{"id":94156,"date":"2021-06-08T15:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T19:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=94156"},"modified":"2022-11-04T16:32:39","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T20:32:39","slug":"painting-with-purpose","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2021\/painting-with-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Painting With Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-image-to-text has-media has-media-focus-center-middle has-primary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"2140\" height=\"1080\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural.jpg 2140w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-636x321.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-768x388.jpg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-1536x775.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-2048x1034.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/08\/Josue-Rojas-mural-1628x822.jpg 1628w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2140px) 100vw, 2140px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">With a team of local street artists, Josu\u00e9 Rojas (\u201915) painted the mural\u00a0<em>Birds of the Americas<\/em>\u00a0in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District. Photo by Gabriela Hasbun \u2022 Photo by Gabriela Hasbun <\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CFA Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPainting With Purpose\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Blending classic techniques with street art, Josu\u00e9 Rojas represents his Latinx community with a unique voice<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 8, 2021<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/marc-chalufour\/\">Marc Chalufour<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><strong>Hundreds of murals<\/strong>&nbsp;illustrate the streets and alleys of San Francisco\u2019s Mission District where&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.josuerojasart.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Josu\u00e9 Rojas<\/a>&nbsp;works. They tell the stories of immigrants to the historically Latinx neighborhood. They honor women and LGBTQIA+ pioneers. And they give a voice to a community pushing back against police violence and gentrification. Graffiti and street art merge in this open-air gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rojas (\u201915) has lived or worked in the Mission since he was a toddler\u2014his family settled here after fleeing El Salvador\u2019s civil war\u2014only leaving to spend two years at CFA. Since first picking up a paintbrush as a teenager, Rojas has developed into one of the community\u2019s leading artistic voices, frequently exhibiting his work, painting murals, and encouraging other artists to tell their own stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn this community, art is the glue,\u201d he says. The neighborhood that led him to art and continues to inspire him today has also given him the confidence to take a big leap: in 2021, he decided to strip away his other obligations\u2014including running a local nonprofit\u2014and focus full time on his art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-photoessay magazine-block-editorial-photoessay alignwide wp-block-photoessay js-block-editorial-photoessay\"><div class=\"photo-row-full-f\">\n<div class=\"photo-f\"><div class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"981\" height=\"499\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/lapalabra3-sm.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/lapalabra3-sm.jpeg 981w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/lapalabra3-sm-636x324.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/lapalabra3-sm-768x391.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px\" \/><figcaption><p class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\"><em>La Palabra y La Imagen<\/em>\u00a0(2016) Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 40 in. In this piece, Rojas draws from\u00a0the Mayan creation story, the\u00a0<em>Popol Vuh<\/em>, which features twin brothers\u2014one is a poet and one is a painter\u2014to highlight the connection between words and images.\u00a0Courtesy of Rojas<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Mastering the Language<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rojas says his life could\u2019ve gone in a very different direction. His father died when he was 15, and he began acting out. \u201cI started getting in trouble, writing graffiti.\u201d But he also got a part-time job at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.precitaeyes.org\/\">Precita Eyes Muralists<\/a>, a nonprofit that has promoted art in the Mission since the 1970s. Soon, he was learning to paint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was the first time I had found something that I was actually good at,\u201d he says. Small jobs followed: designing murals, illustrating stories for the Pacific News Service, a publisher of independent journalism. Rojas began writing for them as well, continuing to report while he studied painting as an undergrad at the California College of the Arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reporting trips to Central America inspired his art and gave him the financial flexibility to pursue it. But when journalists began getting killed by gangs, Rojas reevaluated his plans. He learned about BU while attending the Institute for Recruitment of Teachers at Phillips Andover Academy in Andover, Mass., which promotes diversity in teaching and educational leadership. He liked the idea of stepping away from home to see what he could accomplish when focused entirely on his art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rojas speaks of art as a language and says his decision to study at CFA helped him expand his vocabulary. \u201cI felt very comfortable with urban art and what\u2019s understood as Mexican heritage\u2014classic murals inspired by Diego Rivera and then evolving into the Chicano movement of the 1960s,\u201d he says. Two years in Boston allowed him to develop classic techniques and styles, like abstract expressionism. \u201cNow I feel very comfortable being bilingual\u2014I can speak East Coast and West Coast within American art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"612\" height=\"1024\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/homogenized_full-sm-612x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/homogenized_full-sm-612x1024-1.jpeg 612w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/homogenized_full-sm-612x1024-1-380x636.jpeg 380w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/homogenized_full-sm-612x1024-1-598x1000.jpeg 598w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px\" \/><figcaption><em>Homogenized<\/em>&nbsp;(2016) Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 36 x 60 in. Along with&nbsp;<em>La Palabra y La Imagen<\/em>, it appeared in Rojas\u2019 show,&nbsp;<em>\u00a1Gentromancer!,<\/em>&nbsp;which focused on the threat of gentrification to the Mission. Courtesy of Rojas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>His thesis collection,&nbsp;<em>The Joy of Exile<\/em>, featured a series of paintings, but Rojas\u2019 vision extended well beyond the canvas. He continued the images onto the walls and mixed in stanzas from a friend\u2019s poem. In what is a Rojas trademark, cartoonish characters clashed with organic forms and familiar logos. The&nbsp;<em>Boston Globe&nbsp;<\/em>wrote that the installation \u201chas the quality of a fever dream: roiling color and gesture. Violent imagery leavened with pop culture references.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rojas returned to San Francisco as soon as he completed his MFA in painting. As one of his class\u2019&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/bostonia\/2015\/giving-graduating-artists-a-head-start\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kahn Award recipients<\/a>, he received a grant that helped him set up a studio in the Mission and fund his next exhibit,&nbsp;<em>\u00a1Gentromancer!<\/em>&nbsp;He also accepted a position as executive director of Acci\u00f3n Latina, an organization that promotes arts, community journalism, and civic engagement in Latinx communities in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For&nbsp;<em>\u00a1Gentromancer!<\/em>, which opened in 2016, he focused on the threat of gentrification to the Mission\u2014and played with the styles used for his thesis. The 1980s cartoon robot Voltron frames one painting,&nbsp;<em>La Palabra y La Imagen<\/em>&nbsp;(\u201cThe word and the image\u201d), looming over a canvas dense with images: a steaming volcano, a snapping tree trunk, blowing winds, two faces in silhouette. Voltron, which was formed by five smaller robots, symbolizes unity and a community\u2019s ability to be stronger than the sum of its parts, Rojas says. The overall effect is of a Mayan mural morphing into a comic book panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In another painting,&nbsp;<em>Amor: the Perfect Lotus<\/em>, the face of Alex Nieto, who was killed in 2014 by San Francisco police in a nearby neighborhood, is divided into quarters, each rendered in a different style, a charcoal sketch abutting a splash of Warholian color, above a cartoonish minimalism. Rojas also coordinated a special broadside\u2014published by&nbsp;<em>El Tecolote<\/em>, a bilingual newspaper now produced by Acci\u00f3n Latina, where the exhibit took place\u2014which included poems from 17 local writers. For Rojas, art and community are intertwined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Expanding the Outdoor Gallery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the Latinx community has been particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rojas decided to coordinate a large team project in fall 2020.&nbsp;<em>Birds of the Americas<\/em>, an 80-foot-wide and 25-foot-tall mural in the heart of the Mission, celebrates the lives of four men, each depicted as a Central American bird: El Salvador\u2019s torogoz for Andres Guardado, a toucan for Sean \u201cTucan\u201d Monterrosa, and Guatemala\u2019s quetzal for Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Luis Gongora Pat. Guardado and Monterrosa were both shot by police in June 2020 while Perez-Lopez and Gongora Pat were killed by police in 2015 and 2016, respectively, within blocks of the new mural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-photoessay magazine-block-editorial-photoessay alignwide wp-block-photoessay js-block-editorial-photoessay\"><div class=\"photo-row-full-f\">\n<div class=\"photo-f\"><div class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-636x424.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/06\/21-1030-CFAROJAS-005-sm.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><p class=\"wp-block-photoessay-media-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Rojas\u2019 mural Enrique\u2019s Journey (2009) was inspired by Sonia Nazario\u2019s book of the same name and is located at Balmy Alley in San Francisco. Photo by Gabriela Hasbun<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Rojas focused on painting the birds and assembled a team of local street artists and graffiti writers to complete the mural, assigning each a 20-foot section. The artists worked in shifts, to remain socially distanced, and over three weekends they gradually covered the massive wall with tropical yellows, greens, reds, and pinks. Vines, flowers, slices of guava, graffiti letters, and a mythical deity are entwined in the finished piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMurals are an external expression of a community\u2019s internal values,\u201d Rojas told&nbsp;<em>Mission Local<\/em>, a neighborhood news organization. \u201cFor our community to see that a mural is going up, even during these conditions, during the fires and pandemic. For them to see we are coming together, making something beautiful during this time, [that is important].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though he\u2019d designed the birds in advance, Rojas didn\u2019t know what the other artists would do with their space. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of trust,\u201d he says, comparing the project to a jazz album. \u201cMiles Davis wasn\u2019t simply a great trumpeter. He laid the groundwork for a group of people to shine, and they made the&nbsp;<em>Kind of Blue<\/em>&nbsp;album.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>More to Say<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"508\" height=\"636\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/10\/joyofexile-sm-508x636-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-94159\"\/><figcaption><em>Joy of Exile: Mara Kid<\/em>&nbsp;(2013) Oil on canvas, 60 x 48 in., uses a cartoonish style to address the serious subject of gang violence. Courtesy of Rojas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The challenges of the pandemic, including illnesses in his family, helped Rojas realize where he wants to focus his energy. After four years as executive director, he stepped down from his role at Acc\u00edon Latina. For the first time since CFA, he\u2019s focused entirely on his art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt can be very daunting to stare at an empty calendar or stare at my bank account,\u201d he says. But he\u2019s taking comfort in the words of one of his professors at BU: \u201cTake care of the art and the art will take care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And he couldn\u2019t be in a better place to do so. Even as the Mission changes and longtime residents are priced out, Rojas sees positive signs. There are still more walls to paint and new galleries keep opening, allowing voices like his to continue to be heard. \u201cIt\u2019s a revolutionary act,\u201d he says, of his community\u2019s insistence that art is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Occasionally Rojas hears an old adage: \u201cPainting is dead.\u201d He bristles at the suggestion. \u201cIt really is disrespectful, not only to the practice of painting, but also the people who are now able to speak. I really believe there\u2019s a lot more to be said.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hundreds of murals&nbsp;illustrate the streets and alleys of San Francisco\u2019s Mission District where&nbsp;Josu\u00e9 Rojas&nbsp;works. They tell the stories of immigrants to the historically Latinx neighborhood. They honor women and LGBTQIA+ pioneers. And they give a voice to a community pushing back against police violence and gentrification. Graffiti and street art merge in this open-air gallery. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":80055,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,379],"magazine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[383],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94156"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95389,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/94156\/revisions\/95389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=94156"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=94156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}