Conceptual artist Michael Arcega likens the titles of his works to punch lines. There’s “El Conquistadork,” the 10-foot high Spanish galleon he made from manila folders and sailed on Tomales Bay, and “Conquistadorks I & II,” elaborate suits of armor also crafted with manila folders.
Although their titles speak to the artist’s quirky sense of humor and his obsession with word play, the pieces themselves delve into weightier issues. Born in Manila, the 30-something artist is as concerned with Filipino history, imperialism and global socio-political issues as he is with puns.
“I use manila folders to talk about trade and business and colonialism. Having paper armor, I think, shows the frailty of military strength,” he tells Spark in the “Think Globally” episode.
Tucking himself into the paper-hulled vessel, Arcega managed to sail his “El Conquistadork,” a tiny, masted ship, in open waters without springing any leaks. The boat’s solid construction is characteristic of Arcega’s meticulous approach to his work.
With “Conquistadorks I & II,” which first appeared in the 2006 solo show “Getting Mid – Evil” at the Heather Marx Gallery in San Francisco, Arcega emphasizes the frameworks of power that fueled the 16th- and 20th-century European and Spanish conquests in the Philippines. As for the paper armor so prominently displayed in the same show, Arcega says that it points to both the common material’s economic implications and its fragility.
His other works comment on and satirize contemporary themes, like the United States’ complicated relationship with oil production. “In Gaud We Trust,” a 12-foot-high gothic cathedral constructed with black petroleum-based plastic, features oil derricks as its spires and a cross that looks as if it is spitting out black gold.
Although many of his most recognized pieces are mixed-media sculptures, Michael Arcega is a true interdisciplinary artist whose works range from paintings to installations, videos to drawings. He earned a B.F.A. in interdisciplinary studies at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998 and was awarded residencies at the de Young Museum in 2002 and at the Headlands Center for the Arts in 2005. Arcega is represented by the Marx & Zavattero gallery in San Francisco.
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