Southern California will soon welcome its latest cultural destination, the new 61,420-square-foot Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture in downtown Riverside, slated to open June 18. In the meantime, the center is hard at work installing its very first artworks, including a showstopping 26-foot tall artwork by artist-brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre.
A longtime collector of the de la Torre brothers, Cheech Marin said that their work was an obvious choice to help welcome the public. "We wanted something in your face as you walk in," said Marin of the lenticular art, "It'll be a signature for the building."
Inspired by the Aztec earth goddess Coatlicue, the as-yet unnamed piece shifts and changes as viewers move across the artwork. As one walks from left to right, the LED-backlit image turns from a giant being made of flora and fauna to one made out of lowrider cars. "We wanted to portray a positive future where we're going to use technology to sequester carbon dioxide," said Einar, "Even though we're here because of technology, technology has to be our savior at this point."
"We also didn't want to have a simplistic read of: nature, good; technology, bad," said Jamex, "They both represent both."
Visitors will marvel at the scale of the artwork, as well as enjoy the many Easter eggs embedded into the artwork. Sharp-eyed art lovers will appreciate seeing a map stretching from East Los Angeles to Riverside hidden beneath all the layers, as well as a constantly changing imagery, flipping from natural to man-made and back again. Here are a few photos to give you a glimpse of the massive installation.