Sonia Romero: Sacred Heart

33" x  46" Serigraph Sacred Heart by Sonia Romero

This work of the Chicana artist Sonia Romero captured by attention and my interest.  Her piece from the Inner Landscape Series: Looking Within titled Sacred Heart made me look at a the conventional perception of a gangster in a different perspective. Most people think that they are dangerous, cold-hearted, and do not care about anything. But this image demonstrates the opposite. The phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover" may be repeated over and over again, for a very good reason: one does not know anything about a thing or person by simply observing the surface of another thing or person. Just because a person has tattoos does not mean that they are gangsters, but sadly I automatically thought that was the case when I first saw this image.

What if a person has tattoos and/or is a gangster? Does either status give people the right to jump to conclusions and categorize others? I commend Romero for tackling on a delicate subject, to try to erase stereotypes, and appreciate the different ways people choose to live their lives.  I thought that the inclusion of the heart was a terrific way to capture the artist's message, in basically having the heart represent the humanity of all people. Plus having the heart which is included in religious figures, such as Jesus Christ, can make the viewer think, that although somebody may seem rough and tough on the exterior, they may be kind and good-hearted.

The process in which it was made, like the stencil process we conducted in class, drew my attention to Romero's image as well. Having a familiarity of the process that was used to create this piece, I was in awe that such an intricate work can be made. The colors work especially well together, having the heart be more colorful for it is the focus, the humanity of all people; the black and white of the model, representing that not everything fits in the dichotomy of bad and good; and finally the blue-colored background, possibly hinting at the sky (subtly touching upon the religious aspect of Jesus with the Sacred Heart being and watching down from Heaven) or the world (possibly associating it with water).