Aesthetics of Death

The Gate on the Boulevard
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land TX
2004




Leaning Virgin
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2003





Gravestones and Small Statues
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2003



Virgin and the Beetle
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Sugar Land, TX
2004

The cemetery is for laborers who worked for Imperial Sugar (and their direct descendants). I used to go there when I was a little girl and distinctly remember a water pump with a handle. I used to move it back and forth for what seemed to be hours, and only trickles of water would come out. It was probably my small size because the adults around me could always get the water to flow from the water pump. When I began research on the book, I did not realize just how old it was.
I first thought it was from the early 20th century. It now appears that the cemetery was for slaves from a pre-civil war plantation.

The book is titled "Cemeteries of Ambivalent Desire: Narratives of the Deep South in a Southeast Texas Graveyard"
to be published by Texas A&M University Press. Release date winter 2008.







© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Fountain

Fountain
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Mudejar Courtyard
Monasterio de Guadalupe
Guadalupe, Spain
May, 2006



It invites the viewer to touch the tiles. While I stood in front of it, I felt pulled back in time. I wanted to feel the grooves that were worn down by use. I could almost see the monks sitting around the fountain, washing themselves. I am not sure it was used for this, but its construction would make it possible for someone to sit at the base and soak his feet.

The monastery was founded in 1350. The fountain is most probably from the 16th century. The name "mudejar" suggests an Arab influence.



© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Woman in the Window

Woman in the Window
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Paris, 2005


She is the ideal woman, thin and tanned. She wears a hat. She is chic. She is what we wish. Confident in her stance. She is in the window because someone believes we would like to be her.









© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Blanca's Wedding #2

Blanca's Wedding #2
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Houston, TX
May 2007


What is beautiful is no longer considered art these days. If there is a tinge of nostalgia or idealism the image is criticized... the artist considered naive. At the risk of being criticized I present this image, considered too pretty by some.. Yet the colors, shapes and expressions attract me. What is considered art these days? Does an image need to be disturbing to be considered "good."


© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Blanca's Wedding #1

Blanca's Wedding #1
Marie-Theresa Hernández
Houston, TX
May, 2007









© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.

Viewing the Liberty Bell Through Tinted Glass

Liberty Bell Through Tinted Lens
Philadelphia, PA
Marie-Theresa Hernández
May 2008



As I read commentaries on immigration articles I see a group of people that view our democracy through a lense that creates idealistic images -pleasurable hallucinations that believe in justice for all... The tint on the glass allows them to select which memories they can retrieve, forgetting their own marginality in a country where the rich benefit from what the middle class loses.



© Photo and Text
Copyright 2007 by Marie-Theresa Hernández. All rights reserved.