Humanity absurd: Woodcut prints take on social satire in an animated and humorous style

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Ramon Deanda’s exhibit regales us on at least four levels of sensibilities, which makes this exhibit a must-see experience for a wide audience.

On display at South Texas College’s art gallery, “South of Paradise, North of Hell” provokes a range of ideas and allows for a stimulating visual and mental experience. In a place engulfed by nonsense and chaos, a series of woodcuts show us an alternative world with alternative facts. Ranch animals are depicted performing human activities, but they are caught in a place that they do not comprehend. They exist somewhere just South of Paradise and just North of Hell, but mentally, these creatures have trapped themselves.

The print “Escape Goat!” alludes to this dilemma as the animal precariously balances on a wood post between two lands.

Deanda’s polychrome woodcuts combine Japanese and European techniques that effectively reinforce his messaging. An initial superficial glance catches a lively animation style showing humorous anthropomorphic depictions of pigs, donkeys, and goats, and could easily satisfy younger viewers.

But these prints are biting social commentaries that can supersede national boundaries. Portrayed humorously yet harshly, this is social satire at its best.

“I try to capture the absurdity, the foolishness that contemporary society has been stirred by all that nonsense,” stated Deanda. He calls his figures “human metaphoric characters” that show how narcissism, corruption, deception, gluttony, egocentrism, and isolation are some of the harmful features inundating today’s human society.

“Pristine Lands” comments on our disregard for nature without regard for our own future, as two swine use a remaining clean water hot spring as a spa, thereby prioritizing their own pleasure. The pig metaphor often appears as a duplicitous character.

“When Pigs Walk on Water,” it appears as someone who can perform miracles, but in fact is secretly held aloft by an unseen figure. In “The Manipulator,” a pig clumsily wearing a sheep’s clothing tosses pieces of paper to a flock who, without hesitation, consume them unread. These depictions are timeless reflections of society and easily evoke recent social events.

‘Manipulation’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)

Several prints delve deeply into the social psyche for an unnerving view of a mental human construction, a delusion of false reality, which is presented as the inability to recognize what actually exists and accepting instead what is believed or assumed to exist. The general landscape for all these characters is an arid landscape devoid of vegetation save a few cacti.

The goat suggests everyman and in “Snorkel Goat” is fully decked out in underwater gear and walks across this sandy desert, believing that water is already surrounding him or that it will be soon. Despite his belief, there is no water. ‘Foolish leadership’ also plays on this dichotomy depicting a leader in a rowboat ordering a crewman to press on. A goat sitting on the sand in an innertube crying out “Auxilio Me Ahogo! (Help! I’m Drowning)” references someone who believes they will only survive with help from others, when all they need to do is stand up.

These animals are confined to a ranch, caught in an imaginary boundary that does not let them escape their own madness.

“What I can conclude from all this,” added Deanda, “is that the imminent danger for all in this planet is not building physical walls, but constructing mental boundaries.”

This is an excellent exhibit. Try to attend the closing reception on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Ramon Deanda: ‘South of Paradise, North of Hell’

WHERE: STC Art Gallery, Pecan Campus Bldg. B-103 WHEN: Through Jan. 31

HOURS: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday RECEPTION: 1 to 4 p.m. Jan. 30

EMAIL: artgallery@southtexascolleg.edu

‘On the Way to Paradise’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
‘Pristine Lands’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
‘Snorkel Goat’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
‘Escape Goat!’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)
‘Manipulation’ by Ramon Deanda
Woodcut
(Courtesy: Nancy Moyer)

Nancy Moyer, Professor Emerita, is an art critic for The Monitor. She may be reached at nmoyer@rg.rr.com.

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