Arid Adaptation Male Limited Edition of 7

I carved the matrix of the figures each on 8' x 4' particle board. For the text, I carved it and then had it made into a polymer plate. I worked with master printmaker Bernt Bond of Santo Press, in Scottsdale, AZ. He had printed and hand-pulled each print twice to complete the edition; one for the figure, and one for the text. The "Male" piece was finished first in 2011, then the "Female" in 2014, went through the same process.

The intention for this work is to have them exhibited as a set. When facing the work, the male would be on the left and the female on the right, so they would be positioned as if they are reaching for each others' hand.

I wasn't able to produce the complete set due to a lack of funding after the first Male print was completed. Then, because of the request for purchase by art collectors/patrons who made it possible. They purchased/commissioned a set of prints, thus enabling me to fund the production of "Female" Arid Adaptation.

Paper: Arches Cover White 300gms Paper size: 66” h x 36”w Edition of 7, with 1 AP, 1 PP, 1 BAT, and 1 AI 11 total prints

Prints are sold unframed. Black hardwood framing, gallery-quality archival, done by Richard Laugharn, [email protected] Fine Art Framing, 2010 E. University Dr. Ste.11 Tempe AZ 85281 approx. $800 each.

"Arid Adaptation" Female
Print size: 66” h x 36”w
Paper: Archival, Arches Cover White 300gms

ARTISTS STATEMENT
I carved the matrix of each figure on 8' x 4' particleboard, the largest wood carvings I've ever made. I then worked with Master Printmaker Bernt Bond of Santo Press, Scottsdale, AZ to complete the edition. You can see more process photos on my website http://teresavillegas.com

My printmaking work has been inspired by two ideas. First, as a technical endeavor to produce a large size relief print, as I have never carved a relief block this large (60" x 32".) The physical challenge of the size was exciting to me. And the second was to create a body of work, based on a theme I have been thinking about for some time now.

I have been developing visual mythology of the human body as it relates to our natural environment. In Arizona, we are surrounded by the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. In "Arid Adaptation; Male Female" desert plants are internal organs of the human body and mirror our relationship with a sense of place. The text identifies the genus species names of the desert plants. We live in the desert, and the desert lives within us.

The underlying message is for us to become more aware of ourselves in our environments and how we relate to each other, and how we need to nurture this symbiotic relationship with respect, intelligence, and understanding.

The beginning stages of this work –the foundational concept is based on "the beginning of the human demise" in relation to our natural environment. My biggest concern for the natural world and how the general population of humans relate to it.

I asked myself "When did man think that it was all right to take and use the Earth's resources without any regard for the Earth?" All the indigenous cultures I could think of had a sense of reverence and respect for the natural world. It was the dominant culture that was taking advantage of the Earth's resources, but when did it begin?

Then I was watching a show by the British naturalist and historian David Attenborough. He had answered my question!

He was describing the generations of painters who were commissioned to depict The Garden of Eden, Adam, the first man, and Eve the first woman who came out of his side assisted by two angels. “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” That made it clear –according to the bible that humanity could exploit the natural world as they wished.

Outside of the European colonization of the natural world, I am also reminded of the often misquoted and discredited statement by Charles Darwin pertaining to continual evolution is due to "the survival of the fittest." Yet, according to Darwin’s writing of Origin of Species, it is not the most physically fit nor intellectual of the species that survives; but "the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself."

As individuals and as a species to survive we need to adapt to the changing physical, social, geo-political, multi-cultural, moral, and spiritual environment in which we find ourselves.

This piece is dedicated to this intent for the survival of our species. I'm hoping we each look inside ourselves deeply and connect to our highest good, to be able to connect with others and to the natural world, and that we can adapt sooner than later.