Review

"Yellow Tree White Cloud Bad Dream," Acrylic on Canvas

Jason Biggers
New Works

6-9 p.m. (Opening Reception)

The Writers Place
3607 Pennsylvania
Kansas City, MO
816.753.1090

Hours after First Friday: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; check website for special events.
Runs through: Feb. 26

Artist's site: http://zapatecindustries.blogspot.com
Gallery site: http://www.writersplace.org

It's supposed to be a gorgeous night, perfect for a First Friday outing in the Crossroads. So why am I sending you to Hyde Park?

Because Jason Biggers' New Works is opening at the Writers Place. If you love art -- and if you don't, you took a wrong turn at Google -- you should go see his paintings.

The Writers Place is an apt venue for Biggers, because he's both a wordsmith  and a visual artist. A member of the Latino Writers Collective, he's a poet, a painter, a graphic designer and an illustrator. (Did I mention he's a musician, too?)  It's a broad spectrum. Then again, Biggers' life -- not merely his art -- is a colorful mix of cultures.

When I heard Biggers' decidedly non-Hispanic last name and that he was a member of a Latino writers' group, I had a moment of disconnect. Biggers explained: He's Mexican-American and grew up embracing the Hispanic culture of El Paso, Texas. His mother is Hispanic and Navajo, his estranged biological father Anglo -- but his last name comes from his stepfather, who adopted Biggers and his sister.

"I wanted to change my name to my mother's last name when I was younger, like 19 or so," he says, "but a lot of my friends didn't want me to. They all had nicknames for me, stemming from my last name. It really wasn't that big a deal. I grew up in the Hispanic culture and I know who I am, no matter what my last name is."

Biggers' identity, first formed around a blurred national and cultural frontier, was further shaped by his travels. He has lived in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Germany and the Philippines, making connections and absorbing influences at every stop. His visual art bridges multiple genres, from Pop Art and political comics to graffiti and Mexican folk art.

A less skilled artist might have tried to give each of those influences equal weight. That way lies a visual train wreck. Biggers makes it work by letting one element predominate in each of his paintings. The other aspects are there, but they aren't allowed to vie for control of the canvas.

After all, some boundaries are there for a reason.

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