By Nicholas Frank – TheRivardReport.com – Photo: Courtesy / Ruben Cordova, Bihl Haus Arts, and the Mel Casas Family Trust.
Photo: Three of the paintings by Mel Casas at Bihl Haus Arts are (from left) Humanscape 143 (Mimbres Sunset), 1987; Humanscape 134 (Pinto), 1984; and Where is the Beef, 1993.
Chicanos believe their ethnic blend of indigenous, Mexican, and colonial heritages to be a strength, whereas white Europeans have historically seen racial mixing as undesirable. Scholar and curator Ruben Cordova made this statement during a walk-through of American History Does Not Begin With the White Man: Indigenous Themes in the Work of Mel Casas, the exhibition he curated for Bihl Haus Arts, which runs through Oct. 27.
