(July 1919- March 1999)
World-renowned painter & sculptor, Quichua Indian, Ecuador's hero
Without knowing anything about Guayasamin as a man, or about his work and politics, we headed to one of the most famous museums in Quito - La Capilla de Hombre (The Chapel of Man), a tribute to the life and art of Ecuador's most revered citizen.
Within my first few steps into the museum I realized that this was not going to be a lovely stroll through a pretty exhibit while discussing how the cubism movement transgressed and later commenting amongst ourselves, What a pleasant afternoon. Instead, our hour spent inside the museum was an emotional, intense, and almost nauseating experience. The political statements entrenched in Guayasamin's paintings and the agony dripping off the faces on his canvas' were more than I could have prepared myself for.
"I cried because I didn't have shoes
Until I saw a child who didn't have feet"
Guayasamin's art tells of the struggles and pain of indigenous people across Latin America. Although the faces are dark and the hair is always black, his work also speaks to the broader issues of war and pain that plague the world. And they make one ask: Why does pain and sorrow have to exist? Will it ever end?
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