Pilsen photographer becomes part of the picture

Photographers rely on their cameras to help them inject their personalities into photos, creating visual composition and thematic elements as distinctive as those of any painter or sculptor. At a recent show at D'Last Studios and Gallery on 17th Street and Ashland Ave., Rosy Torres, a young photographer active in the Pilsen art scene, had an opportunity to impress her unique personality on all who viewed her creations.

Torres’s art appeared as part of a group show, Desire No Shackles, Imagine No Boundaries. Its theme, which explored how freedom may be limited by social norms or government, caught Torres’s artistic interest and appealed to her social conscience, which was aroused in early childhood.

                At the opening, Torres moved briskly from room to room, greeting visitors and discussing plans for the evening with fellow artists. When her mother, stepfather, and younger sister arrived, her ubiquitous smile just got bigger.

                Torres was born at Cook County Hospital, the daughter of immigrant Mexican parents. The family lived in several communities and experienced prejudice, Torres recalled.

                "My folks were excluded from certain living situations because of their ethnic background," Torres said. "We had to deal with stereotypes, insults, contemptuous comments, degrading stuff. It was really bad in schools; the prejudice was even worse for me there. Things are the hardest when you're a kid."

                Torres's facial features and light complexion attest more to Spanish ancestry than Indian heritage, and her looks and being an Americanized Latina also make her an outsider to some in Mexico.

                "In Mexico, they call me 'gringa,'" she said. "In the United States, they call me 'greaser.' I've gotten negativity from both directions."

                Experiencing prejudice encouraged Torres to emphasize individual identity and made her a crusading Latina. She developed a sense of compassion as a response to her pain and encourages others to avoid bitterness and savor all the positive moments in their lives.

                Growing up, Torres applied her idealism to various causes. While attending Curie High School, she became a concert organizer and disc jockey, coordinating fundraisers for the AIDS Foundation and Kosovo war refugees.

                "The concerts were fun," Torres said, "but they also accomplished something socially significant."

                Torres attended the Art Institute, where she dabbled in painting and sculpture, and Harold Washington College, where photography became her favorite medium.

                "The camera is a mobile instrument," Torres said. "It is appropriate for travel. Photography can't be repeated. Each photograph differs from another, even if only in minor respects.

                "I was more like a reporter at first," she continued. "There was a socio-political approach in which I made a photographic record of events. I've moved away more and more from the documentary approach and am trying to focus on the fine art aspect. The photography is more personal than it once was. Now it's time to relate the personal to the social."

                Torres's works have become more complex in their thematic elements since she began displaying her photographs in 2003, and she said she has developed a "spiritual bond" with those she photographs. She strives for simplicity and austerity tempered by joyous movements and a hopeful depiction of the common person's struggle to survive. Torres believes pain and joy closely co-exist within the stream of life, whether that life is within the hard-edged urban scenario of an American city or in the harsh existence of a peasant farmer in Mexico.

               "I oppose the exploitation of land and life," Torres noted. "I feel a deep admiration for the Zapatistas," who are revolutionaries currently operating in Mexico.

                "In the long run, I want to control my own life independently from the system—grow my own food, make my own clothing, my own everything. I would rather see a lifestyle based on a barter system than on something monetary.

                "Do not imprison yourself in one way of thinking," Torres added. "Photography, painting, snatches of everyday existence. A smile or an embrace. Everything isn't negative."

                The D'Last exhibit featured a musical performance with a three-member drum circle. Torres participated, playing a drum in a rhythmic pattern based on a specific motif. The various motifs merged, and some patrons seemed mesmerized by the pounding percussion, while others swayed in movements synchronized with the drumbeats. Each remained an individual but came together as a community as well.

                The energy, vitality, and sense of unity would have been appropriate for one of Torres's photographs, and as in her art, she played an integral role. In celebrating her victory and her philosophy it truly made her part of the picture.

                Torres's studio is at 2059 W. 21st St. For information, call (773) 656-4285 or e-mail estrus_roma@yahoo.com.