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[museumoflatinamericanart]

Sir Oliver Krisch (Venezuela, b. 1977) Reggaeton (Nuevo Pop Latino), 2007. Digital photograph on metalic paper, face mounted on acrylic and mounted on Sintra. Ed. 2/5, 60” x 60” x 60”. Gift of the artist and Whatako Productions, Inc.

“Kirsch uses three varieties of Goya brand beans to discuss identity, migration and politics in this series of photographs. Black beans represent Afro-Latinos, white beans stand in for Latinos of predominantly European descent, and pinto beans signify mixed-race Mestizos. The cans have been opened by hand, referring to the struggle associated with migrating to the US. Beans are native to the Americas and are a common food staple throughout Latin America. Goya, whose products can be found in most “Latino” sections of the supermarket, produces its goods in the Caribbean but is headquartered in the US. The importation of its products mimics the migration of Latino populations.  By utilizing a popular consumer product Kirsch appropriates the style of Pop artist Andy Warhol, who also used everyday objects to discuss American culture.” -Gabriela Martinez, Curator of Education at MOLAA

This piece is part of the Who Are You? exhibit in MOLAA’s Port to Learning Gallery (On Display through March 13, 2016).

[museumoflatinamericanart]

CALL FOR CURATORS! The Museum of Latin American Art is currently seeking a Guest Curator for a summer exhibition on comic book art and culture!

This exhibition will be featured in our ‪Port to Learning Gallery, a space dedicated to promoting local artists, engaging the public in the concepts presented in MOLAA’s Permanent Collection, and providing career development opportunities to emerging museum professionals.

The guest curator must live, work, or study in Long Beach, CA, and have a knowledge and awareness of contemporary comic culture and art, with an emphasis on the city of Long Beach as well as Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Email [[email protected]] for an application. Applications are due on Friday, March 4, 2016 by 5PM. Qualified candidates will be contacted in March. **No phone calls please. 

[museumoflatinamericanart]

Nahum B. Zenil (Mexico, b. 1947) Retrato de boda, 1992. Lithograph. Ed. 50/100, 21” x 28”. MOLAA Permanent Collection.

“As an openly gay artist, Nahum Zenil uses his own image to explore ideas of Mexican male identity, belonging and intimate bonds. In Wedding Portrait, he analyzes his relationship to traditional Mexican rites and rituals through the humorous representation of a wedding party. Every member of the wedding party has Zenil’s face; he plays the the bride, the groom, the bridesmaids, and even the flower girls. Zenil is one of Mexico’s most prominent gay artists who also works for the rights of the #LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community in his home country. Coming from a lower middle class community in Veracruz, his drawings and paintings include references to various Mexican art traditions and pay homage to the works of modern masters such as Frida Kahlo.” -Gabriela Martinez, Curator of Education at MOLAA

This piece is part of the Who Are You? exhibit in MOLAA’s Port to Learning Gallery (On Display through March 13, 2016).

[museumoflatinamericanart]

Veronica Riedel (Guatemala, b. 1961) Cotzij from the series The Making of the Mestizas, 2006. Mixed media photo collage. 40” x 35”. Robert Gumbiner Foundation Collection

“This work from the series The Making of the Mestizas by Veronica Reidel places indigenous women in a position of prestige, challenging the way these women were treated in Latin America during and after the Spanish conquest.  A Mestiza is a woman of mixed indigenous and European descent and is one of many racial categories that were established in Latin America to create social, economic, and political hierarchies. These categories privileged people of European lineage and gave fewer rights to indigenous, African, and mixed race people. Riedel uses portraiture, a genre of painting and photography once regarded only for the elite, to deliberately step away from the idea of these women as victims. She instead presents them as “queens”, celebrating their struggles and strengths.” -Gabriela Martinez, Curator of Education at MOLAA

This piece is part of the Who Are You? exhibit in MOLAA’s Port to Learning Gallery (On Display through March 13, 2016).

[museumoflatinamericanart]

I am the other Series

Miguel Alvear draws from racial and social stereotypes, clichés and popular iconography to initiate a conversation about identity, race and class distinctions in Ecuador. His Yo soy el otro and Yo soy la otra are two series of 16 photographs based on the illustration of Joaquín Pinto, Ecuadorian folk artist of the 19th century, that examine the four state-recognized racial groups: white, indigenous, mestizo, and black. He plays with the state-recognized categories by disguising each racial group in the stereotyped attire of their culture and that of the other three, critically deconstructing and challenging established notions of race and social constructions.

These works contain a playful element—since the portraits resemble small toys, the spectator is the one who decides which one is the “real” look corresponding to each person, thus challenging the viewer with his/her own prejudices.

Top: Miguel Alvear 
(Ecuador, b. 1964) 
Yo soy la otra / I am the Other One (female), 2004
—Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach 
Gift of the artist, M.2009.154 

Bottom: Miguel Alvear 
(Ecuador, b. 1964)
 Yo soy el otro / I Am the Other One (male), 2002
 photograph, 7 x 7 in. each— 
Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach 
Gift of the artist, M.2009.153

This piece is part of the Who Are You? exhibit in MOLAA’s Port to Learning Gallery (On Display through March 13, 2016).

[museumoflatinamericanart]

You are cordially invited.

Join in the conversation by using the hashtag #WhoAreYouExhibit!