Product Description
A book of poetry by a premier poet.She uses poetry todescribe where she has been, physically emotionally, and spiritually.It is a book that will make the reader travel with the author into theworld of her experience. ... Read more

Product Description
Stepping into Franco Mondini-Ruiz's world, one would have to be very, very careful not to trip over his porcelain figurine collection. The Tejano artist creates intricate vignettes composed of a vast array of found objects and knickknacks such as costume jewelry, plastic cakes and treats, used ice-cream cups, miniature ceramic figurines, cigarette butts and much, much more. Some of his works toy with language to make witty one-liners about cultural biases. For example, in his piece entitled, Cheeses of Nazareth--among the most playful and pointed of his assemblages--a wedge of cheese propped up by a toothpick-sized stake provides shelter for a tiny plastic Nativity scene that sits upon a larger Parmesan round. One of many verbal-visual puns, Cheeses of Nazareth creates a hilarious confrontation of ritual and subversion through its gesture toward traditional altarpieces found in Mexican folk art.

Viewers might peer closely at his installations as if to ask: "Why is that 19th-century woman with the broken arm bathing in a martini glass?," or, "Are those pancakes?," or maybe just to indulge in the pieces' playfulness. Mondini-Ruiz's art is truly a clever meeting of high and low, but the real insight of his work is the ability to expose sober meaning through laughter.

High Pink further illustrates the meanings behind and within his visual works with 56 often-hilarious stories by the artist that illuminate the cultural divides and bonds that he faced and created during his Tex-Mex childhood. Each story is accompanied by an image of one of Mondini-Ruiz's installations, and this pairing, along with sparkling original text from author Sandra Cisneros, creates an entertaining book with broad cultural, artistic, and linguistic appeal.His aesthetic has been shaped by diverse influences: the San Antonio of his youth, Latino culture, gay culture, American consumerism, kitsch, and Pop art. "My art is about following my impulses as to what I feel is beautiful, interesting, and poetic," Mondini-Ruiz says.

ARTnews, November 2004Introduction by Sandra Cisneros.Hardcover, 7 x 7 in./126 pgs / 58 color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

South Texas invades New York
This disarmingly funny series of short vignettes (none longer than a page) offers a window into the development of Franco Mondini-Ruiz's artwork, along with plenty of good photos. Taken together, the little stories show an artist coming up, an outsider from San Antonio, Texas learning to negotiate the New York art scene. Like his work, it's a combination of cultures and tastes held together by witty puns and surprising juxtapositions more than conceptual rigor. It's thoughtful, but without sacrificing fun on the altar of high-concept.

Banal At Best
Franco Mondini Ruiz's collection of "fairy" tales reads like a diary of the author's descent into substance abuse, and concurrent rise in New York art society where his "Emperors New Clothes" creations are gobbled up by the vapid, filthy rich.

Very cool! As is his art.
Even if you don't know the author's art I think you'll like the book. I loved it. ... Read more