Lecture: Michael Naranjo, Sculptor March 5, 2011

Michael Naranjo, Sculptor, whose works are currently on exhibit in “Sight Unseen”, is presenting a lecture on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at 1PM at the Branigan Cultural Center. The public is invited to meet Mr. Naranjo, learn more about his works, and understand how he “sees”.

At a young age, Michael Naranjo intuitively knew that he wanted to be a sculptor. Now, a renowned artist who sculpts in stone and casts in bronze, Mr. Naranjo’s path was not an easy one. While serving in Vietnam and while under enemy fire, he lost his sight and his right arm and hand were badly injured. During his hospitalization, he requested water-based clay from which he formed an inchworm. According to Mr. Naranjo, “That’s how it all started. Once I made something with clay, I knew I was going to be okay.”

Mr. Naranjo learned to use his instincts in his work. As he said, “I asked my sister about the nose on one of my sculptures, and she said that it was a little crooked. My brother said it was fine….After that, my work was all about what I thought.”

In the 1980s, Michael Naranjo had the opportunity to climb on a scaffold built specifically for him in order to touch Michelangelo’s David. For Mr. Naranjo, this experience gave him a”…new sense of the stone…I had a new life in my hands.” He was also allowed to touch the Medici Venus at the Louvre in Paris. Mr. Naranjo wants others to have the opportunity to feel sculptures as he did and, in “Sight Unseen,” the public is encouraged to do just that.

Funded by the City of Las Cruces, the Las Cruces Museum of Art is located at 491 N. Main Street. Branigan Cultural Center is located at 501 N. Main Street. Both are located at the north end of the downtown mall. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm. For more information, call (575) 541-2137 or visit the website www.cruces.org/museums.