Growing up in the Santa Ynez Valley, artist and Arts Outreach teacher Luis Ramirez was used to seeing farm fields—and the farmers and laborers who worked them. Then he embarked on some travels, and when he returned home, he rediscovered those same fields and their accessories, as it were. His observations stand out in his exhibition at the Arts Outreach Gallery’s inaugural art show, “Ordinary—A Collection of Studies.”
The show features some student work along with 17 pieces by Ramirez, most of which feature the vehicles driven by farmworkers and specific, seemingly incongruent details.
“The recurring trend in what you see is that these vehicles are upgraded for an urban environment—things like spoilers or fancy rims, all the things you expect to see in the city, but there they are on these dusty cars, covered in mud and parked alongside a vineyard or farm field,” Ramirez explained.
He said the shiny upgrades are cultural trends immigrants use in their efforts to assimilate in a foreign country.
“It’s not some huge political statement,” he said. “I just thought it was interesting and fascinating to explore, especially with myself coming from an immigrant background. It’s like analyzing an agricultural childhood with a mature eye.”
He added that one of the cars in the body of work is his own, because it fit nicely.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, Ramirez immigrated to America as a child. He grew up in Santa Ynez and later received his BFA in drawing and painting from Cal State University Long Beach. Furthering his art studies, he spent one year at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in Guangzhou, China, studying oil painting as part of a yearlong exchange program.
Much of Ramirez’s art revolves around his personal experiences and his ties to family and culture. He said his work lately is a reaction to where he is at in his life, as a recent returnee from abroad. But he also likes to explore other ideas in his work, such as the domestication of animals in ranch life and masculinity and the idea of doing things—like modifying a car—to increase masculinity.
Ramirez benefited from Arts Outreach programs growing up and has been teaching with the nonprofit arts education program for the last year. He said having the gallery is particularly special because there are fewer galleries in Los Olivos these days.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone likes to explore ideas. Send comments to scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2011.