Punto de Partida (Point of Departure)
By Moises Ramos
I have created this series because of the negative way the media is portraying who an immigrant is. Their depiction is a stereotype of an undesirable person who is a peril to us all. The reality is that we all benefit from their contributions because they helped build and give shape to what we call America today. Most of the photographs that I based my work on are portraits of people that came to the USA at the turn of the century. Native Americans are included because they were treated as aliens and forced to live as foreigners in their land. Africans are present because even though they were brought here by force, they became unwilling immigrants in the new world. The series is comprised of pairs of portraits, a woman and a man. Every piece on this series has a distinctive color and texture to create visual impact and invite the viewer to get immersed in an intimate moment with them. The goal is to spark the conversation about acceptance, understanding, and to challenge fiction with facts.
About the Artist
Moises Ramos
Moises Ramos was born in New York in 1967. His career started during the late 1980’s where his artwork was selected to be exposed in several galleries and collective art shows. Ramos artwork was part of collective expositions in Puerto Rico, USA, England, France and Europe. Moises engravings were selected in 1993 and 1996 for the prestigious Biennial of Latin American & the Caribbean Engravings in San Juan, P.R. He has also received awards for his mixed media, prints and black & white photography throughout his career. Since 1993, he has been working as an art educator in Puerto Rico and Florida. He was the recipient of the Memphis Wood Excellence in Teaching Award in 2009. In 2010 he also received the Cultural Council of Jacksonville Art Educator of the Year Award for his volunteer work and community outreach projects with refugee students.