#ELMAC

Deeply moved by and grateful for all the love and public support at the recent inauguration event for “Sophie Holding the World Together”. Looking forward to painting Sophie and/or Sahara’s official presidential portrait someday... ⭕️⭕️⭕️ “And I said to my little children, "I'm going to work and do everything that I can do to see that you get a good education. I don't ever want you to forget that there are millions of God's children who will not and cannot get a good education, and I don't want you feeling that you are better than they are. For you will never be what you ought to be until they are what they ought to be." -MLK, from a sermon on January 7, 1968

‘Sophie Holding the World Together’ - Mural commissioned by the San José Museum of Art, in collaboration with The Propeller Group. ... Mural inauguration Saturday, March 24, 2 – 4 PM Discovery Meadow (180 Woz Way, San José, next to the Children’s Discovery Museum) Admission is FREE Join San José Museum of Art, Empire 7 Studios, and the Children’s Discovery Museum to celebrate the new public mural, Sophie Holding the World Together by EL MAC in collaboration with The Propeller Group, at Discovery Meadow. Enjoy live music family-friendly activities, SJMA’s new Art Portal, and appearances by the artists and the subject of the mural, nine-year-old activist Sophie Cruz. Joining Sophie will be special guests Juan Carlos Araujo, director and art consultant at Empire 7 Studios; S. Sayre Batton, Oshman Executive Director, SJMA; muralist El Mac; Marilee Jennings, executive director of the Children’s Discovery Museum; and Tuan Andrew Nguyen of the artists’ collective The Propeller Group; and a representative from the Consulado General de México en San José. Sophie Holding the World Together is a portrait of nine-year-old Sophie Cruz, who has become a face of the American immigration reform movement. Born in Los Angeles to immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, Sophie first made headlines in 2015 when she crossed a police barrier during Pope Francis’s visit to Washington, DC, to hand the pontiff a letter asking him to help all immigrant children. The mural is collaboration between El Mac and The Propeller Group, as part of the collective’s ongoing project, Viet Nam The World Tour. It is commissioned by SJMA, in partnership with Empire 7 Studios and the Children’s Discovery Museum, in connection with the current exhibition, The Propeller Group, on view through March 25, 2018 ... Video by @ericheights Music: ‘People Make the World Go Round’ by The Ramsey Lewis Trio (1972) ... @seewhatyouthink @purplemuseum @the_propeller_group @tuan.andrew.nguyen @empire7studios @will_5sixty @defineamerican @madcao @yosirey @artpilgrimz

#sophieholdingtheworldtogether

#sophiecruzforpresident

#elmac

#sanjosemuseumofart

Painted this mural in Dublin, Ireland in 2010 ... In an 1855 letter, referring to growing US anti-immigrant sentiment, Abraham Lincoln wrote this: “Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we begin by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty-to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy.”

Unfinished shot of my new mural on a 10-story high water tank by the US-Mexico border from a couple weeks ago.. ... Love does not make you weak, because it is the source of all strength, but it makes you see the nothingness of the illusory strength on which you depended before you knew it. -Léon Bloy

[Update: prints are all sold -many, many thanks for the support!] New print release tomorrow, January 23rd. Purchase info will be posted sometime after noon Pacific Standard Time at http://elmac.net .. In these times of fear, confusion, nativism, and worsening inequity as more and more wealth is distributed upward from the many to a few, I painted this partly as a meditative gesture of support for the marginalized and scapegoated amongst us who live and work in a metaphorical state of purgatory. "As brothers in the fight for equality... Our separate struggles are really one -- a struggle for freedom, for dignity and for humanity. You and your valiant fellow workers have demonstrated your commitment to righting grievous wrongs forced upon exploited people. We are together with you in spirit and in determination that our dreams for a better tomorrow will be realized." - Martin Luther King, Jr., in a 1966 telegram sent to UFW leader Cesar Chavez

#purgatory

#elmac

#Purgatory

#elmac

.. New print coming soon

Blessings for the new year ⭕️⭕️⭕️ ‘Sophie Holding the World Together’, 2017 Mural commissioned by the San Jose Museum of Art, in collaboration with The Propeller Group. . “No Te Rindas Esta es la Hora y el Mejor Momento Don't Give Up This is the Hour and the Best Moment Đừng Bỏ Cuộc Bây giờ là phút giây và khoảnh khắc tuyệt vời nhất” (-M. Benedetti) . In these times when fear, inequity and divisiveness are so prevalent, this mural is intended to convey hope and empathy. The figure is based on an inspiring young activist named Sophie Cruz, who represents mixed-status families and advocates for immigration reform in the US. I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this mural happen, and everyone who came by offering positive feedback. The response from the people in San Jose was some of the most encouraging and supportive I’ve received anywhere, I’m very grateful. . Many thanks again to Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Matt Lucero, The Propeller Group, Lauren lolens and the San José Museum of Art, Empire Seven Studios, Will Moran, the Children’s Discovery Museum, The Knight Foundation, University Arts, Tad Freese and Brook Hartzell, Beverly and Peter Lipman, Lubliner, Dipti and Rakesh Mathur, Ian Reinhard, and SGSR. Additional thanks to Sophie + su familia, Eric Heights, Yosi Sergant, Define American, Yosimar Reyes, Bích Cao, and anyone else who helped or showed love. Photo: @ericheights @seewhatyouthink

#elmac

#sophieholdingtheworldtogether

#sanjosemuseumofart

‘Sophie Holding the World Together’, 2017 Mural commissioned by the San Jose Museum of Art, in collaboration with The Propeller Group. . “No Te Rindas Esta es la Hora y el Mejor Momento Don't Give Up This is the Hour and the Best Moment Đừng Bỏ Cuộc Bây giờ là phút giây và khoảnh khắc tuyệt vời nhất” (-M. Benedetti) . In these times when fear, inequity and divisiveness are so prevalent, this mural is intended to convey hope and empathy. The figure is based on an inspiring young activist named Sophie Cruz, who represents mixed-status families and advocates for immigration reform in the US. When I met Sophie to shoot reference photos of her I asked if there was anything she wanted to hold for the photographs, and she came back holding a globe. This seemed perfect, while the lotus was added to symbolize the beauty that can grow from humble origins. . I’d like to thank everyone who helped make this mural happen, and everyone who came by offering positive feedback. The response from the people in San Jose was some of the most encouraging and supportive I’ve received anywhere, I’m very grateful. . Many thanks to Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Matt Lucero, The Propeller Group, Lauren lolens and the San José Museum of Art, Empire Seven Studios, Will Moran, the Children’s Discovery Museum, The Knight Foundation, University Arts, Tad Freese and Brook Hartzell, Beverly and Peter Lipman, Lubliner, Dipti and Rakesh Mathur, Ian Reinhard, and SGSR. Additional thanks to Sophie + su familia, Eric Heights, Yosi Sergant, Define American, Yosimar Reyes, Bích Cao, and anyone else who helped or showed love. Photo: @ericheights @seewhatyouthink

#elmac

#sophieholdingtheworldtogether