| Dates: | born 1968
| | Biography: | (artist biography as of 2006)
Oscar Melgar
Born in Panama City in 1968. At the age
of 14 he began to work as an apprentice
with Andres Salazar, one of the fathers
of the art of bus painting. In 1984 he
obtained a degree in Visual Arts from the
Ganexa Institute of Fine Arts in Panama City,
While studying, he faced criticism from
faculty and peers that pointed to him as
merely a bus painter and not a 'real
artist'. In a local art competition in
which he placed second, one of the
jurors said that had it not been for his
involvement with bus painting, he would
have won first prize. Despite this
dilemma, Melgar decided to continue
painting and decorating buses Today he
is one of the most important artists in
the field. He is responsible for the
decoration on 80 per cent of the buses
circulating in Panama City. | | | Source: | International 06, Liverpool Biennial exhibition catalogue | | | Date of source: | 2006 |
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| | Description: | The artists are leading bus painters in
Panama. Public buses there are called
'red devils' because their speed is
often reckless and many of them appear
completely covered by airbrush paintings
with predominantly vibrant hues. These
paintings are thematically distributed
over the bus's body following a strict
canon: on the back, an iconic figure
(ranging from Catholic virgins to pop
singers and sports stars); on top, an
Alpine or Oriental landscape; on the
windows, the names of the driver's past
and present girlfriends; on the sides,
proverbs or witty phrases, and so on,
all surrounded by proliferating baroque
ornamentation. Although ruled by a fixed
structure, the painters find room to
express their imagination via creative
designs and their distinctive rendering
of portraits, phrases and scenes.
Buses are also painted in other
countries, including Haiti, India and
the Philippines, but Panamanian 'red
devils' are the most extreme case of
vernacular horror vacui. Each driver
decides the motifs he wants for his
vehicle, and pays for them: the more
profusely the bus is painted, the
prouder its driver. A consistent style
has been established, which combines pop
art and baroque poetics, images and
words. However, each painter has his
personal touch, technique and
reputation.
Gerardo Mosquera
| | Description Source: | International 06, Liverpool Biennial exhibition catalogue | | Description Source Date: | 2006 | | Type: | group |
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