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JIM AMARAL | |||||||||
Jim Amaral is an artist who was born and raised in California, where he graduated from Stanford University. However, he chose to settle in Bogota, Colombia, over 40 years ago, a decision he has never really regretted. He met his Colombian wife Olga, Latin America's leading textile artist, while both were doing post-graduate work at the Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit. The Amarals developed their careers together, living in New York for two years in the 1970s before moving to Paris for several more years, where Jim exhibited in several of Europe’s most influential galleries. To live for decades in strife-torn Colombia could have a negative effect on many an immigrant, but Amaral took the challenge with equanimity and humor, forming a family, consolidating a weaving business with Olga, and producing an important body of work in the 40-year span in Bogota. Still more a Yankee than a Latin, Jim is a true professional, a serious artist with a unique vision. Never dogmatic, he is both an intellectual and an intuitive person. Amaral’s request for models produced a challenge we had never before faced at the Experimental Workshop. Jim wanted to work with little people. The results were heartwarming. The models chosen worked with enthusiasm and commitment, and we were able to get wonderful photographs. When Amaral’s project was completed, the models seemed sad. When I asked them about what they felt, they told me that they were delighted to be taken seriously and that their bodies could be considered art. It was the beginning of an ongoing relationship between the Workshop and Santiago’s active community of little people. Amaral’s idea gave the Cuerpos Pintados Project the opportunity to overcome an unjust barrier of resistance, enriching the scope of our activities by eliminating a prejudice so common to all of us. For providing us with this simple lesson, we are deeply grateful to Amaral and his initiative. | |||||||||
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©Taller Experimental Cuerpos Pintados es una marca registrada de Fundación América. | ||
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