Victoria Cabezas facts for kids
Victoria Cabezas Green (born 1950) is an American artist. She is known for her photography, conceptual art, and multimedia art. Victoria has created most of her artwork in Costa Rica.
About Victoria Cabezas
Victoria Cabezas was born in the United States. However, she grew up and went to school in Costa Rica. Later, she studied at the Pratt Institute in New York City and Florida State University.
She specialized in different types of visual art. These include printmaking, photography, and working with objects. She learned about each of these and used them in her art. Victoria also taught design and photography at the University of Costa Rica. From 1991 to 1995, she was the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts there.
Victoria's art has been shown in many places. She had solo shows at the Mexican Council of Photography and Harvard University. Her work was also displayed at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design of Costa Rica. She has also shown her art in group exhibitions in the United States, Spain, France, Guatemala, and Peru.
What Her Art Is About
Victoria Cabezas's art explores different ideas. She likes to try new things with photography. She also looks into Costa Rican religious beliefs and how they appear in everyday life.
Her art often uses a style called kitsch. This means using objects that might seem a bit old-fashioned or overly decorative. She records private spaces filled with cultural objects. These objects tell stories about bigger social systems, time, and symbols.
Another important topic in her art is "tropicality." This is about how Central America is seen and experienced. She often uses images of bananas to show this. Bananas are a strong symbol of how the region was used for its resources in the past. Using bananas in her art also led her to create her first "art-object" pieces in the 1980s.
Victoria also thinks about personal memories in her art. She explores the connection between the person looking at the art and the artwork itself. She also questions how we talk about and understand modern art.
Her Artworks
- 2000 - La Historia Oficial (The Official Story). This artwork is an assemblage. It means it's made from different objects put together. It includes documents, Coca-Cola bottles, donuts, fabric, a frame, digital photos, and acrylic sheets. It is very large, measuring 282 x 412 cm.
- 1973 - Banana Thesis (Banana Project). This is a copy of her master's thesis from Florida State University. It measures 21.59 x 27.94 cm.
- 1998 - Detalle del portal de doña Antonia Mora (Detail of Doña Antonia Mora's Portal). This is a color photograph made with colloidal silver. It is framed and measures 50 x 60 cm.
Art Shows
- 2019 – Victoria Cabezas and Priscilla Monge: Give Me What You Ask For, Americas Society, New York
- 2018 – Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985, Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York
- 2012 – Propio y Ajeno (My Own and Someone Else's), Museum of Art and Contemporary Design, San José, Costa Rica.
- 1998-1999 – No todo lo que brilla es oro (Not All That Glitters Is Gold), David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1997 – Obra reciente de Victoria Cabezas (Recent Work by Victoria Cabezas), José Luis López Escarré Gallery, National Theater, San José, Costa Rica.
- 1984 – Mujeres, Gatos y Televisores – Fotografías de Victoria Cabezas (Women, Cats, and Televisions – Photographs by Victoria Cabezas), Mexican Council of Photography, Mexico City.
- 1983 – Fotografías de Victoria Cabezas (Photographs by Victoria Cabezas), Museum of Costa Rican Art, San José, Costa Rica.
- 1983 – Fotografías de Victoria Cabezas (Photographs by Victoria Cabezas), Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center and School of Plastic Arts of the University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
- 1974 – Victoria Cabezas y Fernán Meza, Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center, San José
Sources
You can learn more about Victoria Cabezas's work from these sources:
- A talk about her Banana Thesis from TEOR/éTica, 2013: Banana Thesis: Lectura de tesis por Victoria Cabezas- 12 set. 2012
- The exhibition catalog for Propio y Ajeno from the Museum of Art and Contemporary Design, Costa Rica, 2012: Propio y Ajeno. Victoria Cabezas.
See also
In Spanish: Victoria Cabezas para niños
