Chrome Fairy of the Perpetual Revolution
2020
Recuperating from the strenous ascent of Villaricca, I retired one evening to a cafe where there was an acoustic group performing and a lively crowd gathered and I sat at a table working on "Chrome Fairy". A young Chilean woman, a lithe and graceful person, dressed in the utilitarian, slightly ragged manner that bespeaks a strong affiliation with the Left, took an interest in my activity and sat down at the table with me. We had one of those long conversations - familiar to any traveler - that is distinguished as much by a determination to converse as it is by an incapacity to speak the same language. It is remarkable how much can be communicated despite a language barrier (my Spanish is an embarrassment!), and as I was drawing she told me of the recent death of her father. It was clear she was still grieving - tears rolled down her cheeks. She said that her father would have loved my art and enjoyed meeting me, and that he was a revolutionary and spent years in prison for his opposition to General Pinochet, against whom he led protests, and was ultimately very active in overthrowing the evil dictator. She showed me a picture of him as a young man - a handsome, heroic figure who seemed like a sort of Chilean Che Guevera to me. She told me he was well-known in Santiago, but I was not familiar with this history.
Chrome Fairy

"Chrome Fairy", 2020, pen and ink with watercolor, 25.4 x 11.6 cm
Completed work (5)
Villarica
I have no strong reservations about contradicting myself: Perhaps this "Chrome Fairy" is a kind of "soul portrait" of this young lady - her polished steely resolve inherited from her father. I can say now that the helmet is her father's head. She told me that she is committed to carrying on her father's work - that there are still many issues of social justice and freedom to be addressed in Chile. A Chrome Fairy of the Perpetual Revolution!
This small mixed media (watercolor with pen and ink) was given to my friend and collector, Josh Norman. I don't recollect recounting any of this encounter with the late revolutionary's daughter to him however.
Volcan Villaricca, Chile

Volcan Villaricca, Chile
Villarica (8)