week 7 - Anita Valenica

My artist for the presentation is Anita Valencia. She is from San Antonio, Texas. She creates art from recyclable objects. I found her art interesting because when I was younger, I remember telling my father I wanted to pick up the trash along the Texas highways and make sculptures and title them Conversations on the Highway. One of the instillations that caught my eye when researching for the presentation was Sun She Rise, Sun She Set, and You Ain’t Seen Texas Yet. It was created entirely out of repurposed items like bottles, cans, and wire hangers. She discusses the surrounding environment and shows how much consumption and waste that is around the city. She tries to recreate the landscape of Texas with the butterflies, tumbleweeds, and tornados. She creates from what she has and does it so wonderfully. It is beautiful to see the aluminum butterflies, especially when they capture and reflect the light. This is one of the various instillations in which she uses cans and items that are of the same nature to create giant pieces that resemble and symbolize her home and the state of Texas. The other two pieces I am going to briefly present about in class are similar to Sun She Rise, Sun She Set, and You Ain’t Seen Texas Yet. I think her art is beautiful and it is inspiring to see how Anita Valencia is also helping to better the environment by reusing what some would consider to be trash.