Carlos Santistevan, the first Coloradan to have art displayed at the famous Santa Fe Spanish Market, brought his expertise to campus, presenting a lecture and teaching a class at CC earlier this month. Santistevan, a Denver native, is a descendent of Pedro Antonio Fresquis, an artist famos for his religious artwork and known as the “Truchas Master” after the town north of Santa Fe where the artist’s major works were found. Santistevan himself is famous for his own works of colonial New Mexican art; some of his pieces are owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of International Folk Art. He gave a lecture Dec. 6 at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center that explored the history of New Mexican folk art.
According to Santistevan, early New Mexico consisted of very isolated, agrarian communities that depended completely on weather and natural elements for survival. These communities developed a strong belief in God and saints; it’s a culture that fostered the distinctive art of colonial New Mexico, which, as demonstrated by Santistevan, continues today. Santistevan explains the unique style of this folk art is attributed to its influences: Folk art of the American east has strong European influences, and folk art from New Mexico folk has only native influences. The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center has the largest collection of colonial New Mexican art in the world, which is one of the reasons Santistevan was excited to visit CC.
In addition to his lecture at the Fine Arts Center, Santistevan also spent time with Assistant Professor Karen Roybal’s Southwestern arts and culture course during his visit. According to Roybal, Santistevan talked with her class about “his methods, influence, and take on creating Spanish colonial art from a New Mexico tradition,” and “how history and heritage influence artist’s work.” Santistevan was also influential in starting one of the first Chicano art galleries in Denver and spoke with students about his role there. Prior to their class discussion with Santistevan, students experienced the FAC collection of colonial New Mexico art firsthand.
