The Bottom Line
A perfect gift for any lover of Christian contemporary art, this volume contains a sequence of beautiful, haunting, deeply meaningful drawings. Daniel Martin Diaz's work is not 'easy' but neither is it obscure, drawing on archetypal themes and symbols. Daniel Martin Diaz's drawings bring together a rich inheritance of Mexican Catholic culture infused with contemporary sensibility. His work carries allusions to ancient manuscripts, anatomy,
alchemy, and catholic mysticism.
Pros
- A beautifully presented, visually rich volume.
- Contemporary artwork with great depth of meaning.
- Christian images without saccharine sentimentality.
Cons
- A minor point, but a bibliography of referenced texts would be useful.
Description
- Triginta Uno Dies: Thirty-One Drawings in Thirty Days
- A book of pencil drawings by Daniel Martin Diaz, with introduction by Gloria Fraser Giffords
- published by La Luz de Jesus Press, ISBN 0-86719-617-3
- A book of thirty-one drawings presented on beautifully produced, full-page plates
- Three short essays introduce the artwork, and Latin texts in the art are translated in the appendix.
Guide Review - Triginat Uno Diez - A Book of Drawings
Readers will have a deeply personal response to these works, which makes a review difficult to write. Some may find them inmpenetrable, while others immerse themselves in the symbolism, finding themselves drawn on a journey through the images. I consider myself to be ignorant of South American culture, but there are many familiar echoes in Diaz's work, deeply embedded imagery and allusions that dissolve any cultural divide. I am reminded of Surrealist artists, and particularly Frida Kahlo, so I find a great deal in the individual works that makes them both intriguing and accessable.
As an artist it seems to me that Daniel Martin Diaz faces a double obstacle to mainstream success: not only is the work religious, but realistic/surrealistic in a way that is not currently fashionable. Diaz told me that he deals with obstacles all the time: "some galleries and magazines don't want to show case art with a religious overtone. If I was mocking religion then it wouldn't be a problem at all. So there is an example a double standard in the art world. Religious outlets are another obstacle - I have been trying to get my book in religious book stores and am not having any luck. I had one buyer tell me that my book didn't fit into the traditional model."
Lets hope that more galleries and retailers recognise the importance of this emerging artist's work, and that he acheives the mainstream success that he deserves.
