Featured Exhibit

We are pleased to present Rony Armas, Our Stories are Ancient.  In this ongoing photography series Armas explores how the symbols of our ancestors' indigenous roots add to the richness of our individual contemporary stories.  

 

This photographic series began in 2009, initiated in collaboration with friends, family, coworkers, and notable personalities. Over the course of sixteen years, his intention has been to explore indigenous roots through native symbols and design. Each image represents a collaborative effort, allowing him—as the photographer—to both satisfy his own cultural curiosity and express deep reverence for the richness of each subject’s story.

 

The individuals who participate in the series bring their lived experiences to the frame, as seen through their eyes, skin, lips, and hair. Their faces serve as time capsules, preserving the legacy of those who came before them while offering a unique contribution for future generations to learn from and build upon. Every portrait begins with a symbol, and as the viewer looks beyond this symbol—through the metaphorical pane of glass—the person is revealed: a product of timeless experience. The series seeks to honor and celebrate the vast diversity of humanity and to inspire pride in our collective ancestral heritage. Some notable faces in the series include Latin jazz legend Pete Escovedo, Hollywood executive producer Moctesuma Esparza, and poet laureate and prolific author Luis J. Rodriguez. All three are legends in the Chicano movement and pioneers in the music, publishing, and entertainment industries.

 

I have always been entranced by the human face and the stories embedded in every laugh line, forehead wrinkle, or scar. The chasm of experience in a person's eyes holds the ecstasy and angst, the vibrance and exhaustion, and the past, present, and future. More than happiness, more than passion, we must strive to find and express our truest potential rooted in the generations of ancestors that came before, imbuing us with all their knowledge and love.

 

Our histories are rich, our stories are ancient. Before there was nationalism or colonization there was community, family, art, music, and poetry. There were indigenous peoples and a connection with mother nature. In this digitally connected world, where we have the accumulated knowledge of humanity in our pockets and fingertips, we are somehow more disconnected than ever before, severed from each other by technology.

 

This series serves as a small reminder of where we came from and who we are, and our varied cultures. Sharing the pangs and triumphs and the beauty of our ancestors that has been dormant, awakened here in an image, for a moment. Getting in touch with our roots is such an important part of discovering and creating our identity. We are the accumulation of hundreds of generations, thousands of decisions, and millions of serendipitous yet fortuitous events. This is a series paying homage to all those who came before us and that live within us.

 

A Los Angeles native, Rony Armas is a self-taught photographer who has pursued art, design, and videography as related fields. Rony began with an interest in documenting the world around him and soon discovered, through the influence of many wonderful people, that his interest could be furthered as an artistic and commercial medium. The need to tell a story or evoke a feeling has been the driving force behind his work and is demonstrated in the diversity of his work from editorial to music to fine art photography. He is inspired by collaborations and admires other artists and their art forms. As a practicing professional, Mr. Armas has worked as an independent contractor in photography for 23 years, in graphic design for 20 years, in art direction for 13 years, and in video for 13 years.