Mixed-Race Messages

To some artists, drawing is an expression of beauty. To others, it’s a visual soapbox on which the artist can figuratively stand and whine about politics, injustice, or whatever other crap is newsworthy. It’s hard to figure out which category local artist and ASU grad Hector Ruiz is in.

Part Mexican and part Kickapoo Indian, Ruiz uses woodcut prints and sculpture to comment on biculturalism. And judging by the poor minorities being trampled or assimilated into white culture in his artwork, his opinion of our society isn’t exactly glowing. But according to Ruiz, the new pieces in his “Hector Ruiz: L'art m'emmerde j'ai participe a cette expo” exhibit focus on the positive aspects of being mixed race. “My work continues with the theme of [racial blending],” he says, “this time, leaning toward the beauty of this mixing and the unplanned unions that result.”