Elba Damast
Elba Damast (born in 1944, in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela, died 2005) was a Venezuelan artist. Biography. Damast was born during 1944 in Delta Amacuro, Venezuela. She was the third oldest of her parents' children and was expected to help take care of her younger siblings. Her close family upbringing would become a main artistic theme that she expresses throughout her career. She traveled frequently throughout her life, which helped to culminate her artistic palette. From 1964 to 1966, Damast studied in Paris. From 1967 to 1968, she returned to her native Venezuela. From 1969, she traveled throughout South  America in order to cultivate and incorporate more Latin American influences into her art. In 1972, she moved to New York City, where she lived for the rest of her life. While living in New York where Damast adopted Surrealist artistic styles. She died in 2005. Education. While in Venezuela, Damast attended Ramon Zapata School of Theatre and Literature in 1961 to 1963. She then transitioned into the School of Plastic Arts and, through a school program, was able to travel throughout Europe for several years. Select artworks. Memories of Things to Come, 2004. "Memories of Things to Come" is  an interactive video installation in which Damast utilizes the theme of time to re-imagine childhood from an adult perspective. The installation consists of several chairs and desks in which the participant can sit in. Upon each desk sits a sculptural replica of a heart. Within the sculpture, a video screen plays several images that Susan Hoeltzel states are meant to invoke childhood memories. The installation itself is meant to replicate the feeling of childhood within participants. The videos that play within the heart sculptures all play scenarios that depict children playing or individuals reminiscing about childhood memories. Even the  chairs and desks are arranged in a format similar to a classroom setting. This work would be the last art piece Damast produces as she dies the following year. Untitled (Elba Damast 73), 1973. The context behind this painting is unknown. The painting displays a side view of a women's body with a view of the body's interior. The interior view depicts strange white and blueish looking organs attached together with strings of color. A spinal column protrude from the woman's back. The painting exemplifies the style in which Damast frequently uses throughout her career. When Damast  initially moved to New York in 1972, the city was the forefront of the Surrealist movement. The Surrealist style dominates this painting through the display of ambiguous and mysterious imagery.