My art making has always been inspired from my own personal experiences with others. Because of the pandemic and it's lockdowns, I was unable to have live face to face experiences with everyday people.
I turned to online podcasts of experts to inspire me and avoid the fear mongering propaganda of mainstream media. Crypto currency became an imaginary magical money and I considered it to be a "unicorn." Bitcoin Madonna was inspired by the following people, Robert Breedlove and Mexican archaeologist, Bertina Olmeda Vera.
In terms of crypto currency, it was designed to be a type of value exchange thru computers, peer to peer, that is not reliant on central authority like a bank or government. It was created by an anonymous and mysterious person named, "Satoshi Nakamoto" as an alternative to cash, gold and other forms of investments. Freedom Maximalist, Robert Breedlove, a defender of bitcoin, refers to it as sovereign money for the people in that each person that invests in bitcoin gets their own blockchain and ledger that keeps it transparent. Out of all the podcasts about crypto currency, the most unforgettable one, was Jordon Peterson's interview with Breedlove, in the podcast named, "The Future of Bitcoin?"
Bitcoin Madonna 12"x28" Oil over Wood by Isis Rodriguez
Original painting sold, available as Giclée Art Print
After having my mind blown, I thought it would be interesting to contrast modern Western's definition of value with Pre hispanic ones. Obviously, there was no digital money 500 years ago. But, they had gold and how did the Mexican Indigenous value gold and for what purpose did it have in those days?
According to Arqueologist, Bertina Olmeda Vera, the origins of gold was considered by the Mexicas, to have divine origins. They valued gold in the form of body ornamentation, like jewerly and masks. These items were made exclusively for the nobility and for the Gods. They referred to gold, as "coztic teocuitlatl", which literally means, "the yellow divine excrement". It was obtained by washing and sifting the sands of river as the process of separating the nuggets. And Because of it's resplandant color, it functioned as a sacred symbol linked to the sun and fire.
Now why would I ever create a female archetype that is a madonna with child? The Madonna and child is one of the oldest if not the most popular female archetype ever created. At Christmas, she emerges as Mary on a donkey, pregnant with a step father leading her to Bethlehem, where the baby, Jesus will be birthed in a manger. It has been said that she was just a teenager when Mary was immaculately impregnated by an angel named Gabriel. Being a teen and pregnant was quite common in those days as parents married their adolescents off as early as 12 in some parts of Europe, while in Mexico and the Americas, it was between 15-18years.
And in modern society, single motherhood is a unicorn as it is seen as unconventional, and or a tragedy if you are a teen. Today, according to the Gallup Polls, the rise of single motherhood is at 32% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 30% in Mexico and Latin America and 19% in the United States and Canada. https://news.gallup.com/poll/286433/women-worldwide-single-moms.aspx
Single motherhood is associated with minimal education and school drop outs and from low income. This painting represents a my interpretation of this magical icon of the madonna and child, that is not just immaculate, but a hardworking mother. This painting is from my series, "Blue Unicorn".
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