Artspeak Radio with Matthew Dehaemers, Isaac Tapia, & Rodrico “Rico” Alvarez

Artspeak Radio, Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 9am -10am CST, 90.1fm KKFI Kansas City Community Radio, streaming live audio www.kkfi.org

Producer/host Maria Vasquez Boyd welcomes artists Matt Dehaemers, Isaac Tapia, and Rodrico Alvarez.

MATTHEW DEHAEMERS- 2024 Art Residency Installation; Is it Water Under the Bridge?
Project Overview-The Art and Natural Resources Residency (ANRR) is a short-term residency program to engage a local artist and allow them to embed with the JCPRD Natural Resource team to learn, respond artistically, and amplify this important work. The 2024 Art and Natural Resources Residency (ANRR) will focus on the role of water in Johnson County and the importance of clean water and quality watersheds as part of our regional ecosystem’s resilience. The art will respond to this theme and be placed somewhere along the Mill Creek Steamway within JCPRD.
Temporary Installation by Matthew Dehaemers
Location: Mill Creek Streamway, just to the north of Prairie Star Parkway.
Directions to Artwork:
Address to Mill Creek Streamway Park:
10298 Ridgeview Rd, Lenexa, KS 66220
“It’s water under the bridge,” as the saying goes. This implies that everything is okay now, there are no more issues. As I started to explore our watershed through various entities that work to protect and deliver our water, I learned it is no longer water under the bridge. It is not just something that is okay. There are many things that challenge our watershed every day. We all have a vital role in being good stewards of our watershed. It is something we take for granted when we don’t look below the surface.
During a rain event, water hits all surfaces and gravity makes it run constantly to the lowest point–from the roof to the ground, down the street, down the storm drain, into the creek, into the river and eventually to the ocean. All the while our water picks up unwanted hitchhikers such as oil, residue from overfertilized yards and fields, trash, etc.  All of this constantly converges merging into each other. The installation begins with 81 strands of rope that form 27 braids, then even larger 9 braids and still yet bigger 3 braids, ultimately becoming one large, massive braid. For me this represents the journey of our watershed and how we all have a hand in it.  Instead of the strands being all blue as water is usually represented, we have blue intertwined with yellow, orange, red and white representing the unfortunate mixing of these unwanted hitchhikers. The braid flows down through a large-scale water drop and eventually down back into our water supply. The pattern of the braid echoes the ebb and flow of water. I have learned over my residency from various experts about the watershed. Over time with construction and more paved areas our water has less ground to absorb into, creating the runoff of these hitchhikers. We have increasing flood events in which the peaceful Mill Creek before you becomes a massive flooding waterway.  It’s almost hard to imagine as you stand here, that during significant rain events, this creek has flooded over this bridge leaving debris and erosion behind. As a result of these events…as you look downstream to the north you will notice the banks of the creek so badly eroded that the entire root structures of trees are exposed, eventually widening the bank further and toppling these trees over. As one who enjoys experiencing this trail it is easy not to look closer at what is happening to our creek and riverbeds.
This rope also represents the collective efforts of all the organizations and people here in Johnson County who work tirelessly to keep our water healthy for our community to consume. They also work to educate the public on what we can do to keep our water viable. Local ecology specialists work to increase native prairies to slow down, absorb and filter our water. They also actively work to combat erosion and keep our two area rivers clean. Our non-profit water utility works use state of the art processes to clean the water that eventually makes it back to our tap, providing some of the healthiest water supplies in America.
Walking inside the large water drop represents our integral relationship with water. Our body composition is made up of mostly water. Without water there would be no life. With all this to consider, it is not just water under the bridge. There is so much more to it.

And all the while designing, fabricating and installing the art piece.  I have done a complete over haul and enlargement of the Compass Prairie Art Farm cut flower operation.  I have designed a permanent garden people will be able to walk through and enjoy cutting their own flowers.   I have dates posted starting in a week!  We are also going to be on the Kaw Valley Farm tour which is a whole other awesome event people need to know about.  Folks will be able to cut flowers, enjoy art from some local KC artists and even go on a special tour of our remnant prairie with Courtney Masterson from Native lands.  Here is the link to my public Facebook page for Compass Prairie Art farm. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550299570458&mibextid=LQQJ4d Let me know if you need any other info.  Or want to talk further about it.

Matt Dehaemers employs a vast arsenal of mediums, from water, wood, steel, and bread, to recycled glass and water bottles. Inspired by aspects of history, contemporary issues, community life, and the ecology of the Midwest, his goal is to make art that operates on different levels of audience
engagement. Sonya Andrews of “Review Magazine” wrote, “Dehaemers places a great deal of importance on the transformative forces of culture, history, and place.” His work addresses issues that are social, economic, and environmental, from the global water crisis to telemarketing and the
progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Dehaemers has most recently designed a heart as part of the 2024 Parade of Hearts, titled, “A Path to Healing,” in response to the shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Championship celebration parade. Dehaemers also installed a temporary work at Theatre in the Park that was on display in 2022, titled, “Symbiosis,” to celebrate the complex root structure of prairie grass. In 1996, after graduating with his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Creighton University, Dehaemers spent a year living and teaching high school art on the Navajo Reservation in St. Michael, Ariz. In 2001, Dehaemers earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

ISAAC TAPIC & RODRICO “RICO” ALVEREZ are featured in A Layered Presence, Tapia’s work Pasado y Presente (Past and Present) and Rico’s La Muerte y La Vida on exhibit now through September 8, 2024 at the Nelson Atkins Museum located at 4525 Oak, KCMO www.nelson-atkins.org

ISAAC TAPIA- I am a muralist and painter based in Kansas City, Missouri. My paintings explore the many aesthetic experiences of migration, fusing classical techniques of European portraiture with the bright colors, textures and patterns of my childhood in Mexico and the fluid imagery found in animation and street art that inspired me as an adolescent in the United States. My portraits are visual tributes to the many stories of struggle and triumph within my community.  The faces-and stories-within my work expand upon existing narratives about representation and identity. By visually elevating those often overlooked by society, I honor their journeys and celebrate the moments of joy, resilience, resistance and peace that accompany survival.
Isaac Tapia was born in Mexico, where he lived until moving to the U.S. when he was 9. He graduated from Paseo Academy of Fine and Performing Arts in 2010 and studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. Isaac is one half of the duo IT-RA Icons, a business collaborative committed to making fine art more accessible through murals, public art, youth mentorship and community engagement.  In his solo artwork, Isaac focuses on portraits that elevate important-yet often under-represented-members of his community and celebrate the complex narratives of contemporary migration. Isaac’s paintings have been exhibited throughout Kansas City, and his work has traveled in shows across North America with the Mexican Consulate and La Onda. His most recent work, a large-scale portrait and interview featuring his parents, is now on view as part of La Presencia Estratificada at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. Isaac is a founding member of the M.A.S.A. collective, and is one of the resident artists at the Zhou Brothers Art Center.
RODRICO “RICO” ALVAREZ was born in Rivera, Uruguay and moved to Kansas City in October of 2002,. He graduated from the Paseo Academy Of Fine and Performing Arts in May of 2007 and studied graphic design at Metropolitan Community College. In his solo artwork, Rodrigo explores the persistence and relentless force of Mother Earth by fusing organic figures into metal sculptures. By bending, melting, and bracing commonly used metals into harmonic organisms he hopes to portray the balance, power, and adaptability of nature.
IT-RA ICONS is a collaboration of Kansas City Muralist Isaac Tapia and Rodrigo Alvarez. The Duo began working together in the summer of 2017, when they were commissioned two murals at the Richardson Early Learning Center.
Since then the artists have been commissioned to paint over 40 Murals in the KC metro area. Their diverse body of work is united by vibrant colors, evolving designs and themes that celebrate their communities and honor their identities as artists who migrated to the US at a very young age. www.itraicons.com

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