"The David" in Weslaco

Weslaco I.S.D. art teachers worked together to purchase an exact replica of Michelangelo Buonarroti's "David". The art teachers raised money through donations from children, parents, teachers, doctors, and private donations from Weslaco families. The replica was created directly from a master mold of the famous sculpture housed at the Galleria Dell' Academia, Florence.

The sculpture will be presented to the Weslaco Chamber of Commerce on September 18,2006 and will be dedicated to the youth of Weslaco. The public will have free acces to the sculpture to admire and study year round.

For more information, please contact James Miller, Head Organizer for Project David
at coolartclasses@yahoo.com or contact Weslaco Chamber of Commerce toll free at 888-968-102.

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Note: Very cool news! To have a mold of Michaelangelo's most famous work in the Valley will be a great cultural and educational resource for all, especially for art students who can study the piece to help them develop and improve their drawing and/or sculpture technique. I vaguely remember a Simpsons episode where the Springfield citizens protested the viewing of the sculpture. I am glad to see that this is not the case here in the Valley.

Luis Jimenez Sculpture at Brownsville-SPI Airport

Luis Jimenez Sculpture at Brownsville-SPI Airport
Originally uploaded by artofbrownsville.

A while back I was waiting to catch a flight to Houston and my eye happened to catch the sight of this sculpture at the Brownsville-South Padre Island Airport. One name flashed through my mind, "Luis Jimenez". "NAAHHHHH..." Him, his work??... here? In Brownsville? In the airport? The Brownsville airport???

I was in disbelief. (I must admit, even though Brownsville has grown so much, the small town mentality still sticks). But it was no illusion...before me was his signature and unmistakable style as proof. The sculpture was protected only by three rope barracades. "Uff!"...If people didn't know what this was, they could pass it for Dean Porter Park's newest playground installation. "Wait.", I thought, "Do people know what this sculpture is? Do they know who made it? What it means to art? What it means to representation of our culture?" Then I saw a sign near by, "PLEASE DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO CLIMB"....OK, so my guess most people don't know.

I left the airport thinking, I have to take a picture one day and put it on the blog! Well, like many good intentions...the thought stayed well intended and was not brought to fruitation. Then a week ago came the sad news that Luis Jimenez died from an accident involving one of his pieces. Read the story by clicking here.

I remember one time in art school, my sculpture professor mentioned that Luis Jimenez attended and taught at UT. I was like, "Wow! When? I want the chance to be his student!" The magnificent thing about visual art though is that even though the the artist may no longer be with us, the artist's work is nearly immortal! We can continue to learn from the artist!

In respect to Luis Jimenez, I encourage you to learn from Luis Jimenez's life and work. As a Mexican-American artist from El Paso, he worked to express and share our culture on La Frontera. Thank you Mr. Jimenez for all you have done for art and for our frontera culture!

PS: If anyone may know who owns the piece or how it arrived to be placed the airport please comment below. It would be most interesting to know the story.

Sad Day

More info to be posted soon....

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Studio Accident Kills Well-known Sculptor
Austin American Statesman

Hondo, N.M.

Luis Jimenez, a University of Texas graduate whose sculptures have been displayed at the Smithsonian and the Museum of Modern Art, died Tuesday in what authorities are calling an industrial accident. He was 65.

Part of a sculture was being moved with a hoist at Jimenez's Hondo studio when it came loose and struck the artist, pinning him against a steel support....He was taken to the Lincoln County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Love and Passion