Sunday, January 22, 2012

Opening Feb. 3rd: Hybrid Narrative @ MacArthur B Arthur

Coming up...

Hybrid Narrative: Video Meditations of the Self and Imagined Self

curated by: Susannah Magers

February 3, 2012 – February 26, 2012
**Reception Friday, February 3rd, 7-10 pm**




MacArthur B Arthur is pleased to announce Hybrid Narrative: Video Mediations of the Self and Imagined Self, a group show featuring multi-media installation and video work from the Bay area and beyond, by artists Sofia Cordova, Shana Moulton, Liz Rosenfeld, and Chris E. Vargas.

The artists in this exhibition use video as a device to mediate certain idealized worlds, operating in and on various real, imagined and invented environments, states of mind, alter-egos—and, ultimately, themselves. As both maker and participant, Cordova, Moulton, and Vargas use the visual language of their own performative bodies to enact versions of the self, while Rosenfeld demonstrates this through the interaction of the performative bodies of others. They are at once themselves, other, and hybrids of both. As Moulton says about her character Cynthia in her episodic work Whispering Pines (2004–11), “I guess I’m not Cynthia. But if I’m not, then no one is. I don’t know how much I should separate her from myself.”

While some of the works appear as clear declarations of self, others are more entangled in the subconscious, uncertain of how the self will manifest. Invoking the satirical, Vargas performs in and around various recognizable American sites, including a Mormon temple in Utah and Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels (1973-76), exposing himself by lifting his shirt followed by the declaration, “Have you ever seen a transsexual before?"(the title of this work). Dissatisfied with the reception by these real-world sites, Vargas turns to animated environments; a beach paradise surrounded by beach balls, and a tranquil wilderness, where transsexuality is visible and celebrated. Similarly, Moulton navigates a seemingly oppressive domestic space in her series Whispering Pines, languishing in front of Antiques Roadshow or painstakingly mixing a glass of Crystal Light, before escaping and transmuting herself into ethereal Enya Muzak dance parties and other animated, self-guided visualizations. Cordova’s narrative focuses on the (at times conflicted) merging of her Puerto Rican and American identities, infusing found footage with her own, as well as the music of Chu Cha Santamaria, her character that embodies this narrative. In homage to Barbara Hammer’s 1974 Dyketactics, Rosenfeld’s Untitled (Dyketactics Revisited)imagines an unapologetically liberated, queer utopia where, “androgynous figures, skin, and concrete, masquerade through a fantasia of fluid forms referencing history while looking into the future.”

Whether through ambiguous, yet symbolic, incorporation of popular cultural tropes, or more personally imbued visual information, the works create opportunities for identification by the viewer, and speak to an ever-evolving nature of the human spirit and how we continually shape and experience our sense of self.

the Facebook event
http://www.macarthurbarthur.com/

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Illegitimate and Herstorical // Two Point Oh

I have two announcements today! One is about a show I'm in called Illegitimate and Herstorical at A.I.R. Gallery in Brookyln, curated by Emily Roysdon which opened 2 weeks ago. There's a great review on Hyperallergic.com, in which I'm mentioned (link below). The other announcement is about a fantastic online exhibition that I'm also a part of that just went live this weekend Two Point Oh, curated by Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour for the website Little Paper Planes. I'm so honored to be in both of these awesome shows! Read on... and please stay tuned for more updates coming soon!

Illegitimate and Herstorical
January 5 – 28, 2012

A.I.R. GALLERY
11 Front Street • #228 • Brooklyn, NY 11201

Curated by Emily Roysdon

Artists: A Feminist Tea Party collective, Bland Boydston III, Rachel Farmer, Barbara Hammer, Reena Katz, Lucretia Knapp, Barbara Greene Mann, Alice O’Malley, L.J. Roberts, Tobaron Waxman, Chris Vargas.

Opening Reception: January 5, 6-9pm.
Closing Reception with Emily Roysdon: January 28, 4-6pm.
Performance: by A Feminist Tea Party from 2:00 - 4:45pm.

Press:
Queer Art Grows In Brooklyn - on Hyperallergic.com

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Two Point Oh
January 17 –February 29, 2012
an online exhibition for Little Paper Planes 

Curated by Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour

Artists: Constant Dullaart, Ian Dolton-Thornton, Ryan Trecartin, Sabrina Ratté, Pronunciation Book, Kalup Linzy, Sara Ludy, David Horvitz, Chris E. Vargas and Greg Youmans, and Jeremy Deller.