100 years since the surrealism movement:

The Legacy of Adál Maldonado's Conceptual Jíbaro Art (1988) 

Daniel O. Rivera Rivera 

December 20, 2024

Adál Maldonado, As I began to dissappear I realized someone was beginning to forget me. Photography

October 15, 2024, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of surrealism, an avant-garde movement that has left an indelible mark on the arts, cinema, and literature. Since its appearance in Europe in the early 1920s, surrealism has been characterized by the expression of irrational and dreamlike images, with the aim of transcending rationalism in art and exploring the subconscious. Over the years, the movement has spread throughout the world, creating new discourses and myths that move away from the Eurocentric ideas that followed it since its beginning. This new direction allows us to appreciate other types of iconography that are more in tune with the culture and identity of countries outside the European sphere, such as Latin America and the Caribbean. In the case of Puerto Rico, the photographer and graphic designer Adál Maldonado stands out through his artistic work, for he invites us to explore new ways of seeing/seeing ourselves and exploring our Puerto Rican identity and culture through the lens of the surrealist movement.

It would be too broad to discuss the entirety of ADÁL’s artistic development within surrealism, as his work spans from the mid-1970s to his final days. It’s important to note that, although he was not considered an exclusively surrealist artist, his work helped understand how this movement can manifest itself within the Caribbean context. Within his extensive artistic repertoire, the self-portrait Conceptual Jíbaro Art (1988) redefines European models and paves the way for the deconstruction of old narratives. This appropriation creates new narratives with the aim of adding complexity and highlighting Caribbean culture.

In the black and white self-portrait, we see ADÁL striking a defiant pose, dressed in a coat and holding a plátano that appears to be floating above his face, creating the illusion of a large mustache. If we connect the title of the work with what is depicted in the photograph, we can identify a critical, sarcastic, and humorous tone behind the image. Imagining a jíbaro—a word that in Puerto Rico is frequently linked to the stereotype of a poor person of rural origin, with limited knowledge of culture and vocabulary—implies a break from elitist discourse. Through this representation, ADÁL, as an artist from the diaspora, assumes a dominant stance in the face of power and positions himself with authority, confident in the space he occupies as a Puerto Rican in the United States. His critique transcends even further when we understand the transgression involved in stepping outside these impositions.

The formal attire and the plátano on his face are vital to understanding the work. The photograph, which draws inspiration from the famous painting The Son of Man (1964) by the Belgian artist René Magritte, allows us to see this appropriation of discourses and its elaboration in contexts outside Europe and the United States. The jíbaro, dressed in a coat, completely breaks with the image of a poor and manipulable subject; not with the intent of rubbing shoulders with a European, American, or anyone in power, but to manifest that he possesses total control over his image in the space he occupies, without anyone else defining him. The plátano, which replaces Magritte’s mythical apple, appears as a Caribbean icon, representative of the Puerto Rican identity and culture which propels the image of this defiant subject. Through this, he carries his identity with confidence and determination, confronting a bigger problem with the symbols of his environment.

Through Conceptual Jíbaro Art, we can see/see ourselves, explore, and add complexity to our experiences as Puerto Ricans. It’s important to understand our ability to define ourselves and engage in self-reflection to be able to comprehend the various spaces we occupy. With his photography, ADÁL puts into perspective the fascinating complexity of navigating an artistic movement that, even today, relies on overly centered discourses, by presenting other realities to highlight the importance of identity and culture.