Filed under: Selections from the Piazza archive | Tags: dedication, Elizam Escobar, poetry, puerto rico
The first stanza of Dedicated To, a poem by Elizam Escobar:
I dedicate this poem to dedication
and to those who dedicate their works to others.
Dedicated to the day and the night
to the hours that pass and those who laugh at us.
Dedicado a…
Dedico esta poema a la dedicacion
y a los que dedican sus obras a otros.
Dedicado al dia y a la noche
a las horas que pasan y a las que rien do nosotros.
This was the first page I turned to in the Piazza archives. It’s dated 1980.
Born in Puerto Rico, Escobar was arrested in 1980 and tried and jailed on charges of seditious conspiracy. He and 10 others were accused of being members of the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation and plotting bombings. He served time in an Oklahoma prison, continuing to write and make artwork during that time. Axe St. Arena, Piazza and co.’s gallery / gathering space in Logan Square, exhibited his work and apparently maintained a close relationship with Escobar during this time. Piazza’s archives are filled with Escobar’s exhibition postcards, writings and letters.
Escobar was given clemency in 1999 by President Clinton. He is one of Puerto Rico’s most well-known artists and teaches painting at the School of Fine Arts in San Juan. Shortly after Piazza’s death in April 2006, Escobar dedicated his solo show at Polvo to Piazza.
2 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Industrial Harvest 
I’ll be in Chicago next June for an exhibition on the 11……..maybe we can talk….my best, elizam….my e-mail: elizam.escobar@gmail.com, abrazos……..
Comment by Elizam Escobar March 21, 2010 @ 3:05 pmThanks Elizam, I’ll get in touch! You are an inspiration.
Comment by sarah kavage March 21, 2010 @ 3:40 pm