Art show and lectures Thursday

Once again the El Paso Museum of Art and the Rubin Center have events on the same day. Were both art openings, this wouldn’t be a problem, but when one is a lecture and the other an opening, it means one has to choose or prioritise. For those of us who like to preserve our cake while simultaneously consuming it , this is moderately annoying. In any case, both seem worthwhile.

At EPMA, art historian Dr. Karen Cordera Reiman is lecturing on Gesture, Style and Function in Modern Mexican Drawing 1900-1950. This is of course a complement to the Dibujos Drawing show currently on view. Dr. Reiman has lived in Mexico since 1982, is a lecturer at UNAM, and Universidad Iberoamericana (Can we ask questions about the recent Pena Nieto visit?)as well as an author of numerous publications on 20th and 21st century Mexican art. She also has extensive experience as a curator and adviser. 
So her lecture will revolve around the drawings in the exhibit in the context of the artistic and political ambience of the time surrounding the Mexican Revolution.
The free lecture begins at 6.

Over at the Rubin Center, there will be three shows. Mark Bradford, California based artist who has won all sorts of awards including a MacArthur fellowship, is drawing his largest painting to date on the Rubin center’s 40 foot wall. Entitled “ With That Ass They Won’t Look At Your Eyes”, it is actually a meditation of the 10 amendments to the Constitution, specifically the freedom of the press, and  (I’m paraphrasing  the press release here) the way the press has negatively portrayed immigrants and the immigrant question to such an extent that intelligent conversation on the subject is nearly impossible. There is also a video installation entitled “Niagara” referencing the Marilyn Monroe movie, but featuring the backside of his neighbor Melvin.
For those who cannot attend the opening, or even for those who can, Mark will also be giving a talk at noon that day.
The other two shows opening at the center are El Flow: Cross-border Youth Culture in Conversation and Imagining Science: Prints and Mixed Media Drawings by Sean Caulfield.
The opening reception is from 5-7:30, and the shows continue until August 31.-david sokolec

Reinas del Sur

At the same time as we have had the recent off again on again situation with the Canadian Miss Universe contestant, who began life a different gender, we have a photo exhibition through May 6th at the Museo Arqueologica in the Chamizal entitled: Reinas, espacios y realidades en la Mujer Transgenero.
Photographer Olga Nayeli Cortes here gives us straight forward portraits of a series of transgendered women in Juarez done with obvious love and respect.  Although a few place the subject in a setting, either an apartment or other location, the majority are either facial close-ups or full  portrait. The photos are well made and, as I said, are made with respect, but what is missing here is context.
Viewing these portraits makes one want to know more about who these various women are. What one wants is for these photos to be either part of a larger installation with perhaps video, or perhaps  a book with stories, quotes, and more information to let us know more about not only who these individual women are, but an account of how the transgendered community fits into the larger multilayed complex world of Juarez.
Short of that we are verging on a sort of tourism, which is the last thing in the world which the photographer wants, but with more information the photos would lend reality to the life stories, and the life stories would lend depth to the stories.
The reality of this part of the Juarez community is an important one, and this is a good start in making it known, but it seems a first step in what should be a larger enterprise exploring this world.-david Sokolec

Art in the City conference-Conectarte 2012

There is going to be what promises to be a great conference this Friday and Saturday on the subject of artists and their relation to the city, and specifically Ciudad Juarez. There is going to be a Pecha Kucha with presentations by a large variety of collectivos who will present their projects for interacting with the community as well as talks by Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo from Parson’s in New York, and Benjamin Gonzalez from Central de la Pueblo in DF.
I was going to write more about the general theme, because there is a lot to say about how many artists are changing their approach to try to work with communities; to engage with rather than simply observe like a tourist the world in which they are living, but for now I will just reprint the agenda for the conference. For those of you with a facebook account, it can be found at conectarte 2012: Arte en dialogo con la Ciudad

• • Friday

• COLEF Av. Insurgentes 3708

• AGENDA FINAL DE CONECTARTE AQUI!!! VIERNES 20 de ABRIL: 3pm Presentación En y De las Ciudades: Proyectos en el Espacio Público Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, Escuela de Diseño Parsons, NY Co-patrocinado por el departamento de Diseño Gráfico de la IADA/UACJ ***Campus de IADA/Audiovisual B 5pm Inscripciones para los que no lo hayan echo en línea antes del encuentro Para ir a la encuesta de inscripción: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H9QKNPV 6pm Conferencia Magistral: Espacios Artísticos Alternativos de Latinoamérica Benjamín González, Central del Pueblo, DF 7:30pm Bocadillos, música, conversación Música en vivo – Armas por la Paz/Batallones Femeninos 11am Presentación de los datos y resultados de Conectarte 2011 Kerry Doyle, Centro Rubin para los Artes Visuales, UTEP Gabriela Duran Barraza, IADA/UACJ 12pm Pecha Kucha sobre el tema Arte en Diálogo con la Ciudad *20 presentaciónes por 20 colectivos/artistas *20 imágenes por presentación *20 segundos por imagen (6 min./ presentación) 2pm Comida 2:30pm PANEL: “Imagen de Ciudad Juárez en la Producción Artistica” Leobardo Alvarado, Juarez Dialóga Gracia Chavez, IADA/UACJ Juan Fernández, Colectivo Vagón Jorge “Yorch” Pérez, Colectivo REZIZTE/ Espacio Panadería (Blanca de Batallones por confirmar) 4:30 pm Mesas de Diálogo: Mesa 1: Zonificación de la Ciudad Mesa 2: Espacios Mesa 3: Trabajo Social y Comunitario a traves del Arte Mesa 4: Recursos Mesa 5: Colectivos Fronterizos/Trabajo Borde Mesa 6 Arte y Política 6:30pm Valoración/Reconocimientos Benjamín Gonzalez, Valoración del Evento Cynthia Lawson Jaramillo, Entrega de Reconocimientos 9:00pm- 12:30 Convivio de Cierre ***Espacio del Grupo Arte IMAN Ignacio Ramirez 508 y 20 de Noviembre Menos los eventos señalados con (***) todos los eventos estarán en Colegio de la Frontera Norte (COLEF) Avenida Insurgentes 3708, Colonia Los Nogales, Tel: 656-616-8758

• Kerry Doyle
• Como pueden inscribirse para Conectarte 2012? Pues, gracias por preguntar. Solo hay que llenar una breve encuesta, todos los que lo hacen antes del encuentro este fin de semana, reciben gratis un cartel conmemorativo del evento. Sigue el enlace:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H9QKNPV

  See Translation

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Art events this week

This week brings, among other things, a zip tour of the dibujos divinos show led by Curator Christian Gerstheimer at El Paso Museum of Art this Wednesday at 12:15. 
The next evening brings a Dr. Lydia Klich from Hunter College in New York, who will share her expertise on the important, if short-lived, movement “estridentismo” which was founded in Mexico in the 20′s, and included writers, visual artists and others who, from a center in Xalapa, tried to create revolutionary forms of art focused, if I have this correctly, on personal interpretations of reality rather than simply “copying” observed reality. The lecture will be at 6 pm.

Thursday night is also the opening of the UTEP student art show at the Rubin Center.

I also want to give a link to a relatively new  (at least for me) on-line publication focused on art on the border. It can be found at artmagazineelpaso.com.-david sokolec

Hans Erni at EPMA

The El Paso Museum of Art has around 6,000 pieces of art in its collection, most of which spend most of their time locked away due to space limitations. The museum  has begun a program of showing off works which have not been viewed in awhile, and officially opening this Sunday are works by the prolific Swiss artist Hans Erni.
Erni, who at 103! apparently still paints in studio every day, is one of the most prolific artists in Switzerland. He is unfortunately often called “the Swiss Picasso” probably because his work  shows a heavy influence, possibly because like Picasso in his later years, Erni has put his images on everything from ceramics to stamps as well as works on paper, and mostly because there is an unfortunate tendency to categorize artists usually to the detriment of all parties concerned, including the viewer, who is thus impeded in actually looking clearly at the art involved.
These lithographs which date mostly from the mid to late 60′s reflect Erni’s interest in Greek mythology combined with an obviously contemporary sensibility.
What this means is that the works, involving nudes both male and female, look as though they could have come from a Grecian urn had the Grecian artist spent time in Paris in the 20th century. The figures, loosely, but realistically  drawn, are often bisected by triangular planes or intersected by stars or other symbols. The titles, as well as the figures themselves, reflect their Grecian inspiration: Theseus is invoked  in one instance  yet the whole is shot through with modern touches, (or what was modern in the late 60′s.).
For those who like to contrast and compare, it is useful to contrast these lithographs with the drawings in the dibujo divino exhibition upstairs. In all cases there was a clear exposure to and taking from contemporary European artists of the time, yet the differences are obvious.
Interestingly, there is also currently a show of 40 posters of Hans Erni’s works at Houston’s Museum of Printing History. This was apparently billed as a retrospective, and left at least one reviewer seriously disappointed, not with the work itself, but with the lack of breadth the term retrospective implies.
At the El Paso museum, there is no intention to present a retrospective, but to simply present some lithographs, too little seen by an artist, well-known in Switzerland for his humanitarian work as well as for his art, but not nearly as well known here.-david Sokolec

Art events for Thursday and Friday

Just wanted to mention a few events tomorrow and Friday. Over at Cleveland Park-the Museum of History, Library complex they are having an official dedication for the public installation by the New York based artist team Bill and Nancy Buchen. Called Sombras y Luz, we are talking about the steel cutout structures by the History museum and colored reflecting shade structures in front of the library. The inspiration for the fence were the Mexican paper cutouts known as “papel Picado” This happens from 10-11 Thursday morning. (22nd).
Also on Thursday at the Hstory museum there is going to be a free Mayan picture writing workshop given by Gabriel Gaytan beginning at 6:30. The workshop is free but they want you to RSVP so they’ll have enough material. Call Sue Taylor at 351-3588 or email her at taylorsl@elpasotexas.gov.

Finally on Friday, over at the El Paso Museum of Art there is the first of  a series of   architectural design lectures by internationally known architects with a talk by Mexico city based architect Tatiano Bilbao giving a talk on “Working in Mexico.” This free lecture starts at 6:3o p.m.-david Sokolec

EPMA lecture cancelled

The El Paso Museum of Art has cancelled the lecture scheduled for this Sunday. (see my previous post on the untimely death of Dr David Craven.)

Dr. David Craven- RIP

Word reached me over the weekend that Dr. David Craven, distinguished professor of art history at UNM,and specialist in contemporary Latin American art died  Feb 11th, apparently of a heart attack. 
Dr. Craven was a widely published expert in both contemporary Latin American art, and abstract expressionism. He apparently had created models for discussing Latin American art removed from the often eurocentric perspective so thatit could be evaluated on its own regional terms. For this as well as a variety of other reasons, I was looking forward to his talk on Diego Rivera’s cubist work scheduled for this coming Sunday at the El Paso Museum of Art. I am waiting to hear from the museum as to whether there will be any sort of lecture, and will send along the info when I know more.
For know, I just want to express my somewhat belated condolences to his peers and colleagues.-David Sokolec

 

Museo Reina Sofia hosting LatAm art conference

Beginning tomorrow(March 2) Madrid’s Museo Reina Sofia is hosting what sounds like a great two-day conference on Latin American Contemporary art.  Called Repensar los modernismos latinoamericanos Reflujos y desbordamientos it is being held In conjunction with Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, whose renowned collection will be exhibited next year at the museum,  the museum is bringing a panel of international experts to examine origins and influences of  contemporary Latin American art.
The first panel will focus on the origins of modernism and abstraction in Latin America during the 40′s and 50′s, while the second panel will place the art within a larger social and political context as well as examining contradictions and variations.
I am not writing all this to make you sorry you are not on a plane to Madrid for the free conference, but to say that it will also be live streamed as well at:

www.livestream.com/museoreinasofia- david sokolec

 

Erotica at Grupo Arte IMAN

Great opening last Saturday night at Grupo Arte IMAN in Cd Juarez. A huge crowd (sex always sells) jammed the IMAN center at 508 Ignacio Ramirez for a mutidisciplinary (No, not that kind of discipline) exhibition entitled Erotica. A large number of artists offered versions on the theme, and as might be expected there were hugely different approaches from the explicitly sexual to more nuanced ideas. From Luz Galvan’s sculptures in white and dark chocolate to painted shower curtains to photography it was interesting to see how artists interpreted the theme. Erotica is not the same as sexuality, though the two are often seen as synonymous, and perhaps because I’m a classicist at heart I was taken with two small aquatints by Cristine Gardea which were sensual without being explicit.
Less subtle, but fun was the room one entered by passing through  strings of condoms hung like beads to see by a dim red light a tableau vivant of three sexily clad characters posing suggestively. There was also a poetry reading given by IMAN co-founder Osvaldo Ogaz wearing only black underwear to a very crowded room.
IMAN, founded by Michelle Paez and Osvaldo Ogaz, to help promote culture in the city. If the crowd on Saturday night was any indication, there is not only a need but, as one continually sees at various events throughout the city, a huge and  appreciative audience for art, music and poetry here.
Unfortunately there is a lack of space but groups like IMAN are doing what they can to make a real and importance difference in Cd Juarez.
The exhibition will continue through March 10th from 5:30-8 pm Weds-Sat. More info at grupo.arte.iman@gmail.com.-dsokolec