Would Native American Will Rogers Have been seduced?
Hugo Xavier Bastidas
oil on linen, 60" x 40";  $70,000
Exhibited at Village West in Ancien Régime: the pre-revolutionary world Fall 2018


"I have been interested in representational portraits of Native individuals and have worked on this topic for six years now. By putting these Natives from North and South America in the dominate culture's clothing, I have recontextualized their status, posing questions such as: what if there was cooperation, fairness and justice for all? What secrets of this land would have been the trajectory of building our nation? Will Rogers is painted in the traditional dress of the mid 1600s in Europe.

The Incan and Spanish blood that runs through my veins brings me closer to this idea of the meeting of two different cultures. I want these portraits to be about empowerment, equal rights and respect. I am not rewriting history, but asking: what if there was mutual respect and exchange instead of destruction, subjugation, and opposition?"

If you are interested in purchasing this work, please contact Hugo Xavier Bastidas.

 

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