The Trials and Tribulations of a Grad School Nerd

A little bit of art (mostly Latin American art), a little bit of an opinion column, the frustrations of dissertation writing, travel, living abroad, and the personal life of a girl who is setting out to conquer the art world (well, as much as she can). var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-13241363-2']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();

[gradschoolnerd]

Chicano Art - A Series

I’ve recently been looking into early exhibitions of Chicano art in Texas and am currently building up a series of posts exploring Chicano art and it’s relationship with the Chicano movement of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

Lots of work being done at the time were murals meant to be seen by the working classes. Some are still visible while others are not. But, regardless, their significance and the roles they were meant to play will be looked at alongside the modern street art movement as a side series which will be posted concurrently. The example above, Leo Tangumas's The Rebirth of Our Nationality, is one that is located off Canal Street and one of Houston's best and greatest examples.

So, be watching in the coming weeks for this series! We will kick off the series by taking a look at the exhibition titled “Dale Gas: Give It Gas, The Continued Acceleration of Chicano Art” which debuted at the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston in 1977.

[lagunaartbylatinos]

Earlier this week we posted a photo collage of some work by Houston-based muralist, Daniel Anguilu. Today and Monday, we’re going to take a closer look at his work, most importantly the words and imagery used, and delve into muralism and street art as a form of activism (please join in the...

[gradschoolnerd]

From my other blog :)

[gradschoolnerd]

The International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), launched in January of this year. The database will consist of some 10,000 documents and 80,000 pages spanning 8 different countries with 15 research teams. The phased multi-year launch begins with 2,500 documents from Argentina, Mexico, and the American Midwest. Accompanying the launch of the website (www.icaadocs.mfah.org) is a 13 volume book series which will be annotated and translated into English.

The online archive is rich in artists' writings, correspondence and other unpublished materials, as well as in texts published in newspapers and period journals by artists, critics, scholars and other who have played a vital role in shaping the cultural fabric of the countries and communities where the Documents Project has had a presence. The material brings to life the ferment of international cultures, ideas and personalities that swept across 20th century South America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin communities in the United States as artists, writers and intellectuals sought to define or challenge notions of national art; art movements emerged in response to changing local political regimes, as well as to what was perceived as the onslaught of North American culture; and the contribution of Latin American artists to the early stages of global avant-garde movements. 

This online resource is free and available to all, which is truly a marvelous thing. I'm currently using it to help develop my syllabus for a course I will be teaching in the Fall on Latin American art and it is proving to be very useful. I can't wait to share it with students!

[gradschoolnerd]

It's been a while....

So, it's been forever since I posted something on my Tumblr page. But, for anyone who cares, I have been working on a side project that is being launched in June called "Laguna: Art by Latinos" and is an online review of contemporary art by Latinos in Texas. Check it out here: www.lagunaartbylatinos.com.

If you're in Texas and an arts writer, I want to hear from you! I'm looking for people to help cover the entire state and it's no easy feat. So, if you or someone you know might be interested in writing for Laguna, let me know. You can email us at [email protected] for more information.

I'll try to keep posting on this page, too when I can. And pick up where I left off!

[virgilebmtheonlyone]

Le magnifique voyage de Street Etiquette au brésil !

[streetetiquette]

Many thanks! 

[atavus-blog]

Still by Fred Eerdekens

[egrlfrnd-deactivated20231228-de]

Tom & James Draw

Tom & James Draw (which is a tumblr blog that you should follow) is the beau­ti­ful col­lab­o­ra­tive art project between James Gulliver Hancock and his brother Tom, who was born with Down’s Syndrome. Their work is gor­geous — lay­ered, col­or­ful and fas­ci­nat­ing. Here’s more:

Their col­lab­o­ra­tion is unique as they are shar­ing expe­ri­ences between the out­sider and “insider” art world. James iden­ti­fies with Toms abstract use of visual cod­ing and Tom builds around James’ skilled and con­fi­dent mark mak­ing. Tom relaxes James’ tech­ni­cal obses­sions, and James enables Tom’s con­cen­tra­tion and play­ful mark­mak­ing. Together they make worlds of expe­ri­ence, encom­pass­ing peo­ple around them and their actions, ani­mals, plants, engines, and some­times hilar­i­ous nods to the human expe­ri­ence and perception.

Both of them are inter­ested in obses­sion, both within mark mak­ing and the role obses­sion plays with per­cep­tion and life in general.

[gradschoolnerd]

Hi! I appreciate your blog because you provide great advice about grad. school that I'm looking for. But I have a few more advice questions that I hope you can provide for me. I'm graduating with my BA in Art History. I want to attend a grad. program to further my knowledge of Art HIstory (specifically Latin American art). I'm looking at schools in both the US and UK. Do you advise studying abroad for a graduate program? and Would you recommend your program to future prospects? Thanks! -Marissa

Hi Marissa! Thanks for your question, I'm glad to hear that you want to continue studying art history and, specifically Latin American art :) There are several very good programs in the US and the top three are probably University of Texas - Austin (Andrea Giunta?!?!?! OMG!), Tulane, and University of New Mexico. Roberto Tejada recently left UT-Austin and is founding what looks to be an amazing new program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. I'm not sure if this is a PhD only program or if it also grants an MA degree. The best resource for you to check out programs right now is http://associationlatinamericanart.org/ which provides up to date info with universities and their areas of specialization. This is an amazing resource because it also lets you know which programs are MA only and which offer PhD programs.

If you're looking at UK programs, I did my MA at University of Essex and absolutely loved it there. They have ESCALA http://www.escala.org.uk/ and is one of the only public collections of Latin American art in Europe. It was an amazing experience to be able to live overseas and gain that worldly experience (I had actually never been out of the country prior to this). I don't regret it one bit! The department's website is http://www.essex.ac.uk/arthistory/

Another school in the UK that is really good is University of the Arts, London http://www.arts.ac.uk/ and they have an amazing program in transnationalism and work closely with University of Essex (who also works closely with UT-Austin). Both Essex and UAL have MA and PhD programs. If you choose to go to UK, then I would have a ton more advice for you!

So, for now, I would suggest looking at the Association of Latin American Art's website and make a list of the universities in the US that you think you'd like to apply to, decide if you could live in that city, and really explore their program, faculty, and financial aid info.

If you have any other questions, let me know, I'm happy to help!

BTW, if you're anywhere close to Austin, UT is having a symposium later this year and loads of graduate students from all over will be there! http://blogs.utexas.edu/psla/call-for-papers-synchronicity-contacts-and-divergences-in-latin-american-and-u-s-latino-art-19th-century-to-the-present/

Hope that helps!

-Esme

[mexicanfoodporn]

Graffiti en Oaxaca

By juxtaposing such a revered mexican icon as Emiliano Zapata with the punk movement, the new breed of Mexicans show that they acknowledge the past but are not tied to it. They want progress, they want something new! 

[jose-ariel-cuevas]

Zapata-punk. ¡Revolución es mosh!

[thinkmexican]

The Silenced: London Photo Exhibit Honors Slain Mexican Journalists

Launched on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, to commemorate reporters in Mexico who have lost their lives in the pursuit of truth. ‘The Silenced’ is a growing group of journalists and media professionals who have been killed for reporting the reality of the country’s drugs cartels and their power networks, or have been caught in the cross-fire of drug violence.

The exhibition will mark the courage and determination of ‘The Silenced’ and those who continue to fight to tell the truth about [Mexican] drug cartels, despite the risks. More details on the photo exhibit.

See Profiles of Mexican Journalists Killed Since 2000

Photo Credit: Animal Politico

[thosehearts]

No Such Thing As Color - what it’s like to be color blind

[gradschoolnerd]

This is so interesting. I enjoyed it and now I'm wondering what relevance colorists and artists like Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesus Raphael Soto have with those who can't see the entire spectrum of color and truly appreciate their work. I feel all the more blessed now.

[fylatinamericanhistory]

Today In Latin American History

Future Argentine first lady Eva Perón was born to Juan Duarte and Juana Ibarguren in the Province of Buenos Aires on May 7, 1919.

[gradschoolnerd]

The International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), housed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), launched in January of this year. The database will consist of some 10,000 documents and 80,000 pages spanning 8 different countries with 15 research teams. The phased multi-year launch begins with 2,500 documents from Argentina, Mexico, and the American Midwest. Accompanying the launch of the website (www.icaadocs.mfah.org) is a 13 volume book series which will be annotated and translated into English.

The online archive is rich in artists' writings, correspondence and other unpublished materials, as well as in texts published in newspapers and period journals by artists, critics, scholars and other who have played a vital role in shaping the cultural fabric of the countries and communities where the Documents Project has had a presence. The material brings to life the ferment of international cultures, ideas and personalities that swept across 20th century South America, the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and Latin communities in the United States as artists, writers and intellectuals sought to define or challenge notions of national art; art movements emerged in response to changing local political regimes, as well as to what was perceived as the onslaught of North American culture; and the contribution of Latin American artists to the early stages of global avant-garde movements. 

This online resource is free and available to all, which is truly a marvelous thing. I'm currently using it to help develop my syllabus for a course I will be teaching in the Fall on Latin American art and it is proving to be very useful. I can't wait to share it with students!

[gradschoolnerd]

Fig. 2 Eugenio Dittborn Para vestir (Pintura aeropostale num. 56) [To Clothe (Airmail Painting Num. 56)], 1986-1987.

Eugenio Dittborn Remembers the Forgotten, Part 3

The second pintura aeropostale I would like to look at is Para vestir (Pintura aeropostale num. 56) [To Clothe (Airmail Painting No. 56] (1986-1987) (Fig. 2). Here, Dittborn uses another moment in history, an earthquake, and quotes a newspaper article in the top right hand corner while also writing “Houses with no life.” In this piece he refers to the past again by using mug shots of petty criminals from the 1930s and 1940s. But, the reference to the earthquake seems quite significant in that people are often buried in rubble and are not recovered for days or weeks. These people are lost. And the victims are lost to time. But, he attempts to resurrect the memory of these victims that are dead and gone by providing us with a reference to them. The faces of the men also call on us to remember these petty criminals as well who have been written off in the dredges of history because most of these men were of lower classes, the same lower classes that would vote for Allende.

The words that flow across the top from left to right are peculiar. The first box reads “Houses with no life” and could refer to the earthquake also referenced in that box since the houses would have been damaged or destroyed, killing or injuring the inhabitants. Or perhaps the words refer to the disappeared and their absence from their homes. One could even read the phrase as alluding to the men portrayed, long forgotten, and the absence that they left to be filled. Either way we choose to read this, it all comes back to loss. The next phrase, “Thieves with no death,” suggests that the dead or forgotten are still with us as long as we choose to remember them. However, the last two phrases, “Thieves with no ties” and “Thieves with no hats” are perhaps the most peculiar. These phrases seem to emphasize what the criminals lack. The criminals under the hats reference seem to be of a lower class standing while the ones on the right, lacking the hats, seem to be from a higher class standing, although one can not be sure just based on the clothing portrayed in these mug shots. But, if we go with this assumption, it could be said that criminals come from all walks of life and, by extension to the current circumstances at the time, that everyone is affected. Or, it could also be a sort of arbitrary set of classification that one might find in a prison. 
   

These works of Dittborn are designed around transit. They are easily folded and mailed off to destinations around the world, but their point of origin is in Santiago, Chile. While the themes in his work are universal, “like journeys and homecomings, death and survival, they also read within the Chilean context...as political critique.” (1) Because the faces of the criminals are “substitutes for those who in more recent history disappeared without a trace,” the circulation of these works becomes even more important. (2) The political critique by people who are not given the freedom of movement or expression in Chile are thus given visibility around the globe by the circulation of these works.

References:

1. Gina McDaniel Tarver “Eugenio Dittborn” in Blanton Museum of Art Latin American Collection p. 179.

2. Ibid.

[likeafieldmouse-deactivated2015]

[thosehearts]

Kim Joon, Awakened Ceramics

[wetheurban]

KEITH HARING x NICHOLAS KIRKWOOD PUMPS

Keith Haring’s distinctive stylised characters and squiggles are printed all over these high heeled pumps from Nicholas Kirkwood, resulting in a fun eye-catching clash of contemporary styles! Definitely can safely classify these as a collectors item if nothing else. If you think you’ve got the guts to wear them, they are £545 at Browns.

[gradschoolnerd]

Keith Haring stylized shoes?! I gots to have me some o' dese!

[fylatinamericanhistory]

Google Colombia featured a doodle commemorating the birthday of Colombian artist Omar Rayo on January 20.