Source: WTL digital photo of canvas in "Imagining of Place" art exhibition at Santa Fe College, 2009.
Permission: Nereida García Ferraz's email to WTL March 2, 2009.
Image: "Punishment;" oil on canvas; 40" x 60."
Comments: Continuing the arrangement of the artist's works by theme, here we see a large canvas with a human figure as the focal point. Superficially speaking, in this painting there do not seem to be any devices we normally think of as being used to inflict punishment. On the contrary, the main symbol seems to be the figure's dunce cap (dunce's cap, or hat). A close-up inspection of the original canvas shows that the circles that "dot" the canvas appear to be eyes.
Humanities Questions: (A) In what context is the central figure placed? (B) What "feel" or symbolism does the color orange convey? (C) How do you react to or interpret the orange band or ribbon that seems to frame the central figure? (D) Can you make out what is depicted below the central figure's feet? (E) Is there anything notably Latin American or Cuban about this painting? Or does it seem more universal?