Dougie Padilla
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Dougie Padilla | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 28, 1948 |
| Occupation(s) | Poet, multimedia visual artist, and activist |
Dougie Padilla (born July 28, 1948)[1] is a Chicano poet, multimedia visual artist, and activist of Norwegian and Mexican descent.[2] He works in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Pepin,Wisconsin.[3] Padilla is self-taught in visual art. He has worked with the traveling art collective Grupo Soap del Corazón and is a founder of Art-A-Whirl,[4][5] which has been described as the largest open-studio tour in America.[6]
Early life
[edit] | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2023) |
Padilla was born on July 28, 1948, in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He was taught music by his mother and became a proficient piano and French horn player.[7]
Identifying with his Mexican heritage, Padilla traveled across the United States before attending Lake Forest College, where he studied for two years and became involved in activism through marches, picketing, and protests. During this time, he connected with Chicano poet and activist Corky Gonzales and other Chicano leaders. In the late 1960s, he trained with Reies Tijerina’s Alianza in New Mexico, furthering his involvement in the Chicano movement.[6]
In 1968, Padilla moved to California, where he became involved in the counterculture movement of San Francisco and Berkeley. He studied spirituality under figures such as Ram Das,[8] Swami Muktananda, and Suzuki Roshi. Following his first heart failure at the age of 20, Padilla’s interest in spirituality deepened.[7]
During the late 1970s, Padilla collaborated with poet and activist Robert Bly, who became a mentor to him. Together, they helped establish the mythopoetic men’s movement, which aimed to explore masculinity through myth, poetry, and personal growth.[7]
Artistic inspiration and style
[edit]Mexican influence is present throughout Padilla's art, which has evolved through multiple phases.[8] He began with music and poetry as a youth, then moved to mask making and drawing, before transitioning to painting, ceramics, and printmaking.[9]
By 1992, he began incorporating ritual themes into his artwork.[10] Padilla was influenced by the Mexican tradition of Día de Los Muertos[11] (Day of the Dead) and the making of ofrendas.[12] His work related to the Day of the Dead draws inspiration from his past ritual practice with Native American and African medicine men. His focus on ritualistic works deepened following his father's death in 1992. His visual artworks often contain images of Mexican-style calaveras, or skulls, reflecting his appreciation for the traditional Mexican relationship with death. He has said that his representation of skulls signals joy and creates a connection between this world and the spirit world.[7]
Major works
[edit]Grupo Soap del Corazón
[edit]In 2000, Padilla and Xavier Tavera co-created the community art group Grupo Soap del Corazón, which aimed to further the “Latinization of Minnesota and the upper Midwest of the USA.” The group includes artists from various ethnic backgrounds and origins: Latinx, Native American, African, and Euro-American.[13][14] The collective is mobile and focuses on artwork that is easily transported and translated into different community contexts. As of 2024, they represent almost 90 local, national, and international artists.[15]
In 2006, the group showcased two exhibitions in Valparaiso, Chile, including “El Otro Americano (The Other American)” at El Instituto Chileno Norteamericano de Cultura.[15] The exhibition aimed to foster connections across identities and cultures and support relationships among North and South Americans. Locally, the group has worked on the “Pepin Portrait Project,”[16] photographing residents of rural Pepin, Wisconsin.[6] In 2021, Grupo Soap del Corazón published a zine, “Fabulista 2,” featuring political cartoons and poetry by Padilla along with the work of other artists in the collective. This zine features themes related to the struggles of Chicanxs and Latinxs and addresses the political uprising of the summer of 2020.[17]
In 2024, Tavera and Padilla, alongside the Grupo Soap del Corazón, curated an exhibit with fifteen Latinx visual artists at the Minnesota Museum of American Art. The exhibit, "Hilo de la Sangre" (Thread of the Blood), featured topics such as blood as the "foundation of life," complex lineage, and the cultural symbols of sacrifice and atonement.[13]
Poetry
[edit]Padilla returned to poetry in 2019, publishing River Town[18] and Pepin Diaries[19] with Luna Brava Press.
Personal life
[edit]As of 2021[update], Padilla lives in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District, which he co-created, and commutes to his studio, Dougieland Pepin, in Pepin.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ "Dougie Padilla". ProjekTraum FN.
- ^ "Dougie Padilla". Clay Squared to Infinity.
- ^ "Doug Padilla's Art Studio". Atlas Obscura.
- ^ "Dougie Padilla". Star Tribune. 2013-01-14.
- ^ Meet Minneapolis (2010-05-17). Doug Padilla on the Origins of Art-A-Whirl. Retrieved 2025-01-08 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b c "Dougie Padilla". Latino Art Midwest. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
- ^ a b c d "Dougie Padilla". Twin Cities PBS. 2013-06-01. Retrieved 2021-08-25.
- ^ a b Kronsberg, Matthew (2019-08-09). "A Road Trip With Retro Charm—and a Car to Match". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660.
- ^ "320: Dougie Padilla." WEDU Arts Plus, Season 3, Episode 20, PBS NC, 2014-07-03.
- ^ Harper, Nick (September 2019). "Solo Exhibition for Art Legend – Northeast Minneapolis Arts District". Art District News.
- ^ Nelson, Rick (2013-10-31). "Restaurant news: Chef Shack and more". Star Tribune.
- ^ Tundel, Nikki (2012-01-17). "Artist Dougie Padilla creates loud pieces through meditation". MPR News.
- ^ a b "Hilo de la Sangre (Thread of the Blood) – Minnesota Museum of American Art". Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ "Things To Do in Minneapolis and around the Twin Cities". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ a b "ArtOrg : Grupo Soap Del Corazón". ArtOrg. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
- ^ Olson, Mark (2018-05-29). "New exhibit at Sower Gallery". SWNewsMedia.
- ^ Grupo Soap del Corazón (2021). "Fabulista Final". calameo.com.
- ^ Padilla, Dougie (2020). River Town. Wisconsin: Luna Brava Press.
- ^ Padilla, Dougie (2019). Pepin Diaries. Wisconsin: Luna Brava Press.
- ^ "Dougieland Studios". TravelWisconsin. Retrieved 2021-04-14.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1948 births
- American people of Norwegian descent
- American poets of Mexican descent
- American artists of Mexican descent
- Artists from Minneapolis
- People from Pepin, Wisconsin
- Artists from Iowa
- People from St. Louis Park, Minnesota
- Men's movement in the United States
- Activists from Minnesota
- American activists of Mexican descent
- American anti–Vietnam War activists
- Poets from Minnesota
- Living people