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.