Supporting visuals for Devin Osorio's "Dominican Diaspora Cloth"
Tapestry Fragment Date: 12th–15th century Geography: Peru Culture: Chimú Medium: Camelid hair, cotton Accession Number: 1979.206.1044 // Grabbed from Jaana Seppälä's Pinterest.
"Siboney 2" by Joiri Minaya // This performance was a deep inspiration throughout the process of this project. Joiri is a multi media artist that has a strong presence and pulls inspiration from both the Dominican Republic and the United States. This performance allowed me to view textiles // Pulled from Joiri Minaya's Vimeo.
Micro Pen on Paper // sketch of 17th Street between ST. Nicholas and Audubon.
"Growing Up In Washington Heights Episode 1" is a series that I looked at often to gather imagery to paint or work with. These videos are important to Washington Heights' history because they are a crude depiction of what happens in the area. They cover is all from parties, to street fights, celebrities that visit, to the drug deals that occur on the sidewalk corners. // Pulled from DontHateOnUsTV Youtube Channel.
Micron Pen and Prisma Marker on Paper // sketch of Washington Heights with quick history bullets found through my personal research.
This is an example of a Zapotec rug by the company, Dixza located in Oaxaca, Mexico. I had the pleasure to meet one of their weavers, Sam, in a personal home shop my friend Julie Zenobi hosted. Through sips of Mezcal he explained his Zapotec heritage and the generational sharing of rug weaving. The pivotal marker for that night, which stemmed the idea for this project, was when we described the symbols within the rugs, specifically the motif above, "The Eye of Celestial Quetzcoatl".
If I remember correctly he said that the symbol, represented the various points of life and that it's believed that there are three arcs in ones life, youth, adult, old age. In these arcs one goes through hurdles and strides which lead them to the next step of life. // "The Eye of Celestial Quetzcoatl" grabbed from DIXZA website.
This was part of a three costume series, this one being named, "Dah Hot Fifth on Audubon" which was a reflection on the relationship between drug activity occurring in Washington Heights, a residential neighborhood filled with families and senior citizens.
Various sample types which led to the creation of "Taino Towers", a lazer-cut neoprene tank inspired by the government housing buildings in Washington Heights.
"Taino Towers" photographed by Christian Rodriguez
Gauche on Paper // These illustrations are sketches of the landmarks such as The United Palace on 175th Street and Broadway or people dancing bachata in the streets that remind me most of Washington Heights. These were used to create the costume, "Washington Heights Performance".
"People of Washington Heights" was a study of the various cultures, celebrities, and descendants of Washington Heights.
"Early Youth" // Gauche on Paper // a sketch I created reflecting on my childhood. Living in an America that was very Caribbean. I did not learn English until I was 7, did not listen to english music until I was in high school. I was too American for the Dominican Republic and too Dominican for America.
"Nutty's Y Culo" // Gauche on Paper // a painting I created reflecting on the summers I spent with family eating spaghetti in Far Rockaway drinking Nutty cocktails.
