Interracial Family: The Way Society Sees It

"This painting is about the second marriage of my mother to my stepfather, who died six years ago. My stepfather was a Puerto Rican of African ancestry, while my mother is a fair skin Puerto Rican of Spanish ancestry. As a teenager, I always liked to observe people and evaluate situations. I remember the looks they both got when they would walk into restaurants and other public places. But the worst part was when my stepfather was dying and I overheard a nurse joke to another nurse that she didn't know that my mother was his wife because "she's white and he's black." The two large figures in Interracial Family: The Way Society Sees It portray different races, with the third smaller figure representing the union of these two different races. It is the child figure that shows the inbalance and awkwardness with which society sees interracial relationships. I think that Interracial Family: The Way Society Sees It is a painting that portrays the eerie feeling prejudiced people experience when they see two people of different races get together."

Soraida Martinez

© Copyright 1992