Inauguración del Centro de Bellas Artes Alejandro Cruz Ortiz
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
26 marzo a 26 junio 1998
Exposición—Obras de A. Vonn Hartung
2021 Visión: Paisajes de Nuestra Tierra
Estas obras representan para mí la transmisión de una visión artística, una visión que va desarrollándose, que yo experimento en el cosmos en comunión espiritual con la cultura y la vida natural con mis vecinos.
El arte me define la puerta a esta profunda realidad: en un mundo que se mueve con demasiada rapidez, el arte es el mecanismo que nos desacelera, la luz que nos dirige, el punto que da equilibrio a nuestra estabilidad. En un mundo de ciencia enajenante y tecnología efímera, es nuestro vínculo íntimo con nuestro Creador.
Lo que me interesa es la belleza y sus tensiones: la libre caída del movimiento, los aspectos pasajeros de lo permanente, la verdad total de la cual carecemos, nuestro extraño danzar con la oscuridad, nuestro anhelo por la luz, y nuestra capacidad de fe. Lo que exploro aquí es esa belleza y sus tensiones, sus balances, sus cualidades conocidas y desconocidas. Para mí, el arte es un acto de salvación.
These works represent to me the transmission of an artistic vision. This vision is unfolding, one I experience in the cosmos through spiritual communion with the culture and natural life of my neighbors.
Art defines for me the gateway to this deeper reality: in a world that moves too fast, it is our braking mechanism, the searchlight of our direction, the balance point of our stability. In a world of detached science and ephemeral technology, it is our intimate link with our Creator.
It is beauty and its tensions that interest me: the free-falling part of motion, the fleeting aspects of permanence, the completeness of truth which we lack, our curious dance with darkness, our longing for light, and our capacity for faith. I am exploring here that beauty and its tension, its balances, its known and unknown qualities. For me, art is an act of salvation.
Portrait painting is (for me) a deep spiritual experience, a prayerful endeavor. In and through the physical characteristics of the person being painted is a map guiding me through and beyond emotions to where the soul of the person lives. Here I coax the soul out, so to speak, with whispers and fleeting glimpses of compassion, intuition, and something mystical. This hopefully endows the finished image with a FEELING of who the person being painted IS. I always speak in the present tense of portraits because they have a soul, and the soul always lives and is present. AVH
Pintar retratos es (para mí) una profunda experiencia espiritual, una labor de oración. En y a través de las características físicas de la persona pintada hay un mapa que me guía a través y más allá de las emociones, hacia donde vive el alma de la persona. Aquí, por así decirlo, saco el alma a relucir con susurros y destellos fugaces de compasión, intuición y algo místico. Espero que esto le dé a la imagen final una SENSACIÓN de quién ES la persona retratada. Siempre hablo en presente de los retratos porque tienen alma, y el alma siempre vive y está presente. AVH
Una obra definitoria llegó en el año 2001 cuando el Arzobispo de San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monseñor Roberto González Nieves, O.F.M., me encargó pintar el retrato oficial del primer Beato de Puerto Rico, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago. Se encuentra colgado en el Salón de los Santos del Pontificio Colegio Norteamericano del Vaticano.
“Peace in the Valley” is a mountaintop view of Puerto Rico, looking North towards the Atlantic Ocean; a section of San Juan is visible in the distance at the upper left, and a cement quarry to the right. Snuggled in the middle is a valley farm with its silos and farmhouse in one of the various pastures protected by the surrounding hills.
Two small villages populate this pastoral scene. The beautiful fiery reds of Flamboyans and the passionate purples of the Reina de las Flores trees complete a typical landscape just a short distance inland from the sparkling beaches of Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s topography is characterized by three main regions: a central mountainous backbone (the Cordillera Central), extensive coastal plains, and a unique northern karst region with dramatic limestone features. The island is primarily hilly and mountainous, with Cerro de Punta being the highest peak. It features diverse landscapes, including a trench to its north, sandy beaches, mangrove swamps, and smaller offshore islands.
Puerto Rico lies at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates. This means that it is currently being deformed by the tectonic stresses caused by the interaction of these plates.
Lying about 75 miles north of Puerto Rico in the Atlantic Ocean at the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates is the Puerto Rico Trench, the largest and deepest trench in the Atlantic.
The trench is 1,090 miles long and about 60 miles wide. At its deepest point, known as the Milwaukee Depth, it is 27,493 feet deep, or about 5.21 miles.
The story behind the painting
This is an oil painting (14 x 22 inches) I did from my neighbor’s balcony, two houses from ours, looking down into the valley. You can see the Atlantic Ocean in the far distance. The farm that you see in the center is named Finca Elena, meaning Elena’s Farm, and it has now been developed into half-million-dollar homes. The pyramid-like excavation visible to the upper right is an ongoing quarry where they pulverize the rock to produce cement.
At the time I painted the picture, we were struggling against a waste management company called BFI (Browning-Ferris Industries), which wanted to convert the farm into a regional landfill.
Patty and I had just started building our house, and we only had the floor laid down, with no walls yet; the first painting I did in it was on the floor.
I printed a huge banner, “No se Rinde! Cero Basurero BFI (Don’t Give up! Zero dump BFI) for the fight against BFI. This is how we met all our neighbors, in a struggle that lasted over 1 ½ years.
BFI tried to make us look minor and incompetent, brought in scientists from other parts of the world, France, the UK, and one guy even wore a turban. Our defense was a logical one, given the presence of seven natural springs in the valley, which is the origin of the Guaynabo River. Their defense was that they proposed lining the entire valley with rubber.
We finally prevailed, and now it is filling up with half-million-dollar homes.
This was the theme song of our struggle against BFI. It was blasted from loudspeakers mounted on the lead car during every protest event.
Peace in the Valley es una vista de la cima de una montaña de Puerto Rico, mirando al norte hacia el Océano Atlántico; una sección de San Juan es visible en la distancia en la parte superior izquierda y una cantera de cemento a la derecha. Acurrucada en el medio hay una granja en el valle con sus silos y una casa de campo en uno de los varios pastos protegidos por las colinas circundantes.
Dos pequeños pueblos pueblan esta escena pastoral. Los hermosos rojos ardientes de los Flamboyanes y los apasionados púrpuras de los árboles Reina de las Flores completan un paisaje típico a poca distancia tierra adentro de las resplandecientes playas de Puerto Rico.
La topografía de Puerto Rico se caracteriza por tres regiones principales: una cordillera montañosa central (la Cordillera Central), amplias llanuras costeras y una singular región kárstica en el norte, con impresionantes formaciones de piedra caliza. La isla es principalmente montañosa, siendo el Cerro de Punta el pico más alto. Presenta diversos paisajes, incluidos una fosa al norte, playas de arena, manglares e islas más pequeñas en alta mar.
Puerto Rico se encuentra en la zona de contacto entre la placa del Caribe y la placa norteamericana. Esto significa que actualmente está siendo deformada por las tensiones tectónicas provocadas por la interacción de estas placas.
Ubicada a unas 75 millas al norte de Puerto Rico en el océano Atlántico, en el límite entre las placas del Caribe y América del Norte, se encuentra la Fosa de Puerto Rico, la fosa más grande y profunda del Atlántico.
La fosa tiene 1.090 millas de largo y aproximadamente 60 millas de ancho. En su punto más profundo, conocido como la profundidad de Milwaukee, tiene una profundidad de 27.493 pies, o aproximadamente 5,21 millas.
La historia detrás de la pintura
Esta es una pintura al óleo (14 x 22 pulgadas) que pinté desde el balcón de mi vecino, a dos casas de la nuestra, con vistas al valle. Se puede ver el océano Atlántico a lo lejos. La finca que se ve en el centro se llama Finca Elena, y ahora se ha convertido en casas de medio millón de dólares. La excavación en forma de pirámide, visible arriba a la derecha, es una cantera en funcionamiento donde pulverizan la roca para producir cemento.
En el momento en que pinté el cuadro, estábamos luchando contra una empresa de gestión de residuos llamada BFI (Browning-Ferris Industries), que quería convertir la granja en un vertedero regional.
Patty y yo acabábamos de empezar a construir nuestra casa, y solo teníamos el suelo, sin paredes; El primer cuadro que hice allí fue en el suelo.
Imprimí una pancarta enorme: “¡No se rinde! Cero Basurero BFI, para la lucha contra el BFI. Así conocimos a todos nuestros vecinos, en una lucha que duró más de un año y medio.
El BFI intentó hacernos quedar como insignificantes e incompetentes, trajo científicos de otras partes del mundo, Francia, el Reino Unido, y un hombre incluso llevaba turbante. Nuestra defensa era lógica, ya que había siete manantiales naturales en el valle, y este valle es el origen del río Guaynabo. Su defensa fue que proponían revestir todo el valle con caucho.
Finalmente prevalecimos, y ahora se está llenando de casas de medio millón de dólares.
Esta fue la canción principal de nuestra lucha contra el BFI. Se escuchaba a todo volumen desde los altavoces del carro de adelante durante cada acto de protesta.
I painted this work the afternoon that Hurricane Hugo was approaching Puerto Rico. I painted until the wind blew the painting off my easel a second time. It was a horrendous hurricane that completely wiped out all the trees. You can see the mountain El Yunque in the distance, where the Taino Indians believed their gods lived and protected the island from hurricanes. It is one of the most visited tourist sites in Puerto Rico.
Located in Puerto Rico’s Northeast Region, El Yunque National Forest is the only tropical rainforest within the national forest system. It extends through eight municipalities: Río Grande, Luquillo, Canóvanas, Fajardo, Naguabo, Ceiba, Las Piedras and Juncos. At nearly 29,000 acres, it is one of the smallest in size, yet one of the most biologically diverse.
Ample rainfall (over 20 feet a year in some areas, or an average of 120 inches of water up to 240 inches of water a year) creates a jungle-like setting—lush foliage, crags, waterfalls, and rivers are a frequent sight. The forest has many trails from which the jungle-like territory’s flora and fauna can be appreciated. El Yunque forest is also renowned for its unique Taíno petroglyphs. It is said that indigenous people believed that El Yunque was the throne of their chief god Yúcahu, so that it is the Caribbean equivalent to Mount Olympus in Greek mythology.
The forest is home to over 200 species of trees and plants, 16 of which are endemic to the forest.
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Español
El Yunque, protector de huracanes
Pinté esta obra la tarde en que el huracán Hugo se acercaba a la isla. Pinté hasta que el viento sopló la pintura de mi caballete por segunda vez. Fue un huracán horrible y arrasó por completo con todos los árboles. Puedes ver la montaña El Yunque a lo lejos, donde los indios taínos creían que sus dioses vivían y protegían la isla de los huracanes. Es uno de los sitios turísticos más visitados de Puerto Rico.
Ubicado en la Región Noreste de Puerto Rico, el Bosque Nacional El Yunque es el único bosque tropical lluvioso dentro del sistema forestal nacional. Se extiende por ocho municipios: Río Grande, Luquillo, Canóvanas, Fajardo, Naguabo, Ceiba, Las Piedras y Juncos. Con casi 29.000 acres, es uno de los más pequeños en tamaño, pero uno de los de mayor diversidad biológica.
Las abundantes precipitaciones (más de 20 pies al año en algunas zonas, o un promedio de 120 pulgadas de agua hasta 240 pulgadas de agua al año) crean un entorno similar a una jungla: follaje exuberante, riscos, cascadas y ríos son una vista frecuente. El bosque cuenta con numerosos senderos que permiten apreciar la flora y fauna de este territorio tropical. El bosque de El Yunque también es famoso por sus singulares petroglifos taínos. Se dice que los indígenas creían que El Yunque era el trono de su dios principal, Yúcahu, por lo que podría considerarse el equivalente caribeño del Monte Olimpo en la mitología griega.
El bosque alberga más de 200 especies de árboles y plantas, de las cuales 16 son endémicas de esta zona.
The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants, for they have transgressed laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Isa 24:5
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La tierra ha sido profanada por los pies de sus habitantes que pasaron por alto las leyes, violaron los mandamientos y no cumplieron el contrato Eterno. (Isa 24:5)
A.Vonn Hartung designed this poster for an ecumenical conference on the environment organized by the Catholic Commission on Justice and Peace in Puerto Rico on Earth Day 1993. The poster is interactive. Hence, the participants who purchased the posters received crayons. Proceeds went to the Faith-based environmental movement.
It depicts St. Francis giving thanks for Creation, but he stands in a semi-polluted world.
The scripture reading is from Isaiah 24:5 (“The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant”).
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A. Vonn Hartung diseñó este cartel para una conferencia ecuménica sobre el medio ambiente organizada por la Comisión Católica de Justicia y Paz en Puerto Rico el Día de la Tierra de 1993. El cartel es interactivo. Por lo tanto, los participantes que lo compraron recibieron crayones. Lo recaudado se destinó al movimiento ambientalista basado en la fe.
Representa a San Francisco dando gracias por la creación, pero se encuentra en un mundo semicontaminado.
La lectura bíblica es de Isaías 24:5 (“La tierra también está contaminada por sus habitantes, porque transgredieron las leyes, violaron los estatutos, quebrantaron el pacto eterno”).
“Latter-Day Jonah” is a concept, that is, a drawing with a paste-on image of planet Earth. It highlights the crisis we face due to climate change, which is a result of the overuse of carbon in our energy consumption. Furthermore, it highlights the unsustainable development that is taking place because of our predatory economic system. In fact, the technology that we have developed is so powerful that it is threatening to destroy the natural balance of God’s creation.
The threat we witness in the drawing is twofold: the terrestrial devastation caused by the power of the bulldozer and the crisis we face with overfishing and ocean pollution. Here, we see a young fisherman being swallowed, like Jonah, by a giant fish. This is symbolic of the Awakening of consciousness that we, as a species, are experiencing as scientific data is revealed to us.
This drawing can be considered a self-portrait in some ways. Indeed, I recall becoming aware of the crisis that humanity faces as we peer into and contemplate our future.
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“Jonás de los Últimos Días” es un concepto, es decir, un dibujo con una imagen del planeta Tierra pegada. Destaca la crisis que enfrentamos debido al cambio climático, resultado del uso excesivo de carbono en nuestro consumo energético. Además, destaca el desarrollo insostenible que se está produciendo debido a nuestro sistema económico depredador. De hecho, la tecnología que hemos desarrollado es tan poderosa que amenaza con destruir el equilibrio natural de la creación de Dios.
La amenaza que presenciamos en el dibujo es doble: la devastación terrestre causada por el poder de las excavadoras y la crisis que enfrentamos con la sobrepesca y la contaminación de los océanos. Aquí, vemos a un joven pescador siendo tragado, como Jonás, por un pez gigante. Esto simboliza el despertar de la conciencia que nosotros, como especie, estamos experimentando a medida que se nos revelan datos científicos.
Este dibujo puede considerarse un autorretrato en cierto modo. De hecho, recuerdo haber tomado conciencia de la crisis que enfrenta la humanidad al mirar y contemplar nuestro futuro.
As I prepare to travel to my high school reunion, the image which completely dominates my mind’s eye is Francis X Sweeney, an iconic figure in my life and in the lives of generations of students in Waterford, Connecticut.
Francis X Sweeney (circa 1960)
“Fran Sweeney has been the face of athletics in Waterford, Connecticut from an education perspective, for 60 plus years. He was truly the originator of the athletic program. Every sport that came about, he would have his hand in setting it up for the school.” (Dan Steward, First Selectman)
A native of Maine, Mr. Sweeney began teaching physical education in Waterford in 1951. When the high school opened in 1956, he became the first athletic director, and also taught math, science and health. He coached nearly every sport and doubled as a trainer, lifeguard and swimming instructor. A father of six and devoted husband to Betty Cragin Sweeney, he was insistent on having as many sports for women as men. He was committed to Waterford, becoming a member of both the Boards of Education and the Waterford Recreation and Parks Committee.
When finally retiring after 28 years of teaching and coaching, he began a new career in nursing and sports medicine which earned him the honorable title of “Doc” and all this while still coaching at Connecticut College and officiating softball. He fulfilled his own motto “Do your best!”
You didn’t have to be an athlete to be in Fran’s inner circle. He looked at who the person was and what their qualities were.
Francis X Sweeney, “TeacherMentorFriend” Oil portrait
He loved the students of Waterford, acting as a mentor to many.
“He was a terrific person from a high school kid’s perspective. He was always so approachable. I think every kid that went through those halls had a similar perspective to who he was. He had this magnetism that was pretty powerful.” (Jim Cavalieri WHS 1973)
In April 2013 I contacted a group of friends from the class of 1960 and we launched a grassroots effort to change a 213 year old town policy which prohibited naming buildings or fields after any one person.
It was like a tsunami! It took on a life of its own. Communicating with all these people, most of them much younger than me, that’s what would have excited Fran the most, that we were all connecting and working together.
Hundreds of people signed petitions and on September 26th the Board of Education voted to change the policy and on October 29th unanimously voted to name the new athletic complex the Francis X Sweeney Field House.
Now, 213 years later, they have changed the policy and the town has assumed a personality. And there is no better personality to choose than Francis X Sweeney.
I was deeply inspired to paint an oil portrait of Mr. Sweeney shortly after he passed away in December 2012. The painting was later reproduced as a very large giclee print on canvas and unveiled by the Sweeney family at the Dedication Ceremony in January 2014.
Sweeney Family unveils portrait of Francis X Sweeney by AVonnHartung
The idea of painting a portrait was planted in my mind even before I thought about naming the field house for him. He was such a good friend and it was something that I could do despite me being so far away.
When I started, I closed my eyes and thought of Fran in his fullest. The essence of Fran Sweeney was that he wanted to play ball and he wanted you to play ball with him. He wanted people to learn, to have fun and to feel good in their own bodies.
EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) will be airing an interview on March 5, 2015 with A.Vonn Hartung about Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, and Vonn’s experience painting the portrait that is at the Vatican.
THE CHURCH IN PUERTO RICO (30 minute duration) Thursday March 5 at 3:00 am & 6:30 pm Eastern Time [Puerto Rico time: 4:00 am and 7:30 pm]
The first 15 minutes of the program is a conversion story about a young man who turned his life around and is now studying for the priesthood; the second part is the interview with Vonn.
The EWTN program can be seen on–
Liberty Cablevision Channel 103 ( in Puerto Rico)
Dish Network Channel 261
DirecTV Channel 350
ROKU
Please visit the EWTN website for channel listings in your local area. http://www.ewtn.com
“Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago” Oil portrait- at Pontifical North American College, Vatican
