MFA2009: Opening Reception

Its rare for a art show with so many different themes and disciplines to come together so well as the University of California, San Diego MFA 2009 exhibit. Rooms of photo, sculpture, video, etc. all working in harmony, all complimenting each other. It was great to take part in such a show. Here are some images of the opening reception.

MFA2009

Selected work by the graduating Master of Visual Arts students from the University of California, San Diego's Department of Visual Arts. The event held at the University Art Gallery (this is not the gallery in the grad art department) the MFA 2009 group show will take place from May 29 to June 28, here is a link for more info MFA2009. The opening will be this thursday evening the 28th. I'm just not saying this cause i'm a part of this show but there is some very interesting work, hope you can check it out.

Thesis Show: Reception-more pictures

There are just too many great pics of the event that i wish i could post them all but i just decided to post a few more. Once again thanks to all who were able to come out and support, hope you enjoyed.

Thesis Show: Reception

The time has come and gone, the dust has settled around all the stress, construction and preparation toward my MFA thesis exhibition held at Agitprop in North Park, San Diego. The evening reception was a combination of unexpected and welcome visits, and a shocking number of guests that stayed into the extended hours of the night. The steady stream of visitors seemed to enjoy the art, filling the air with conversation and laughter, or was that the wine? I would like to thank all who came out to support, hope you enjoyed yourself.

I would also like to thank just a few, out of a list of individuals, who helped make this work and event possible: David White, Omar Pimienta, my parents, my Meli, and more...

My solo MFA Thesis Exhibition

You are all invited to join me at my MFA Thesis Exhibit at Agitprop in North Park, San Diego. The opening will be on May 22 from 7 - 10 pm. Come and mingle, enjoy good conversation, wine and art in my first solo show. Hope to see you there and hear your words about my current work. Agitprop is located at 2837 University Ave., behind Glenn's Market on Utah, the KFC is right next door. 

LA border proposal show

It was unexpected but in true Latino fashion some of us ended up showing up late to the "Border Proposals" exhibit that i and Omar Pimienta were a part of. As a result it seems like we missed our own opening reception but we tried to make the most of it.

We tried to make the image look natural and crowded.

Thanks to meli, her bro nando, adi and her friend and, and roman for helping us with the late opening attendance, also to my parents who made the trek. Omar and his wife marceli are also present in the pics.

Discussion: Loaded images/cactus&mexican

Now i had ideas on what to write about in connection to the image above but the more i thought about the picture the more i was confused what to write about. I started to realize all the layers the image contained.

The picture is a result of my work i'm doing and documenting towards my thesis show. One of the many individuals aiding me (which i am tremendously thankful towards) and friend is posing by the cactus in the picture. In a moment of "all work and no play" we decided to recreate the iconic representation of the sleeping Mexican leaning against the cactus. It was a funny moment that resulted in a great loose resemblance that i'm sure we will entertain us for some time.

Immediately i wanted to write about it on this blog  but that is where the confusion began. I didn't know weather to connect it to my current work in development or mention the humorous aspect that sparked the idea. There is definitely the stereotypical side that associates the portrayal with the idea of the lazy Mexican therefore creating a larger debate. This also bring up the many manifestations of the construction such as the statues that are sold as souvenirs and the dying industry of that form of manufacturing.

All this crept into my mind and more, not even mentioning the issues surrounding my work and that the Tijuana/ San Diego border wall is in the background, that in itself creates further discussion. Maybe i'm over analyzing it but that now became my question, thou the image was a break from the seriousness of the work moment we were engaged in but can an image be too loaded for simple enjoyment? Are there some representations that automatically create multiple meanings? I leave it up to you for discussion.

Propuestas Postfronterizas/ Postborder Proposals

I'd like to invite you to Postborder Proposals/Propuestas Postfronterizas, opening at the BoatHouse Gallery at Plaza de la Raza on May 9th at 4pm. 

POSTBORDER PROPOSALS / PROPUESTAS POSTFRONTERIZAS is a convening of artists working on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border as well as young artists from as far away as the Middle East. Their work considers the complex dynamics of border areas and liminal spaces, and engages the experience of displacement and immigration. The works in this art exhibition provide a doorway into cultural, sociological, and geographic spaces marked by hybridity, and their proposals move away from the simple binaries outlined by immigration and foreign policy and essentialist platforms. 

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS AND COLLECTIVES:

AjA Project, Boredom Patrol (C.I.R.C.A./San Diego), Colectivo La Linea, Ingrid Hernandez, Esteban Martinez, Juana Meneses, Roberto Romero-Molina, Omar Pimienta and Evelyn Serrano

The exhibition will take place at Plaza de la Raza’s iconic Boathouse Gallery. In addition to the gallery hours noted above, the exhibition will be open to the public during and after all performances of the CAP/Plaza de la Raza Youth Theater Program “behind barbed wire” at the Margo Albert Theater in Plaza de la Raza (for information about these performances please contact Plaza de la Raza at 323.223.2475)

Discussion: Reboot vs. Remake on movies

In the world of cinema when did everything get decided to be rebooted versus movies being remade? It seems through many different kinds of media news towards the moving picture many classics, franchises, movies no older than 10 years are being rebooted.

The first time i heard this term used was with Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins". His vision for the Batman franchise was going to reboot (start over) life back into it. But before this term all other second interpretations of previous films were considered remakes. Now like wild fire all new interpretations of movies are reboots, of course i maybe generalizing. To my understanding a remake is just another directorial perspective on a previously made film. The term of "reboot" seems to go towards a series of films based on the same characters being re envisioned by creative powers (this can be studio driven) to help increase box office sales. Now this definition i propose is not entirely clear or solid. For example, if we take the Harry Potter franchise, the first two films were directed by Chris Columbus. However, the third film took on a different director Alfonzo Cuaron, thou these films are part of a continuous narrative up until this chapter in the story the series took on a drastically different direction in visuals, story telling, etc. to craft a superior movie. Is this considered a reboot to the franchise?

Now when the idea of starting over is clear, as reboot suggests, i cannot agree more such as the recent Friday the 13th series. This was a license that needed to be forgotten or completely redone. This is also happening with the Nightmare on Elm Street series, another franchise that is being rebooted. 

There are a few movies that i'm not sure which category they can be placed, for example 1998's Psycho. This version of Psycho is almost an exact copy of Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 Psycho, i say almost because there are some added scenes that the director, Gus Van Sant, has spoken on which were not possible due to the censors of 1960. The same can be said with 2007's Funny Games, here is a film that was reshot exactly and its previous incarnation was only 10 years before. The original is from 1997.

The term of reboot is being strongly used towards the upcoming release of Star Trek headed by J.J. Abrams. Here is a license that has suffered some ticket sale failure, so much that it is said all odd numbered Star Trek films suck. In Abrams case maybe this is a reboot since instead of continuing the adventures of the Next Generation crew (where the series left off) he is starting over with the characters of the original series in their younger years.

For a point of discussion, what is your perspective on the terms Reboot  versus Remade? How about Redone, Retold, Re imagined or plain old updated? 

Open Studios 09: after event

The proceeding of UCSD's open studios 09 didn't come to an end at its posted time of 8 pm, the festivities made there way up to the second floor of the Visual Arts department. A mass amount of people enjoyed food, music, conversation and eventually dancing. A band preformed at some point. It was good to see my peers enjoying themselves and cutting a rug, i just hope i can blame the alcohol for some of the moves i witnessed by a few but all in the name of fun. Congrats to all that were involved for making this affair happen, you did a great job and your nightly fun was well deserved.