Author: Dick Van der Wurst

Opuntia, commonly called prickly pear, is named for the Ancient Greek city of Opus, where, according to Theophrastus, an edible plant grew and could be propagated by rooting its leaves. Prickly pears are also known as nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads.

Wikipedia knows all the things.

As I ramped up my renewed, grown up, adult period of art making as Moe Profane, I knew I was going to try to neuter symbols of their significance by poking fun of them and their arbitrary power. Years later, looking back at what I had done, I realized that I had begun to treat sacred and mundane subject matter I was seeing and exposed it all as new kind of pop culture imagery. By juxtaposing it in ways that reflected South Texas Culture back at the locals through the eyes of and brain of a fascinated new comer, I took a sideways glance at it all, honoring their cultural beauty, laughing away any pretension, and highlighting some of the complexity of cultures that participated in their creation.

This has had me on the look out for things that define what is essentially Texan beyond the cliches, distilling subtle everyday objects into imagery that people will relate to. On a trip to Marfa earlier this year, I didn’t appreciate anything I saw as much as all of the prickly pear I saw growing everywhere. It’s modularity, it’s persistence and hardiness. It’s beautiful flowers and off-putting spines. How it defends itself even as it offers up nutritious tasty foods and medicinal applications. How it was used by indigenous people and how something so wild is still used to decorate our outside spaces.

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People and Prickly Pears

There is an Aztec origin myth of some sort where the Aztec people had to leave where they lived and find a new place to build a city. They would know the right spot when the found an eagle perched upon a prickly pear cactus,  eating a snake. When they found that place, they named it “Tenochtitlàn”, meaning “place of the prickly pear cactus”.

The prickly pear has long been used in many ways. Indigenous people used the actual paddles of the plant to make juice used to treat burns. They also drank the juices to treat hepatitis. The pads, or nopales are filled with vitamins and calcium and were incorporated into their diet. Both the pads and the fruit still frequently appear in markets in Mexico and parts of the U.S.

In midsummer many different groups would converge on the area in southern Texas where prickly pear was ripening, and this was their favorite time of the year.

Symbolic Significance

Anything so culturally important will inevitably develop symbolic significance as well. The prickly pear and cactus in general is an obvious symbol of hope and endurance in harsh conditions. To many Native Americans, the yellow cactus flowers were a mother symbol representing a mother’s unconditional love and their patience and selfless protection.

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Food and Medicine

A mother’s protective qualities were projected upon the cactus flower due to its medicinal properties. The pulp and juice was used to treat numerous wounds and sickness due to digestive inflammations.

The healing purposes of prickly pear and its use as a food has been know for centuries. Loaded with protein and vitamins, the prickly pear pads have been used to treat diabetes, stomach problems, cuts and bruises, sunburn, windburn, constipation, and cold symptoms. Folk remedies abound, such as the one that involves heating the pads and placing them on a cold sufferer’s chest to relieve congestion.

Churches and convents were coated in paint made with prickly pear after it was discovered in rural Mexico that could be used to make a highly effective waterproof paint for homes.

In rural areas prickly pear has been used as an effective way to mark property lines, as well as a protective barrier against predators, both animal and human.

The pads are often fed to dairy cows in Northern Mexico. The milk produced these cows is highly coveted.

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We Still Love the Prickly Pear

The significance of the prickly pear is recognized still today as it is the Official State Plant of Texas.

WHEREAS, The State of Texas has traditionally recognized certain terrestrial forms indigenous to the state as official state symbols; and

WHEREAS, The bluebonnet, the pecan tree, and the mockingbird are examples of some natural specimens that serve to symbolize the rich diversity of the plains, forests, skies, and mountains of our vast state; and

WHEREAS, In keeping with this custom, the designation of the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant will provide suitable recognition for this hearty and beautiful denizen of the Texas landscape; and

WHEREAS, A native of the American Southwest and the Sonoran Desert region of Mexico, the prickly pear cactus provided nourishment to the earliest inhabitants of those regions, and both the sweet, fleshy fruit and the broad, flat stems were incorporated into tasty dishes; and

WHEREAS, Tunas, the prickly pear fruit, and nopales, which are made from the stem, have since become staples of the Mexican diet, and their growing popularity in Lone Star cuisine can be attributed to Texans’ appreciation for unusual and distinctive foods; and

WHEREAS, In recent years, the prickly pear cactus has been successfully exported and naturalized to tropical areas around the world, and it has proven to be a popular landscape choice for all who want to have a little bit of Texas in their own backyards; and

WHEREAS, This adaptable plant can survive under many different environmental conditions, and thus can be found from the hill country of Central Texas to the windswept plateaus and arid mountains of West Texas; because it thrives in a harsh climate that few plants can bear, the prickly pear cactus is often grown as forage for cattle and has had a tremendous positive impact on the vital Texas cattle industry; and

WHEREAS, Rugged, versatile, and uniquely beautiful, the prickly pear cactus has made numerous contributions to the landscape, cuisine, and character of the Lone Star State, and thus it is singularly qualified to represent the indomitable and proud Texas spirit as an official state symbol; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby designate the prickly pear cactus as the official state plant of Texas.

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So What Am I Gonna Do About It?

I researched, read about and wrote all this so I can appreciate all the way prickly pears have been used and what they have meant. By doing so I can understand what they mean to people today and better reflect that back to people in a way they may be able to identify with.

All of this has led me to come up with a list of ideas that could be just the start of a whole new series and defining addition to my subject matter and technique from now on…if I can maintain the focus to do so. 😬

These include brand new ideas and even the inspiration to revisit past concepts with an extra layer of meaning and visual complexity. People love a little visual complexity.

• Ice cream: Blue bell, cows, cream,
• Lone star: I have the idea of a cactus catching and holding various famous Texas brands that may be blowing in the wind. This is an obvious one.
• Shiner: see above, only I like Shiner more.
• Road signs: A way to incorporate specific places in Texas and highlight how widespread prickly pears are throughout the state.
• Surf Texas: Wave and rig inside bull skull, Skeltons in hats in the eyes. Cactus growing up behind the skull, providing contrast of rugged scrubby Texas landscape with the tropical association of surfing.
• Nudes in nature: only with prickly pears will assault the viewers’ psyches with the vulnerability of being naked around all those cactus needles.
• Prickly pear and highway signs: evoke the memories of driving balls out across the flat expanse with old rusted road signs and cactuses zipping past.  
• Prickly pear fiesta hat
• Large modular prickly pear taking up a whole wall – Texas critters and litter of famous brands hidden inside. 
• Run for the Border: An old idea I made with Trump holding a brick of cheddar cheese and a grater, showing his ignorance regarding the perceived threat he want to protect us from, standing behind a wall protected from negative stereotypes of Mexican Culture. Adding a prickly pear behind would provide visual complexity and a context for the other things to live in, but would also add a big of meaning from its connection with thriving in harsh environments
• Art drank – prickly pear growing in big soda cup, with crushed monster and toppled jaeger: This may be too personal with myself being represented growing out of the cup after I’ve drank my art show lubricant – Jaeger and Monster Energy Drink
• Free Range, Suburban, Urban Chickens (cactus in ground, in a flower bed, in a pot): Again, more complexity but the cactus’ and the chickens’ changing contexts will show the adaptability of them both

This is just the start. Now I need to start painting some damn nopales!

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