an example of my Internet Art
Last week I had the on honor of being interviewed by my papi on Sí Se Puede. We talked about Internet art, the implications of growing up online, linguistic performances on twitter, public vs private, and more.
If you missed it you can listen here:
visit: AMericanMEdiaOutput.com/arizonawelcome.html
click hashtags #SB1611 and #SB1070
embeddable images of the Arizona Welcome Promo Girls will be avaliable soon…
I am a Chicago-based digital media and performance artist. I created this grassroots, social media, portable mural in support of Miguel del Valle‘s campaign for Mayor.
follow hashtag: #delValleMural to see how the mural was created.
The #delValleMural is finally complete!
#delValleMural, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas
I am thinking that after the elections a Chicago Public Library would be a really nice home for the piece. What do you guys think?
The #ChicagoMayor elections are right around the corner…
And I am happy to report that I am ALMOST done with the #delValleMural
(the hashtag is silent)
As a community-based performance artist, I find the act of sharing the process equally important to the act of sharing the final product.
Here are images from the last week of the #delValleMural unfolding.
2011 is going to be a good year. I can feel it already. In addition to our upcoming presentation at the 2011 PCA/ACA Conference this April, Andria and I were also accepted to the Wonder Woman Residency at the _gaia studio, in New Jersey. Curated by Maya Joseph-Goteiner and Doris Caçoilo, this year’s theme is: New News is Old News.
New News is Old News
In our society, the importance of news has shifted; some would argue that it has been elasticized or else devalued. As the blogosphere replaces the daily newspaper as the purveyor and distributor of breaking news, the reporting of events is no longer filtered by the journalist/editor. Instead the voice of news is replaced by a dynamic exchange of information.
Already, online, the same article that has appeared black on white in the early print edition has been updated, corrected or even replaced on the web. Newspaper stories no longer fit the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of news as “a report of recent events: previously unknown information.” In many respects, we have created an endless source of updated information online, a bottomless pit of patter. We cannot possibly consume all the news and commentary published online, and while few people have the time to read the entire newspaper, even fewer can keep up with the minute-to-minute updates via Twitter, blogs, online publications, and RSS feeds.
A residency that focuses on the ways in which news is presented, represented, distributed, and modified within the space of the web… hmm… can you think of anything more perfect for us?
So what are we doing?
I won’t spill all the beans yet, but here is an excerpt from our preliminary proposal:
Our project takes its cue from the recent Buy Life Digital Death campaign, where celebrities volunteered their virtual lives (activity on Twitter and Facebook) with the goal of raising $1 million for children and families in Africa and India affected by HIV/AIDS. We were fascinated by their use of highly stylized, seductive images of Kim Kardashian (and other participating celebrities) lying in a coffin, and the role these images play in the dissemination of news coverage surrounding this HIV/AIDS campaign.
Almost immediately following Digital Death’s inception, images of a “dead” Kardashian started appearing in news stories everywhere from CNN to Gawker. Now layered with multiple levels of history and meaning, screenshots of the sultry Kardashian lying in a coffin, continue to be re-distributed on personal blogs, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter pages…
Stay tuned for more project updates here and on Are You My Other?
have you been kiruv‘d lately?
My newest partner in crime is the talented, witty, godzilla and pikapika lovin’ Chicano artist and curator Rio Yañez. I first came across his Ghetto Frida two years ago, while working on the project Obsessed With Frida Kahlo. Immediately I felt some sort of cosmic connection-not to Ghetto Frida- but to her creator. And then to make matters worse better, I found out that he is the son of one my biggest heroes- Yolanda Lopez!
There was really no option other than collaboration. It was fate.
Last month we finally initiated our long distance partnership through a tweet. Since then we have been communicating through TwitPic, Facebook, YouTube, phone calls and texts, and of course mutual shouts in interviews on the blogosphere (mine to Rio & Rio’s to me.)
Here are a few examples of Rio’s recent work:
“I’ve been twittering for about a week now at http://twitter.com/rioyanez. I signed up as a way to contact Amber Rose after she started writing and posting about the portrait I created of her. I have to say, the most exciting aspect of twitter is the way people distribute images. The short urls for twitpics that often pop up on tweets evoke a sense of curiosity in me; more so than the many thumbnails that can be found on facebook. I think the lack of a thumbnail is more alluring and it forces you to chose to see the image or not, there’s no middle ground of a provided preview.” (from his blog)
“Artist Curator Rachel-Anne Palacios flanked by Zitlalix and I. I created this portrait to thank Rachel for including me in the recent Frida exhibit she curated and to join the many artists who are on display on the walls of her apartment” (from flickr)
These images represent my first foray into my Raza Zombies series. They were inspired by the single best mainstream comic book of the 21st century: Marvel Zombies. Marvel Zombies re-imagines classic superheroes as flesh eating zombies. After reading it I felt compelled to do some zombie transformations on a few of my own personal heroes. More to come. (from flickr)
Video of Gomez Peña setting the record straight for Rio regarding his Facebook presence.
Rio’s Ghetto Frida Mural in the Mission District
stay tuned for more…
Maya Talk 