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‘A bit of history’: Shepherdstown painter creates Aztec-inspired art book design

By Tabitha Johnston - Chronicle Staff | Sep 22, 2023

Ralph Scorza talks about the sun engraving on the front cover of his book in The Bridge Gallery on Sunday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — This will be the closing weekend for the second art show Shepherdstown-based watercolor artist Ralph Scorza has put on at The Bridge Gallery.

The show opened on September 9, which factored into the painting selections Scorza included in the exhibit. Although it had previously been seen in his first art show, Scorza’s painting reflecting the September 11 terrorist attacks was brought back for inclusion in the 22-piece show, along with a previously-seen work inspired by Roe v. Wade.

“This show was during September 11, so I decided to included my painting about 9/11 to remind people,” Scorza said. “Roe v. Wade was also included, because that is still such a big issue in our country.”

Since Scorza’s artistic style is inspired by the pictographic, dead language in the Aztec Codex, his paintings reflect the advancements in our world since the time of the Aztecs.

“The Aztecs and other people groups in Mesoamerica didn’t have a written language. It was all in pictographs, or pictures, so the only way you could read their writing is if you could understand their pictures. Each picture went directly into your mind and you knew exactly what it was,” Scorza said, noting the one prominent kind of pictograph still used today is the emoji, which clearly communicates a complex thought with a single picture. “With our languages today, we have to read words in a certain order to understand their meaning together.

Roni Hyslop, of Edinburgh, Scotland, chats with Ralph Scorza at his art show in The Bridge Gallery on Sunday. Tabitha Johnston

“For 9/11, the Aztecs couldn’t paint an airplane, since airplanes didn’t exist back in 1500s. So I have to use birds, to substitute for the planes that were crashed into the Twin Towers,” Scorza said. “I think this makes it richer — this new way of experiencing history, rather than just reading about history.”

The wall art is displayed in order of historical date on the four walls of the gallery’s back room, with each wall representing a different period of time: 1776-1918, 1925-1945, 1938-2001 and 2016-2023. New to this show are paintings inspired by events, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, Scope’s “Monkey Trial,” the Pacific Theater of World War II and the January 6 Insurrection.

Of particular note is a new art book that Scorza has recently created, which sits on a mantle in the gallery’s front room.

“I made this book about climate change, and I have some other books that I’m making on different topics. They will be for sale in the future,” Scorza said, noting the climate change book’s front cover features a carved sun, while on its back cover is displayed a carved skull. “This is how the Aztecs made their books — just like with this one, they were all folded books.”

Last Sunday afternoon, Shepherdstown resident Roger Munro could be seen chatting with Scorza and looking intently at each of the exhibit’s paintings.

“Each piece is a bit of history. It’s easy to read what’s happening when you’re looking at it, especially since he’s gotten the history printed below each work,” Munro said, mentioning he had also attended Scorza’s first art show. “So if you want any further details about a piece, you can easily gain more insight that way. And it’s fun to look at!”

Scorza said he will be present at The Bridge Gallery ( 8566 Shepherdstown Pike) through the end of the show. The exhibit will be open to the public today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 12-6 p.m. and Sunday from 12-5 p.m. To learn more, call 304-876-2300 or email info@bridgegalleryandframing.com.