The UTRGV School of Art hosted Carlos Limas’ Master of Fine Art Final Exhibition, “Stoic States,” which showcased various photographs of buildings, encouraging the viewer to go in and explore them.
“It’s an invitation for the viewer to explore an image,” said Limas, who is in the design photography program. “I’m leaving a lot of space, maybe negative space, but the idea is to have a kind of connection. The large format works almost like a door to get into.”
Limas describes his photography as not déjà vu, where one is in a specific place in which something has happened, but having a connection with it.
“It’s weird because in general, they’re open spaces, empty spaces, and they could be, like, nice, but then there are other spaces that are in decay, and there is something about it that I relate to,” he said.
Lory Balquinta, a senior majoring in graphic design and psychology, said her favorite photograph was “Rio Grande City,” a diptych depicting two different buildings.
“I like the aesthetic, the grunge look,” Balquinta said.
She said one of the buildings in the diptych reminded her of when she was young and would sneak into abandoned, torn-down houses for fun.
Even though it is an image of empty space, Limas wants the viewer to go into detail with the photograph, connect with and see what’s special about it.
“So, those spaces that are generally invisible to us because we just drive through them, they become visible because you’re taking them in a different context, in a different place,” Limas said.
Asked what his favorite photograph is, the artist replied, “I think they’re all special; they just kind of connect with [the open spaces] in a different moment, with different emotions, but they all are important.”
Jaden De Jesus, a graphic design sophomore, described in detail what he saw on the diptych “Rio Grande City,” and said it looked very chaotic and almost tragic.
“I thought it was something like a fire, and I was imagining people running out and having to jump over the fence,” De Jesus said.
Danna Zapata, also a graphic design sophomore, similarly described “Rio Grande City” with a dark image.
“I can almost see, like, there’s a story of a family there, and it’s just not there anymore,” Zapata said. “I see the ghost of the family.”
“Stoic States” will be on display until Oct. 31 at the UTRGV Visual Arts Building located at 2412 U.S. Hwy. 281 in Edinburg. Admission is free.
