Marcela Ornelas- Mondragón focuses her paintings and sculptures on different aspects of the human body.
“My work focuses on the involuntary and voluntary changes that a body is able to withstand and go through, as well as the appreciation and celebration of the body,” said Ornelas-Mondragón. “The appreciation of whatever is deemed as negative or positive for our health but that still signals we’re alive.”
Ornelas-Mondragón is inspired by her father who is a plastic surgeon. With the photographs her father sends her, she is able to create artwork which artfully depicts those images.
For the final BFA show, Ornelas-Mondragón will incorporate her Mexican culture into her artwork. Piñatas are used as a sign of celebration, and she will juxtapose that symbol of celebration with the negative emotions surrounding a deformity. The artist will use a piñata in place of a deformity to show the bright side of the condition.
More of her work can be viewed on her website mmondragon.com
“I want to pour my culture into my artwork and include the need of celebrating every occasion into these situations – people with ‘undesirable’ features/ surgical patients,” said Ornelas-Mondragón.
Vianney Lopez is a fine arts major whose focus is in film, print-making and performance.
“Growing up with technology, I knew I wanted to use that as my medium,” said Lopez. “I have always been interested in film, and when I did more experimental films, I just fell in love with it.”
Lopez desires a communal and interactive art experience; she believes art is meant to be shared and appreciated by anyone, no matter the person’s location.
The artist is also inspired by philosophical ideas. Bill Viola, a contemporary video artist, creates pieces about the human experience, and Lopez was directly inspired by Viola’s work when creating her piece “What Is …”.
Within her lithograph “What Is …,” Lopez visually represents the idea that the perception of personal memories creates an individual’s own reality. “I use art as my little journal of how I express my view of the world and perception of reality.”
Lopez’s short film “Meat” is currently showcased at the 33rd Annual Juried Student Exhibition located within the Main Art Gallery on UTSA’s Main Campus.
More of Lopez’s work can be viewed on her website at vianneylopez.com.
Ron Palos’ focus within the art department at UTSA is in new media. “I went in with the initial thought that it would be very digitally based,” said Palos. “But it tends to concentrate on the more contemporary and weird side of art: performance, installations and interventionists pieces.”
The artist credits new media professor Mark McCoin for providing him with a greater confidence in his work and also for pushing him into public performances, which is meant to help the artist gain greater exposure.
Palos’ main interest within the new media genre lies in film making/recording and auditory work; his work is very interdisciplinary. “I like juggling those different disciplines and finding a careful balance between them,” said Palos.
Within his piece “Time Is Still,” Palos found that how he viewed the nature of time was changing, and expressed his feelings the best way he knew how—filmmaking.
Palos is currently showcasing his short film “Time Is Still” in the Collegiate Exhibition at the San Antonio Art League Museum located within the King William’s district. This will be Palos’ second time as a representative for the new media department of UTSA for this exhibition.
