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David OcelotL GarciaDavid OcelotL GarciaNEPANTLA EXHIBITStep into the world curatedby Tony Ortega at theMuseum of Art in FortCollins, ColoradoNEPANTLA EXHIBITStep into the world curatedby Tony Ortega at theMuseum of Art in FortCollins, ColoradoABSTRACT IMAGINISMInsight into the visual genrefrom the self taught artistwho created it ABSTRACT IMAGINISMInsight into the visual genrefrom the self taught artistwho created it QUANTUM PHYSICSSee the parallels betweenscientific theory, artisticcreation and Native HeritageQUANTUM PHYSICSSee the parallels betweenscientific theory, artisticcreation and Native HeritagePLASMAPLASMANNovember 2024|ovember 2024| Issue # 1Issue # 1

Abstract

Imaginism

With Abstract Imaginism, David hascomplete freedom to move throughand into vehicles of expression. Hecan sink into his style to create 3Dsculptures that can be felt andexperienced, 300-foot murals that area world of their own that you can stepinto and paintings with intricatedetail and symbolism. He composes his art throughintuition, inspired by the “ultimatecomposition” of the natural world. Heexpresses that we all see the worlddifferently and he knows hisexperience of reality is different, withan inherent knowledge of theconnectivity of the universe. “I started classifying my murals, as being this ultimatesymphony of instruments.”

David Ocelotl Garcia, an artist born and living in Denver, Colorado, describes his life sized painteddepiction of an agave plant, which is commonly found in South America, and its connection to atomicenergy As he got older, he began to studyquantum and atomic energy andfound that the scientific theorieswere explaining an experience ofreality that he had found whilecreating art. “I just started getting inspired bythe theories of physics and how itworks and the movement of it,because that's the only way toexplain the stuff I am doing,” heexpressed, “I came to theconclusion, because everything isconnected in the world anyway;actually science and art go hand inhand. Mathematics, science andart, they’re all the same thing.”“I already knew what it was about,because I already experienced thesethings. And so it kind of confirmed thatwhat I was understanding, is what I waslearning through my art,” David said.“I started connecting all these andpurposefully embracing andacknowledging that I am doingsomething that is very real and that allgoes into my work and going back tophysics, it helped me better understandmy art.”

David believes that art is not limited toperformance or visual arts, or thestructured understandings of whatcreative expression can be defined as.He believes that anything you arepassionate about or believe in, is yourown form of art.“Mathematicians are artists, scientistsare artists, all these different thingspeople do is actually art,” David said. David sees faith in the same light.Whatever you believe in is your own art,or a version of what art is. When youbelieve in something, we call that faith.In his own spirituality that was availableto him, he realized that it all involvesbelief. “People come to me andsay, ‘oh I wish I coulddraw, and I ask them,‘what do you do?’ They sayoh, ‘I do physical therapy’or ‘I’m a psychologist’ andI’m like shit, you're anartist too! You’d think I’mjust saying you could drawif you wanted to but I don’tmean that. What I’msaying is that what you aredoing is also art.”

“They call it faith because if you don’tbelieve in it then it doesn’t work, but if youtruly believe in it, that’s when the magichappens,” David said.David doesn’t see faith as just thecommonality of religious practices butwithin our realities. He expressed that awoman, he once painted, believed inhelping people and sharing and as hepersonified faith, her belief was insharing. He believes that the work thatwe do and the things that we arepassionate about, can be our own faith.David Ocelotl Garcia in his art studio in Denver, Colorado on wednesday, October 30, 2024, holds an armadillo that hesculpted out of bronze metal, which weighs about eight pounds and is detailed with his style of abstract imaginism.David in one of the various rooms of his art studio in Denver, Colorado ismoving weather protected clear coat paint to prepare for his long trip toCalifornia to create a huge public mural on October 30, 2024.

“When you believe andhave faith in something,that’s when your energyhas the most capacityto influence yourreality.”

THE PROCESSimagination. He is inspiredthrough all moments of wakinglife and his mind is sparkedthrough a multitude ofexperiences. He quoted hisfavorite artist, Fernando Botero tocommunicate that, “art is only anexcuse to create.” avid’s process for makingart is unbounded and isshaped through his D“He creates art because itcomes bursting out of his soul.“I always say I am one projectaway from working atMcDonalds. By that I mean,even if I had to work anywhere,I would still make my artbecause I do it as my professionbut more significant reasonsthan that, I do it because itfeeds my spirit, I truly believethat if i can share anything inthis reality, it is through myart,” he said.His care and passion lies intraditional fine art and itsdifferent stages of artmovements.A small conversation or a glimpseat a scene will immediatelybecome a bursting image in hismind, that is alive and moving. “My mind is its own person andit’s kind of weird because you'relike, well you control your ownmind, and it almost sounds likeyou have mental problems at thispoint because I can’t control mymind, I am only in control ofmyself and it’s like ‘aren’t you thesame thing?’ And that happens tome a lot, sometimes I’ll draw andother times I’ll let it floataround.”David never created art withsome dreary imagined prospect ofbeing rich or famous. He only uses 10% of all his thoughtsand creative ideas to make art and headmits that even feels a little high.David is always inspired, whether it’swhile he is on a trip or in acommunity that’s struggle oraccomplishments motivate him tocreate. David Ocelotl Garcia’s sculpted faces jump off from the two dimensional surface and confront the viewer to direct an experience of meaningin his unfinished pieces.

He feels a disconnection with thedigital age and the quickly changingenvironment of the modern age and ifhe was born in this time period, hewouldn’t be making art. “The reason I make art is because Isaw people making art, I saw the artmade and felt connected and inspiredby that and still do. That’s why I makeart, because what we make with ourhands is much more powerful thanwhat we let computers make for us,”David said.He feels that a computer's syntheticreality will never be as powerful as themountains and forests. You can see theRocky mountains all day in books oron the internet but until you are there,you're not going to feel the power ofthat natural environment. “No matter how digitaland technological we get,you can’t replace ourpersonal connection witha particular environment.Whatever you can makewith your hands or feet,the more you'reconnected with your workand the more energy it’sgoing to have. The lessconnected you are withyour work, the less energyit is going to have.”

connection with the naturalenvironment. He recognizes thedownsides of the materialisticsociety that is present in theworld and how this synthetic ageis consumed by an unreality anddisconnection from our roots innature. avid is very connectedwith his native heritageand his instinctualD“If you strip that away and go towater, water is very powerful;rivers, oceans. You can imagineall the energy is in the water, itrolls all across the earth, itcaptures the energy fromeverywhere. When you startpurposefully acknowledgingthat you are water, it takes youto a whole nother level; youpurposefully acknowledge that,it changes everything.”David acknowledges and utilizesthe power of natural elements increation, using paint that is waterbased. He is aware of how thematerials of the earth cometogether and physically engagewith each other to create. He hasfaith that he is putting energy intothe water that’s used with theacrylic paint and recognizes thatwater has the capacity to changebased on what it’s influenced by.David Ocelotl Garcia, a local Denver, Colorado muralist, sculptor and painter, raised his hands as he steps into his painting, a doorway into anotheruniverse which is encased within a 300 foot mural of water flowing that represents that, “we are all apart of a ripple of energy.”

A GLIMPSE INTO THEMIND OF THE ARTIST“ I AM SO FASCINATED BY IT AT THIS POINT INMY CAREER THAT I COULD JUST DISCONNECTMYSELF FROM MY BODY AND MY BODYWOULD STILL BE MAKING THE ART.”PHOTOGRAPHED, WRITTEN AND PRODUCEDCOMPLETELY BY EVAN BORMAN

He believes that respect for the earth iswhat cultivates a healthy existence. Heuses his art to express that humanity isnature, that we are interconnected withthe land we are destroying, and when weshift our relationship with the earth, wecan grow and benefit.“Nature has the ability toheal your spirit, it makesyou almost forget aboutanything. If you go up onthe mountains or into thewoods, you’re dealing withenergy; it cleanses yourenergy. There is nothingmore real than reality.”

The Nepantla exhibit explored theexperience of being in between two worldsor two cultures. What’s between thesedifferent world’s is described as a feelingof being in a liminal space and Aztectribes used the term when they were beingcolonized by the Spanish. Nepantla celebrates the intersectionalityand cross pollination of cultures, Mexican,indigenous and American. This showbrought together 36 Chicano and Latinoartists, who in their art, explore a varietyof themes to create a unique and diverseconversation that begins with creation.Nepantla lives in the traditions, politics andcomplexities of a community and theexhibition focuses on themes of identity,memory and struggle. Through thecelebration of culture and Mexican Americanhistory of Colorado and Northern NewMexico these artists are connecting throughthe conflict of existing in an undefined space. Dr. Kristin Montes is trained in art historyand anthropology, archeology and museumstudies and quoted the activist Gloria Evan’sto express Nepantla as “the space betweentwo worlds. It is a physically limited spaceand simultaneously a conceptually infiniteone. It is a space where you are not this orthat but where you are changing.”NEPANTLA

Nepantla as the space between will always exist as long as racismexist, it will not be over until racism is over, it is space between usand society around us,” Dr. George Rivera, retired art professor atUniversity Colorado Boulder“It is the cosmic birth of traveling through space and time,” Dr. Montes notedin a panel conversation at the museum. “I am in a constant nepantla state ofmind as I live in a complex society which is determined to define me in termswhich do not apply to me, yet attempt to restrict time and distance.“A group of 4th graders on a class field trip to the Nepantla Exhibit at the Museum of Art Fort Collins have their attentiongrabbed by the various paintings surrounding them from every angle while on a tour on Thursday, October 31.

Rob Riviellle, a Senior at Colorado State University studying Journalism and media shoots a photograph of acollection of paintings in the Nepantla Exhibit at the Museum of Art, Fort Collins on Thursday, October 31Jill Mott, Professor of Journalism and Photography at Colorado State University examines the youngest artist's work in the Nepantla Exhibit at theMuseum of Art, Fort Collins while Journalism student at Colorado State, Celia Khalaf examines what she will photograph.

Written, Photographed and Edited by Evan BormanI am currently a Sophomore at the University of Colorado State workingtowards a double major in Journalism and Creative Writing. I have lots ofdifferent experience with forms of writing including, news writing,creative non-fiction, philosophy, poetry and other forms of journalism. Igrew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and spent a lot of my life onMountain Island Lake, playing sports like basketball and baseball andlearning and teaching water sports such as wakeboarding and wakesurfing. You can see from my page my experience in photography,videography, photoshop and digital editing. These days you can find me inFort Collins, Colorado developing my craft as a writer, journalist andmedia expressionist.

Photography by Jin Ae SooArtist Spotlight:David OcelotlGarciaTwo of David Garcia’s sculptures sit in peace in his art studio in Denver, Colorado expressing the primitive nature of humanitythat people so often overlook and try to forget.

I N S P I R A T I O NA N D Y O U T HAt the age of 11, a switch turned onin his brain and a spark ignitedfrom his soul. David’s influencesprung from his father's creativity,who he describes as a folk artistwith his own style of creating, usingwhatever materials were lyingaround. The light of his father'senergy expanded and illuminatedDavid and his siblings with art. D avid Ocelotl Garcia touchedthe face of the earth in 1977 in Denver, Colorado and today, theRocky Mountains is still his home. “My father always had books hewould buy at the thrift store thathad a lot of what they call pre-Columbian artifacts. He wasfascinated by archeology and a lot ofthe books were NationalGeographics’,” David expressed, “Iwas always looking at things,especially tribal pictographs fromMexico and Mayan designs... Theygrabbed my intuition.”

David Ocelotl Garcia recollects on the sculptures he has made and are in the process of being shaped, expressing the various techniques andstages that go into the artform and his unique practices.8David has a Mexican heritage and was deeply influenced bythe intricate Mayan designs that were almost abstract, thatwould make him think to himself, “what the hell’s going on?”He became a magnet; it was like he was suddenly wearing ahelmet that directed him towards a new world of experienceand expression. While today, you can follow an artist or creator on socialmedia, as a kid, David would literally follow artists around thecity to learn from them. He was a seed sprouting from hisenvironment, growing from the light of expression in hiscommunity and beginning to find his own colors. He began todraw life and create water-based sculptures at a young age. “I didn’t grow up in France, in the middle of whatever artmovement. I grew up in Denver, in Park Hill. It was a prettyrough neighborhood; we didn’t have too much art around us.”

Here, you can place a caption for the photo. It can be ashort description or it can credit the production team. 12The first steps of a larger painting in the process of being created by DavidOcelotl Garcia at his studio in Denver, Colorado

David never had an opportunity to go to artschool, and created visual art with spontaneity. Itwas all feeling, and as he became attuned withhow he felt, he found his only teacher, his soul. “There was certainly no damn YouTube, youcouldn’t be like, ‘how do you draw?’ Nothing waslike that in my reality, and it was all instinct, itwas like destiny or something,” David said. As he got older, he began learning more aboutart and discovering that there were all these artmovements and styles of art in the world. But hisstyle was his own, he wasn’t influenced byanything that already existed, he wasn’t trying tobe anything, his art was individualistic. To be able to talk about your style, you need aname for it, a language to express the depths ofindividuation. David recognized that his workwas similar to the abstract and impressionistartists and in order to share his philosophy ofcreation, he created—

ABSTRACT IMAGINISM“Art is about feeling,”David Ocelotl Garcia.The first steps of a larger painting in the process of being created by David Ocelotl Garcia at his studio inDenver, Colorado captured on Wednesday, October 30,2024.

training your hand. He stressedthe importance of studyingtechnique, not from someone elsebut by looking within, by studyingyour way of creating, beinginspired by nature and theenvironment. avid’s art has its ownphilosophy that’s focusedaround mindset and DDavid wanted to capture thetrue shape of the natural world,while not being constrained bythe limitations of a perceivableimagination. He decided that ifhe were to combineimagination with feelings, hecould express the meaning inhis work with a deeper truth ofhis experience“Art is about feelings, I loveabstract because you are allfeeling, whatever, doesn’t matter.There doesn’t have to be anythingreal. People are obsessed withreality, they want to mimic reality.In my mind, I have actual images,like people or animals, and I cansee them pretty good in my head,but even in my head, they’re notreal,” David said.David Ocelotl Garcia moves across his art studio in Denver, Colorado where beauty springs from the chaos, where ideas andemotions combine with the physical matter.