Forrealism

The Integration of Baseball Cards and Chicano Pop Art

2017-07-02T13:18:00.002-07:00

In 2006, I created a series of paintings that depicted famous baseball stars as calaveras –or skeletons– after being inspired by concurrent exhibits of Dias de Los Muertos and the Baseball as America at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA).

After college studying painting, printmaking, and digital arts in college, my painting collaborators and I were painting Dias de Los Muerto style calavera paintings as an offshoot of our influence from meso-american and pre-Columbian art studies in the early 2000s. We began by painting interpretations of meso-American dieties in a way of understanding them and communicating with our ancestors. This reverence is transposed on the calavera masked renditions of our cultural heroes, interpreted by our “muerto makeover” paintings.

At the recent 2017 Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) conference in Manhattan, New York, the son of a dear mentor of mine, Anthony Salazar, created a presentation that showcased Chicano Art in "The Integration of Baseball Cards and Chicano Pop Art,” and featured my artworks as a modern interpretation of baseball cards, and the stars of the field.

To me, the most fascinating aspect of this exchange was the connection that I had to Antony Salazar's father, Tony. Tony was as mentor of mine who I met at the Latino Advisory Committee of the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) in 1999. This committee advised the OMCA on issues related to latino culture, and was a formative practice for me in working closely with my community and institutions which sought to represent us. Tony advised me through this committee, but also as a I was an early career artist seeking to make his way, he advised me in business practices of an entrepreneurial businessman. His advice, guidance, and support helped me turn my craft into business that has provided for me, my family, and represented my community in different ways.

-Joaquin Alejanrdo Newman

Link to the New York Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/30/sports/baseball/sabr-baseball-analytics-society-age-membership.html

Link to Anthony Salazar's article and presentation:

https://sabrbaseballcards.blog/2017/02/21/dead-imitates-art-the-cultural-imagery-of-fernando-valenzuela-and-his-1984-topps-card/

Cacao in the Art of Meso-America

2015-03-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

Evelyn Orantes with her Mayan Cacao Rattle
hands-on activity for visitors.

This weekend, Evelyn Orantes and Joaquin Newman participated in a education program at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington D.C. called “The Power of Chocolate”. This was the sixth year that the Smithsonian NMAI’s Cultural Programs Specialist, Hayes Lavis, coordinated this enlightening project in the Potomac Atrium of this magnificent museum’s great lobby.

Visitors could learn how cacao
is made into ancient and modern foods.

Our contribution to the event focused on Cacao in the Art of Meso-America. Evelyn created an activity for visitors to make a paper Mayan cacao rattle. Using rubber stamps of the cacao glyph, visitors also could create their own versions of vase “roll-out” pictures on paper with vase outlines. These crafts were used to share the importance of cacao in ancient ritual and daily life.

Joaquin created a series of paintings derived from Classic (100AD-900AD) Mayan vase paintings from Guatemala and the Yucatan, Mexico, as well as several fresco-style hieroglyphs of the Mayan word, cacao.

A Mayan Vase Rollout painting by Joaquin Newman,
and the hands-on stamp activity for visitors.

The program itself seeks to educate visitors to NMAI about the origin of chocolate, or cacao. Diverse guests from Panama, Bolivia, and Peru represented cacao growers, indigenous and contemporary artists, dancers. Also, representatives from the Mars Corporation showcased the transformation from cacao bean to a pre-Columbian chocolate beverage.

Joaquin and Evelyn's presentations began by looking at the origination of ancient cacao from South America with people using it primarily as a fruit. Ethno-botanists claim that the two original strains of cacao came from South America, and oral histories support this claim. The plant and the fruit made its way by animal, bird, or man to Central America.

A happy visitor with her
finished artwork.

Most likely the Olmecs of southern Mexico were the first monumental culture to use cacao by extracting the seed from the fruit pod, fermenting, roasting, then grinding the seed, and then using the resulting paste as the base for a variety of atoles, a type of porridge or beverage.

The Maya of Guatemala, Yucatan, and the region were the subsequent culture to embrace cacao as a sacred food, deeming it important enough to name the seed, cacao, food of the gods. We selected several vase paintings depicting cacao in court recordings as well as mythological scenes.

An example hands-on activity of the Mayan Vase "Roll-Out".

Cacao later made its way to the Mixtec and Zapotec tribes of the Oaxacan region of Mexico, who recorded its use in the Codex Nuttal, in the ceremonial wedding of 8 Deer, a prominent 14th Century Mixtec ruler.

The significance and power of cacao both a foodstuff and currency did not escape the eyes of the imperial Aztecs who took tribute from dominated tribes in cacao. They also enjoyed this sacred beverage as recorded in many documents, including the Codex Borbonicus.

Carlos Chaclán Solís
(Q’eqchi’ Maya)
and his ceramic artworks

The magic of this educational art event is the experience of rediscovering the true origins of cacao, a food that many of us take for granted as emerging from our grocery store. Finding through our own research and art practice the importance of cacao to the indigenous cultures of meso-America, we were reminded that all foods are sacred and give their lives for our survival but some have been recognized for centuries as seeding our enlightenment and joy.

Youth visitors dance with their cacao rattles
and Juanita Velasco (Ixil Maya)

A highlight of our program was the incorporation of youth visitors who had made the Mayan Cacao Rattles into the dance performance led by NMAI cultural interpreter Juanita Velasco (Ixil Maya).

This program runs 3/28 -3/29, 2015 from 10:30am till 4:30pm.

Visit NMAI for more info, or check out the event flyer here.

#nmai #cacao #indigenousart #forrealism

The Journey to Mictlan: Days of the Dead at NMAI

2014-11-01T15:59:00.001-07:00

Forrealism artists Evelyn Orantes and Joaquin Alejandro Newman are participating artists at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian Day of the Dead Celebration this year.

Evelyn has created a skeleton mask interactive that engages the museum visitors in a hands on experience.

Joaquin is involving visitors in a collaborative mural depicting the Aztec Journey to Mictlan, or the ancient journey the soul takes after departing this realm.

These artists and many others will be sharing their work and invite visitors to experience a wonderful celebration at NMAI this year.

Find Forrealism..

2014-07-04T17:30:00.001-07:00

On this Independence Day weekend, you can find @Forrealism artists at the Temescal Street Festival, in the lovely Temescal/Telegraph district of Oakland. This street venture is part of our annual exhibition of paintings, prints, and community engagement. We will be vending with Rachel-Anne Palacios of @DevikasPalacio bohemian arts. Come check us out and enjoy the tree lined streets if Oakland at its finest! #temescal #forrealism #streetart

#urbanart #indigenousart

Gratitude...

2013-10-28T11:17:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to all who helped to make the Dias de los Muertos Community Celebration at the Oakland Museum a beautiful event yesterday.

It was a cold, windy but moving day, with old friends, new faces, and a continuing honoring of our ancestors in a public and traditional form.

Many thanks to the volunteers, altar makers, performers, visitors, and people who earnestly embrace Dias de los Muertos as a holiday of healing, light, remembrance, and reflection.

Sharing about meso-American ceramics at NMAI

2013-06-09T09:30:00.001-07:00

Evelyn & Joaquin are at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian this weekend, sharing about the art of pre-Columbian ceramics.

With a new exhibition on ancient Central American painted and carved pottery, the art teaching duo are leading some family friendly art activities, along with demonstrating traditional painting techniques with natural pigments in the Potomac Hall.

Alameda County Arts Commission Artist Registry

2013-03-18T20:26:00.002-07:00

Alameda County Arts Commission 2013 Artist Registry

Application Deadline: April 30, 2013 (10:59 pm Pacific Time)

The Alameda County Arts Commission invites artists and artist teams from the 9 counties of the San Francisco Bay Area* to apply for potential inclusion in the 2013 Artist Registry, a prequalified artist pool that will be used for upcoming public art opportunities. Many of the opportunities will be for artists to make a new series of smaller artworks in the studio, therefore, artists who make two-dimensional, low-relief, or wall sculptural artwork are encouraged to apply. Artists selected for the Artist Registry will always be notified prior to being placed into consideration for specific projects. Project sites include: San Lorenzo Library Expansion Project, East County Hall of Justice (Dublin), Highland Hospital (Oakland), and other sites to be determined.

* Includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano, Sonoma, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. Additional eligibility restrictions apply. Review the full application for complete eligibility requirements.

Complete application information is available at www.acgov.org/arts (click on “Opportunities”) or call (510) 208-9646 to receive the information by mail. To be considered for these opportunities, artists must register and submit an application through the CaFE website, www.callforentry.org (search for "Alameda County" in the list of current calls).

For questions regarding this opportunity, please contact the Office of the Alameda County Arts Commission at (510) 208-9646 or artscommission@acgov.org.

Codex to the Future...

2013-01-29T13:28:00.001-08:00

Wow. As the 120 concrete art tiles get installed at the Ashland Youth Center's outdoor amphitheater,, it's been amazing to see the visual language come together in this space.

After two years in the works, Joaquin Newman & Eduardo Pineda watch the designs, created with community members and the artists themselves, become monumental "carved" hieroglyphs reflective of this entire community project.

Thanks to all those who have contributed, and we welcome the community to enjoy it when it's unveiled in late February-early March. .

Public art underway!

2012-12-12T08:53:00.001-08:00

After a long time planning, designing, and working with community, our public art at the Ashland youth center is being installed today! This is the first of two parts. Stay tuned!

Ashland Art in Sight

2012-11-07T12:37:00.003-08:00

We're approaching the install time for the new public art project by Joaquin & Eduardo at the currently under construction Ashland Youth Center near San Leandro. There will be a courtyard labyrinth and a concrete art-tile decorated amphitheater as part of the public art components of the new building.

Here's a sneak peek at part of the fabrication process (by the incredibly capable folks at Kreysler & Associates) of the molds for the amphitheater art-tiles. Super exciting for us and the community of Ashland! Stay tuned for more details...

La Mejor Masa

2012-11-01T12:43:00.001-07:00

For any of you fortunate enough to work at the Google Mountain View campus on Joaquin Road, you're in for a treat on this first day of Dias de los Muertos!

Forrealism artists Joaquin Newman and Eduardo Pineda are unveiling their two new murals for the Google employee cafe "Masa", and holding an artist talk during the bustling lunchtime.

With this town turned into a virtual "Google-opolis", the artists were lucky to be part of the development of some of the new campus expansions and hired to create custom paintings for the cafe.

So unless you are a Google employees dining at Masa, please enjoy these painting here or at our Forrealism website gallery!

Oakland in our Hearts...

2012-10-29T10:03:00.001-07:00

A visit from La Muerta...

This year's Fruitvale Dias de los Muertos street festival was a wonderful time! Many thanks to all the long time supporters of Forrealism and new friends we made this year.

Our dear friends from Devika's Palacio & To Tlamachtli Arte Mexicano were amazing at the event, and we made a small sacred space in the streets of Oakland. We hope our ancestors, departed abuelos, and our dead homies from the hood visited us and smiled. We remember you!

Fruitvale's Dias de Los Muertos Celebration

2012-10-27T09:49:00.001-07:00

It's tomorrow! I can't believe it's already here. After a beautiful Community Celebration at the Oakland Museum, it's fun to celebrate out ancestors in our city streets. (Fruitvale and e-12th st) Our folks are everywhere!

I've been working on some really dope paintings for this year's festival, and I hope you can come out and enjoy them with us!

New Works in Progress...

2012-03-05T06:04:00.001-08:00

With 2012 well underway and the creative spirit providing endless energy, I've been making new large paintings in the "latino kimono" series. The joy of painting keeps the passion alive, and I hope to share my inspirations.

Ofrendas of Love & Loss

2011-10-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

The Oakland Museum of California's annual Dias de Los Muertos exhibition opened last week, and is showing until December 12th. It is titled "Love & Loss" and is guest curated by Patricia Rodriguez, the renowned Chicana artist and curator (formerly of Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts).

This beautiful and moving exhibit is the heart and soul of the Oakland Museum with its inclusive approach to exhibit creation, the companion Community Celebration, and shares the

traditions of Days of the Dead with the community at large.

This year, Forrealism artist Joaquin Alejandro Newman was invited by Patricia to create an ofrenda (altar), and will be having a gallery talk this Sunday, October 30th at 2pm in the art gallery.

Come on through!

Painting the Starry Skies

2011-07-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Joaquin was commissioned to make a couple of large paintings for a new restaurant in Springfield, MA, called Mama Iguana's. The restaurant owners, Bill & Claudio, had discovered Joaquin's artworks in their search for additions to their vast art collections of mexican movie posters and other original artworks that grace the walls of their restaurants.

After painting the works in the studio for a few weeks, Joaquin & Evelyn travelled to

Springfield to build stretcher panels and install the two paintings, a large scale work based on an ancient Mayan composition, and a play on a mexican movie poster. A feature of the Mayan painting was the appearance of constellations associated with the date of the creation of the artwork.

The installation of of the new works were part of the restaurant's grand opening, and were right at home in the festive environment of this dining destination. Check out the photos of the art, and the grand opening here!

Urban Legends and Art

2011-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Evelyn and Joaquin visited the Urban Legend Wine Cellars on 4th Street in Oakland this past weekend and loved the wines! We dug the 2009 Uptown in the refillable container.

Joaquin Newman will be displaying paintings at Urban Legend beginning this Friday. There will be a First Friday Art event from 6pm to 9pm at the winery this coming friday! Come on out for the Jack London Art Walk and a wine tasting at Urban Legend Cellars, 621 4TH ST.

Come on down for a wine tasting and take home some grape!

For more info: http://www.ulcellars.com/events.html

100 Families Community Mural at Highland Hospital

2011-04-06T15:10:00.000-07:00

After about ten months of planning, art workshops,digital painting, and community involvement, Joaquin Newman and Eduardo Pineda have just installed 43 digitally printed murals at Highland Hospital in Oakland. These murals will grace the barrier fence around the Alameda County Medical Center's Acute Care Tower rehabilitation site for the remainder of this major demolition and construction.

The Alameda County Arts Commission awarded Joaquin and Eduardo with this project after the competitive selectionprocess unveiled the duo's talent and experience in working with diverse groups to create imagery around shared beliefs and community visions.

The first phase of the 100 Families Project was in the form of art workshops with neighbors of the hospital where multi-generational families participated in hands-on activities, sharedmeals, and created collaged "homes" from textiles, photos, prints, and found imagery. These homes were intended to represent a families self-image and visions for their community.

After workshop artworks were photographed, participant portraits were captured by amazing photographer Sibila Savage during our movement workshops led by Bay Area performer Rosa Gonzalez. These figurative and artistic images were then combined with lush and verdant scenery, underwater scenes, and space-scapes to create digital murals that were to be printed and installed on site.

Following approval from the Arts Commission, and feedback from various community members, the final artworks were sent to VisionIsle printers in San Leandro who made these great digital images into amazing printed artworks. On April 5th, Eduardo and Joaquindirected a crew of Union Carpenters to install the murals at the Hospital Site. It went off without a hitch!

There will be a small gathering for the participating families on Saturday, April 9 from 10:00 am – 11:00 am to view the mural with the artists. We will meet at the main entrance to the hospital and walk around together to view the

mural. (Please note that we are planning a community celebration around the mural for a later date in May or June. Our get-together on Saturday will be an opportunity to view the mural in a smaller group)

If you'd like to see more of the images, please check out the Picasa photo album, or visit the site!

Hot Art for Teatro Zinzanni!

2011-03-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

Last week Joaquin Newman and Eduardo Pineda finished a slew of custom paintings for Teatro Zinzanni's upcoming show "Caliente!", debuting on March 6th in San Francisco.

The duo were hired to paint characters for the show's publicity artwork, especially the poster and street signs, in the style of famous Mexican movie posters from the 1930's and 40's. The

marketing department for Teatro Zinzanni caught wind of Joaquin's Calavera paintings done in the style of the "Época de oro del cine mexicano" and hired him for this fun gig!

These actors were fun to paint, especially the main characters Roberto "El Vez" Lopez, and Christine Deaver, who star in this show directed

by Ric "Slick-Rick" Salinas of Culture Clash fame. This show promises to be "a bewitching evening of European Cabaret and Cirque...with Live Music and a Gourmet Five-Course Dinner...set in the nightclub of your dreams!"

Look out for these artworks by Joaquin &

Eduardo on bus-stops, in the papers, and come out to the show if you can make it!

If you or anyone you know are interested in custom paintings, illustrations, murals or

other sweet artwork contact Joaquin@forrealism(dot)com to get the party started!

Cacao at the deYoung

2011-02-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who attended our event at the deYoung this past Friday, where Evelyn and Joaquin presented to visitors to the Olmec Exhibition on Cacao in the Art of Meso-America.

Our contribution to the event focused on Cacao in the Art of Meso-America. I created a series of paintings derived from Classic (100AD-900AD) Mayan vase paintings from Guatemala and the Yucatan, Mexico, as well as several fresco-style hieroglyphs of the Mayan word, cacao.
Evelyn created a series of relief carvings of the Mayan cacao glyph out of a stone-like material that we used as a hands on relief rubbing print activity. Using rubber stamps of the cacao glyph, visitors also could create their own versions of vase “roll-out” pictures on paper with vase outlines.
Our presentations focused on the origination of ancient cacao from South America with people using it primarily as a fruit. Ethno-botanists claim that the two original strains of cacao came from South America, and oral histories support this claim. The plant and the fruit made its way by animal, bird, or man to Central America.

Most likely the Olmecs of southern Mexico were the first monumental culture to use cacao by extracting the seed from the fruit pod, fermenting, roasting, then grinding the seed, and then using the resulting paste as the base for a variety of atoles, a type of porridge or beverage.
The Maya of Guatemala, Yucatan, and the region were the subsequent culture to embrace cacao as a sacred food, deeming it important enough to name the seed, cacao, food of the gods. We selected several vase paintings depicting cacao in court recordings as well as mythological scenes.

The magic of this educational art event was the experience of rediscovering the true origins of cacao, a food that many of us take for granted as emerging from our grocery store. Finding through our own research and art practice the importance of cacao to the indigenous cultures of meso-America, we were reminded that all foods are sacred and give their lives for our survival but some have been recognized for centuries as seeding our enlightenment and joy.

Cacao at the deYoung

2011-02-25T07:13:00.000-08:00

It’s early 12th century AD, in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. A ceremony is underway. The Mixtec ruler “8 Deer” and his consort are marrying in a sacred ceremony in the mountain temple Monte Alban. This royal wedding is sealed not with a gold ring, but with the food of the gods…Chocolate.

Evelyn Orantes and Joaquin Newman are presenting an education program at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco tonight from 6pm-8pm. In conjunction with the opening of the magnificent Olmec exhibition there where several of the colossal heads of this civilization are on display, we've created a series of activities and paintings derived from Classic (100AD-900AD) Mayan vase paintings from Guatemala and Mexico.

Evelyn has created a series of print activities. Using rubber stamps of the cacao glyph, visitors can create their own versions of vase “roll-out” pictures on paper with vase outlines.

Our presentation focuses on the origination of ancient cacao from South America with people using it primarily as a fruit. Ethno-botanists claim that the two original strains of cacao came from South America, and oral histories support this claim. The plant and the fruit made its way by animal, bird, or man to Central America.

Come out and visit the deYoung Museum tonight from 6pm-8pm to experience this activity and see the Olmec exhibition!

Right to Good Health Mural

2010-12-17T08:06:00.000-08:00

Last night Eduardo Pineda and Joaquin Newman attended the student celebration for the Right to Good Health mural they are producing for the Mission Neighborhood Health Center. Anthropology students from SFSU interviewed the patients, staff, and administrators at the Health Center in order to develop the theme of the mural. Joaquin and Eduardo will start painting the mural this weekend at his studio in Alameda. Here's a sketch of the mural design to be painted. It's going to be installed at the center in early January 2011.

100 Families Art Project at Highland Hospital

2010-10-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Eduardo Pineda and Joaquin Newman recently received a commission from the Alameda County Arts Commission to decorate a temporary construction fence surrounding Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA.

We will generate images for the mural in a series of hands-on workshops with families to launch 100 Families Alameda County: Art and Social Change, now an official arts education program of the Arts Commission. (Here's a link to a video of the previous incarnation of 100 Familes while it was under the direction of California College for the Arts)

After designing the mural on laptops, the mural will be printed on plastic panels and installed on the plywood fence that encloses the hospital renovation project. There will be a community unveiling in January 2011. It’s great to work with the Commission again!

Earth Art

2010-10-06T12:53:00.001-07:00

Evelyn and I have been collecting red iron oxide from volcanic sites around the East Bay to make natural pigment paintings. It's amazing how the earth still gives up the goods when you give thanks.

La Borinqueña Mexi-Tessen Treats

2010-10-06T09:48:00.001-07:00

Since early September, Tina "Tamale" Ramos from Old Oakland's own La Borninqueña Mexi-Tessen has hosted a showing of Joaquin Newman's recent paintings at her renowned family restaurant. Her restaurant is a perfect setting for Joaquin's paintings inspired by the rich meso-American history depicting scenes of deities of maize and cacao, and, of course, the calaveras that emerge this time of year to remind to honor our ancestors.Come by and check it out!