Physio-Psycho-Alchemy, De-construction ritualization & Dr. Raphael M. Ortiz

From experiencing one's own Hell only to spiral up and be released into Heaven, to frontal lobes, 40 hertz, lucid intellectualism, aboriginal subjectivity and the scientific verification of the objective nature of applied color theory...I had quite a conversation with Professor Raphael M. Ortiz this afternoon. The video footage will go into the edit room and be released on one of the upcoming Rose Circle DVDs.

His artwork is not the direct result of any particular school or approach other than his own, but the episcopate grimoire circles seem reminiscent of Martinez de Pasqually. Still, Raphael's initiatory path appears to be solitary despite his parents active participation at the little red lodge in Hell's Kitchen. His deconstructive path to reintegration is quite complex, and he can certainly back it up in dialogue. His work in recent years is of a Christian Kabbalist bent with Aramaic script and depictions of both the light and the shadows.

Prof. Raphael Montañez Ortiz was born to Puerto Rican Parents in Williamsburg Brooklyn, later moving to LES and finally to El Barrio in Spanish Harlem. His parents own esoteric leanings later would influence his work in both holistic healing & kabbalistic art, Dr. Raphael Ortiz founded and was the first director of the El Museo Del Barrio in New York in 1969. His sculptures are included in many museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art, where he has twice been included in the Whitney Biennial. He has created mixed-media ritual performances and installations for museums and galleries in Europe and Canada and throughout the United States. His computer- laser-video works are in numerous museum collections, including the Ludwai Museum in Cologne, Germany, and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France. His video, Dance Number 22, won the Gran Prix at the 1993 Locarno International Video Festival of Switzerland.

He is currently showing at:

Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ, The ICA-Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, The MoMA at El Museo. Latin American and Caribbean Art from the Collection of the El Museo del Barrio, New York City, NY, the Ubu Gallery, New York City, NY, the Mitchell Algus Gallery, New York City, NY & in the Netherlands at the Netherlands Media Art Institute - Time Based Arts, Amsterdam