Mr. Gonzalez, who used to raise pigs in his native Dominican Republic, said that when he came to the United States, he realized that few people here connect the bacon and other pork products they eat with the actual animal. Calling his work something of a self-portrait that represents more than just a physical nature, he said he has heard women say that "men are pigs," but he disagrees with this statement. "Not all of us are." His life-sized creation, standing three feet wide by two feet high, is meant to capture the noble qualities of both species. Interested buyers have already begun contacting him. Mr. Gonzalez used a similar technique of welded steel and copper wire to create a six-foot-tall flamingo, which is on display in the Art Department. The National Arts Show was his first competition. A paraeducator at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in the Bronx, Mr. Gonzalez had only dabbled with art until he began working with young children at the school. That experience, coupled with the regularity of his working hours, led him to devote more of his free time to artistic creation. "Agustin came into the studio and worked on this project long into the evening and over many weekends," noted his sculpture teacher, John Belardo. "He was really devoted to it." The art faculty voted on which works to submit to the competition. Three were chosen altogether and included those of Jaroslave Albert, a junior, and Joan Leli, a graduate student. Mr. Belardo, as well as other faculty, students and family members, attended the show's opening reception on Feb. 8th, where Mr. Gonzalez accepted the James Amster Memorial Award. After graduation, he plans to become a bilingual teacher and also to continue his sculpture work.
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ehman art major Agustin Gonzalez has won second prize in the annual
student exhibition at the National Arts Club in Manhattan for his copper-and-steel
sculpture entitled "The Pig Soul." Students from more than 20
undergraduate art programs in the New York area competed in the show.