garcia said he realized that this was generally the case with groups trying to assemble exhibitions of contempo- rary Hispanic art, and that a vehi- cle was needed through which information could be shared. After the initial idea for the symposium was formed, Garcia took it to the San Antonio Mu- seum of Art. Together with Nancy Kelker, the museum's associate curator of Latin American art, and Sarah Hepner, chief of education at the museum, the panel and moderator were selected and the format organized. "We hope with this symposi- um," said Keller, "to give San Antonio an intelligent forum through which to discuss the MIRA exhibit anf other exhibits like it throughout the nation." The focus of the symposium is twofold: first, to give people in the corporate community encourage- ment and information on the mounting of exhibits of Hispanic art from people who do them on a daily basis, and second, to bring artists and curators together to look at future trends in Hispanic art. After the panel discussion, the symposium will be open to audi- ence participation. According to moderator Casas, it is hoped that public enthusiasm will be high and that this will be "something excit- ing, bringing stimulating com- ments from those present in the audience, and showing to the com- munity the viability and reality of the art of minorities." Garcia said that this event is not just for Chicanos or Hispanics. It is hoped that the entire community will at- tend: artists, curators and adminis- trators as well as art patrons, gal- lery owners and corporate sponsors and anyone interested in contemporary art. The symposium will fol- llowed by a wine and cheese recep- tion and an opportunity for the audience to view shows currently on exhibit at the San Antonio Mu- seum of Art, including MIRA. There will be no charge for at- tending the symposium other than the normal admission fee to the museum.