Chicano Pioneers
nytimes.comRandy Kennedy
The New York Times
Late one December night in 1972, three members of an art collective here clambered out of a battered green Volkswagen bug and spray-painted their names — “Herrón, Gamboa, Gronkie” — on a footbridge of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, appropriating the entire museum as their own work of art simply by signing it.
The next morning Harry Gamboa Jr. returned with the fourth member of the group, Patssi Valdez, and immortalized the act with a glam shot of her posing in tight pants and a red top near the signatures, looking away coolly and seductively like Anna Karina in a Godard movie.
The stunt by the collective known as Asco exhibited all the hallmarks of the group’s outrageous style: angry, illicit, deftly and economically conceptual, and shot through with the high camp of Hollywood, whose sign they could see in the distance from the streets of East Los Angeles. The act was also pretty much noticed by no one except the four members themselves, who were always their own best audience. The paint was whitewashed before day’s end; the Los Angeles art world went on its way, paying little attention to a group of artists whose street performances and other unclassifiable productions were as compelling as practically anything bubbling up out of the urban dereliction of SoHo or other parts of Los Angeles during those years.
Almost four decades later, the same museum the collective defaced because its doors weren’t open to artists of their kind — Mexican-American, working class and poor, highly irreverent and politicized — is not just finally welcoming them inside but rolling out a red carpet for the occasion. “Asco: Elite of the Obscure, a Retrospective, 1972-1987,” the first survey of the group’s work, opens Sept. 4 as one of the Los Angeles County Museum’s main offerings for the sprawling Pacific Standard Time event, more than 60 collaborative shows opening throughout Southern California in the late summer and fall to tell the story of postwar Los Angeles art.
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Chicano Art Essay: A Panorama of Latino Art by Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto,
nps.gov
This essay explores Latino arts in the U.S. including the performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts as well as the impact of Latino artists on the nation and the world.
This is part of American Latinos and the Making of the United States: A Theme Study, a publication of the National Park System Advisory Board (NPSAB) for the National Park Service (NPS).
Latino Art speaks louder than words
Isabel Sesma, a Mexican born artist, illustrates a portrait of Mexican icon María Félix at Alberto Linero’s Gallery in Miami’s downtown art district. Félix was a film actress of the 50s. She is characterized by her strong personality and rough direct responses.
By Raisa Camargo
VOXXI News
Strong aggressive imagery provoked puzzled expressions from more than one passerby Saturday night in Miami’s downtown art scene.
Portraits illustrating Fidel Castro surrounded by Snow White, the crudeness of a Toro’s rear end, and dark brush strokes of women adorned the walls at Alberto Linero’s Gallery during the evening hours of Art Walk, an exhibition of various local galleries in the Wynwood downtown art district.
Still, up-and-coming artists said they weren’t fishing for curious gestures. They just let their expressions flow.
“At first, I had a capacity and an innate talent,” said Dario, using his artistic name. “I saw the capability to make a line that was easier than saying a word.”
Encuentros: Artistic Exchange between the U.S. and Latin America
americanart.si.eduJust got back from 3 days in DC to attend this symposium and am completely energized and excited about my current research and the field as a whole. I am still processing everything but will be posting bits and pieces over the next few days. I was fortunate to meet some really amazing scholars and am looking forward to some great new projects!
