FREDY VANEGAS RAMOS CODE: 20141165066

INTRODUCTION

Carlos Jacanamijoy, the son of a shaman, is the first Colombian artist from an indigenous
background to win international recognition, and the first minga indigenous in obtain a
degree in arts from Universidad Nacional. Gifted with an extraordinary skill in the use of
oil on canvas. The pictures are known for being abstract. By the way, his pictures are full of
color, reflections, and movement; it is evident that Jacanamijoy’s original works embrace
both nature and the heritage of his ancestors.

INTESECCIÓN

Interseccion, the latest Jacanamijoy’s exposition in which he wants to express essential

questions as "who I am" and "how identity, for anyone, is in the past.” The work consist of
a series of paintings (oil on canvas) which express and shows nature and abstractions. This
work also reflects the experience of cultural intersection and biological that Jacanamijoy
has gone through all his life. Those experiences reflect the transformation and process of
adapting to a culture and a country in which racism is rampant.

CULTURE

Taking into account the definition of culture as “the learned behaviors, attitudes, values and
beliefs generally shared by the members of a group” and the cultural patterns described by
Carol and Melvin Ember, we can link this to social beliefs. Culture is reflected on this
exposition in the depths of Colombian jungle, Putumayo a remote town in the Colombian
Andes where the indigenous known as The Inga people are an indigenous ethnic group
grew up as part of the Quechua-speaking Inga tribe, Inga people still survive but they are in
danger.

The traditions attached to this ethnic group are related to shamanism pointing out two
important aspects from two cultures; Inga culture and Western culture. Those ancestral
knowledge own by shamans seen from a Western point of view is very exotic, even is seen
as a belief. It so interesting that nowadays the Western world is looking at other cultures,
which have brought beautiful things to the world, in a very different way. Jacanamijoy the
son of a shaman grew up in a mixture of both worlds. This artist merges with the Western
belief, which thinks of the artist as a spear point that creates and helps to break down
barriers and opening up new paths. In addition, the indigenous culture is undervalued and
people within western culture underestimate the practices of their people. However,
Colombia being a multicultural country is attached to people from different races and
ethnics but despite the diversity of our country indigenous people is almost disappearing as
well as their traditions.

SOCIETY

The aspects of society presented by Jacanamijoy are multiple. Aspects such as Colombian
context and the way it develops nowadays is key to reinforce the idea of “racism” in this
country. Jacanamicoy suffered constantly insults and mockery from kids in school, even the
priest made the indigenous kids pray twice.

Although, even in Europe Jacanamijoy was discriminated and deported, those behaviors
show the lack of tolerance around the world and at some point the level of ignorance or
even the fear that most people have towards the thing they do not know. The Western world
has always stereotyped the indigenous people. They have always been seen as pre-modern,
illiterate, archaic, underestimated, there is this whole concept of primitivism.

Jacanamijoy being educated in a Western academic environment, his cultural hybridity

gives him access to two completely different world perspectives which have blossom a
great interest in the contrasts and hierarchies within society, and a real use of understanding
about how humans relate to each other. 

LANGUAGE

Quechua also known as runa simi ("people's language"), is an indigenous language

family spoken primarily in the Andes of South America. Derived from a common ancestral
language, it is the most widely spoken language family of indigenous peoples of the
Americas, with probably some 8–10 million speakers. It is perhaps most widely known for
being the main language of the Inca Empire.
This language of course have influenced Jacanamijoy’s work in which reflects the aspects
of his culture and have a direct impact on what the author want to express and show part of
his heritage and share it with the world.

EVIDENCE