The after party

Rayo Purita enunciates the initial terms of an as yet unwritten history of art in which the cosmos, the irrational, the magical and the mystical are vital elements. The evocation of deities, sages and Andean rites associated with life and well-being are clues to another dimension and view of the world. They point to an experience in which offerings and initiations (such as the pure ray) are recognized as a path of wisdom. They also ask if assuming the Aymara concept of time (where the future is behind and the past ahead) would be a better alternative: Would going forward looking back be, for example, a more sensible relationship between human beings and nature?

In the absence of artistic references, the works of this new history of art invent their own milestones. One can sense, for example, a connection with the metaphysical aspect (little known and scarcely studied) of the indigenous painting of the twenties – in particular with the artist Cecilio Guzmán de Rojas. The humor with which all these themes are approached, however, refers to a more erotic and pleasant vein of art than that proposed in the history of Bolivian art.

In this initial inventory for a renewed history of art, a plethora of myths, ideals, senses, sensations, references, fetishes, desires and stories are superimposed. His footprints invite the viewer at the end of a decolonizing celebration in which all these elements converged with their political instrumentalization. The vital and mystical energy of the celebration persists but perhaps it is wise to finish digesting these delicacies before taking the next step. Exploring a new positioning of art is certainly a promising beginning.

Valeria Paz Moscoso