Jorge de León (born 1976) is a Guatemalan

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

ist who specializes in

body art Body art is art made on, with, or consisting of, the human body. Body art covers a wide spectrum including tattoos, body piercings, scarification, and body painting. Body art may include performance art, body art is likewise utilized for investi ...

and art object. He was born in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

, and forms part of the post-war generation of artists that includes

Regina José Galindo Regina José Galindo (born August 27, 1974) is a Guatemalan performance artist who specializes in body art. She was born in Guatemala City. Early work Remarkably, for an artist who is known for the political themes of her work, Galindo grew up ...

and Anibal López. His work is extremely influenced by his past as a gang-banger. Before he became an artist Jorge was in and out of jail twelve times, and now looked to art as a means of confronting the gang violence rampant in Guatemala. His work is extremely political and seeks to question the dynamics of power in one of the countries in Latin America that has been more affected by extreme inequality, violence, and political corruption.

Artwork

De León’s work centers on urban violence in Guatemala City, which is influenced by his former involvement in gangs. De León has commented that the rich live by double standards, “they are thieves, but they kill us saying we are thieves... At least gang members are honest. If (they) rob, they say it. If they take drugs they say it.”Diane De Cesare, Interview
/ref> Although his work centers the use of the body, De León also explores art object and urban interventions.

Notes

References

* Pagina de Literatura Guatemaltec

* Leyva, Gabriel: “Una mirada crítica ante la discriminación de los pueblos latinoamericanos”. CONACULTA, Sala de Prensa, septiembre 6, 2001

* Leyva, Gabriel: “La marginalidad y el rezago social en América Latina, tema de la muestra interdisciplinaria Syo/Ajeno y Ajeno/Suyo”. CONACULTA, Sala de Prensa, agosto 31, 2001

* Cazali, Rosina. Pasos a Desnivel: mapa urbano de la cultura contemporanea en Guatemala. HIVOS & laCuranderia. Guatemala City, 2003. Living people 1976 births Artists from Guatemala City Guatemalan artists Performance artists Guatemalan contemporary artists {{Guatemala-bio-stub