MADE IN MEXICO on View June 6 Through September 12, 2004
New Exhibition at the Hammer Museum Explores Mexico City's Influence as a Center for Contemporary Art - Includes Works by Notable Mexican and International Contemporary Artists
April 30
Los Angeles, CA—The first exhibition in Los Angeles to fully explore Mexico City’s role as a global metropolitan center of contemporary art, Made in Mexico presents paintings, photographs, sculpture, installations, and videos by 19 international artists. Created in and inspired by Mexico, the works in the exhibition reflect the international influence exerted by the thriving Mexico City art community.
Comprised of over 30 works produced during the past 12 years, Made in Mexico investigates the different ways in which artists express their notions of Mexico—reflecting on its history, the concerns of its citizens, and the way the country is perceived by the rest of the world. The exhibition goes beyond common stereotypes associated with Mexican art and challenges the folkloric and traditional associations implied by the exhibition’s title. The artists are fully engaged in an international dialogue, sometimes using regional stereotypes to comment on larger issues of contemporary culture. Made in Mexico ultimately demonstrates the ways in which Mexico City’s unique urban environment and socioeconomic atmosphere have profoundly influenced artists from both within and outside of the country. Organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Made in Mexico is on view at the Hammer Museum from June 6 through September 12, 2004.
Approximately two thirds of the artists in Made in Mexico live and work in Mexico, including Mexican artists Eduardo Abaroa, Claudia Fernández, Teresa Margolles, Gabriel Orozco, Damián Ortega, Pedro Reyes, Sebastián Romo, and Daniela Rossell alongside long-term residents Francis Alÿs (Belgium), Thomas Glassford (U.S.), Terence Gower (Canada), Santiago Sierra (Spain), and Melanie Smith (Britain). The remaining artists live outside of Mexico, including Andrea Fraser (U.S.), Erik Göngrich (Germany), Mona Hatoum (Palestine/Britain), Sharon Lockhart (U.S.), Yasumasa Morimura (Japan), and Anton Vidokle (U.S./Russia).
“Mexico City has established itself as a vibrant center for contemporary art during the past several years, and its influence resonates in Los Angeles as well as around the world,” said Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum. “This exhibition celebrates the work of some of the most promising young artists who live in Mexico or have spent time there to create work. I’m pleased that the Hammer Museum is able to present this timely exhibition in LA, where the influence of Mexican culture is palpable in all realms of life.”
“This exhibition considers the relevance of place at a moment when contemporary art is increasingly globalized,” said Gilbert Vicario, exhibition curator and assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art. “It examines the relationship between artists native to Mexico—those who have chosen to live and work there—and international artists who are inspired by some aspect of Mexican culture.”
Made in Mexico presents contemporary works in a variety of media by a diverse and often disparate group of notable contemporary artists. The artists explore different facets of Mexican culture including the formal traditions of its art and architecture as well as social issues and questions of identity. Three overarching themes seen in the exhibition are Local Identities, Mexican Modernisms, and Social Spaces. Artists such as Gabriel Orozco, Yasumasa Morimura, Sharon Lockhart, and Mona Hatoum explore local identities in works that engage the essential characteristics of Mexican identity through popular imagery, cultural iconography, and traditional art forms. They often incorporate familiar aspects of Mexican culture such as pre-Columbian art, imagery associated with the Day of the Dead, representations of Frida Kahlo, and the tradition of mural painting. The images and visual language of Mexican architecture, design, and sculpture are used by artists such as Anton Vidokle, Terence Gower, and Pedro Reyes to confront the problems of modernist aesthetic ideologies. Artists including Francis Alÿs, Teresa Margolles, Daniela Rossell, and Santiago Sierra, use a variety of approaches and media that can include performances or involve collaborators to offer analytical and often critical commentaries on the current social and political state of Mexico.
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Made in Mexico is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue, which includes an essay by exhibition curator Gilbert Vicario of The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and interviews with several of the artists in the exhibition conducted by Pamela Echeverría, curator of the Carrillo Gil Museum, Mexico City.
ORGANIZER AND FUNDING
Made in Mexico is organized by The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
Altria Group is the national sponsor of the exhibition. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Kenneth L. Freed, and La Colección Jumex.
Additional assistance in Los Angeles provided by the Consulate General of Mexico, Los Angeles; Unidad de Asuntos Culturales de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores; Aeromexico; Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles-Westwood; Bohemia Imported Beer; and La Opinión.
RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS
In conjunction with the exhibition Made in Mexico, the Hammer Museum hosts an eclectic and stimulating summer season of free public programs featuring Mexican musicians, critics, and artists in discussions, gallery talks, and a lively series of outdoor concerts. In addition, four contemporary and classic Mexican films will be screened in the Museum’s open-air courtyard.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Sunday, June 6, 2pm
Exhibition curator Gilbert Vicario with artists Erik Göngrich, Pedro Reyes, Sebastián Romo, and Melanie Smith.
CONVERSATION
Thursday, June 24, 7pm
Magali Arriola and Guillermo Santamarina
Magli Arriola is an independent critic and a curator. She was chief curator at the Museo Carrilo Gil, Mexico through 2001. She founded the T/e/r/a/t/o/m/a group and the independent art space CANAIA (Cámara Nacional de la Industria Artística) both of which support the burgeoning contemporary art scene in Mexico.
Guillermo Santamarina is an internationally renowned critic, curator, and professor. He is founder of the FITAC, an annual forum of contemporary art theory, and until recently was the co-director of Casa de Agua, a non-profit visual arts organization. He was appointed Director of Mexico’s Centro Cultural Ex-Teresa in August 2003.
GALLERY TALKS
Thursday, July 15, 7pm
Daniel J. Martinez
Daniel J. Martinez is a conceptual artist who combines photography, video, sculpture, and language in site-specific installations and performances. He has exhibited his work in solo and group shows in Europe, United States, and the South Pacific. Martinez is currently Assistant Professor of Studio Art, New Genres at University of California, Irvine.
Thursday, July 29, 7pm
Bill Kelley Jr.
Bill Kelley Jr. is currently the director of the online art journal LatinArt.com. His work attempts to bridge a gap of discussion beyond ethnic and geographic classifiers. He is currently a freelance writer and curator, and he teaches at Otis College.
MIXED IN MEXICO
A lively series of four outdoor concerts featuring musicians and DJs from Tijuana and Mexico City. The evenings begin with DJs and cash bar at 6:30pm, and headliners perform at 9pm. Exhibition hours will be extended during the concerts.
Thursday, July 15, 9pm
Panoptica and Fussible
Panoptica (Robert Mendoza) and Fussible (Pepe Mogt) are members of the Nortec Collective, Tijuana’s electronic music outift that mixes samples of traditional Mexican music (the norteño, ranchero, and banda sinaloense) with electronic beats to create an original sound.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Bostich
Bostich (Ramón Amezcua) began his career in electronic music in 1988 with the release of two ambient electronic albums. He worked with Panoptica and Fussible to initially establish the nortec sound, an original musical style blending the sounds of traditional instruments of Tijuana with electronic beats.
Thursday July 29, 2004
Los Super Elegantes
Los Super Elegantes are a unique punk-mariachi-pop group from Los Angeles (via Tijuana and Buenos Aires). Milena Muzquiz and Martiniano Lopez-Crozet formed the band in 1995 and have mixed original music with theatrical stage improvisations in amusing live performances.
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Sonida Apokalitzin
Sonida Apokalitizin is music by three Mexican DJs—Luis Arremio Figueroa Zamano, Jorge Borja, and Vicente Razo—who create a baroque electronic sound by mixing vintage Mexican records. They display visual projections (super 8 projections, slides, video) and special light effects during their performances to produce an interactive environment.
HAMMER SCREENINGS
The Hammer Museum’s courtyard will be the site of outdoor screenings of contemporary and classic Mexican films.
Friday, July 23, 8pm
Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu (153 minutes, 2000)
Friday, July 30, 8pm
Abismos de Passion by Luis Buñuel (91 minutes, 1954)
Friday, August 6, 8pm
Y tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón (105 minutes, 2001)
Friday, August 13, 8pm
El Lugar sin Limites by Arturo Ripstein (110 minutes, 1977)
For additional information on these and other public programs, including additional film screenings, Hammer Conversations, Hammer Readings, and Hammer Forum, please visit the website at www.hammer.ucla.edu or call 310.443.7056.
HAMMER MUSEUM
The Hammer Museum is dedicated to exploring the diversity of artistic expression through the ages, recognizing that artists play a crucial role in all aspects of culture and society. The Museum's programming spans the classics to the cutting-edge, presenting exhibitions of historical and contemporary art alongside selections from its permanent collections. Founded by Dr. Armand Hammer in 1990, the Museum’s collections include The Armand Hammer Collection of Old Master, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings; The Armand Hammer Daumier and Contemporaries Collection; The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, containing over 40,000 works on paper; and the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden on the UCLA campus.
In addition to selections from its permanent collections, the Hammer Museum presents a range of exhibitions of historical and contemporary art, architecture, and design. The Museum also presents approximately ten Hammer Projects each year focusing on the work of emerging artists. The series provides international and local artists with a laboratory-like environment to create new work or to present existing work in a new context, and reflects the Museum’s commitment to serving artists by providing a responsive, flexible arena for presenting their work to the Los Angeles community.
Website with current program and exhibition information: www.hammer.ucla.edu
Phone: 310.443.7000; TTY: 310-443-7094
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 11am–7pm; Thursday, 11am–9pm; Sunday, 11am-5pm; closed Mondays, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
Admission: $5 for adults; $3 for seniors (65+) and UCLA Alumni Association members; free for Museum members, students with identification, UCLA faculty/staff and visitors 17 and under. The Museum is free for everyone on Thursdays.
Location/Parking: The Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard. Parking is available under the Museum. Rates are $2.75 for the first two hours with Museum validation, $1.50 for each additional 20 minutes. There is a $3 flat rate after 6:30 p.m. Parking for people with disabilities is provided on levels P1 and P3.
Museum Tours: For reservations and information, call 310.443.7041
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center is operated by the University of California, Los Angeles. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has partially endowed the Museum and constructed the Occidental Petroleum Cultural Center Building, which houses the Museum.
New Exhibition at the Hammer Museum Explores Mexico City's Influence as a Center for Contemporary Art - Includes Works by Notable Mexican and International Contemporary Artists
April 30
Los Angeles, CA—The first exhibition in Los Angeles to fully explore Mexico City’s role as a global metropolitan center of contemporary art, Made in Mexico presents paintings, photographs, sculpture, installations, and videos by 19 international artists. Created in and inspired by Mexico, the works in the exhibition reflect the international influence exerted by the thriving Mexico City art community.
Comprised of over 30 works produced during the past 12 years, Made in Mexico investigates the different ways in which artists express their notions of Mexico—reflecting on its history, the concerns of its citizens, and the way the country is perceived by the rest of the world. The exhibition goes beyond common stereotypes associated with Mexican art and challenges the folkloric and traditional associations implied by the exhibition’s title. The artists are fully engaged in an international dialogue, sometimes using regional stereotypes to comment on larger issues of contemporary culture. Made in Mexico ultimately demonstrates the ways in which Mexico City’s unique urban environment and socioeconomic atmosphere have profoundly influenced artists from both within and outside of the country. Organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Made in Mexico is on view at the Hammer Museum from June 6 through September 12, 2004.
Approximately two thirds of the artists in Made in Mexico live and work in Mexico, including Mexican artists Eduardo Abaroa, Claudia Fernández, Teresa Margolles, Gabriel Orozco, Damián Ortega, Pedro Reyes, Sebastián Romo, and Daniela Rossell alongside long-term residents Francis Alÿs (Belgium), Thomas Glassford (U.S.), Terence Gower (Canada), Santiago Sierra (Spain), and Melanie Smith (Britain). The remaining artists live outside of Mexico, including Andrea Fraser (U.S.), Erik Göngrich (Germany), Mona Hatoum (Palestine/Britain), Sharon Lockhart (U.S.), Yasumasa Morimura (Japan), and Anton Vidokle (U.S./Russia).
“Mexico City has established itself as a vibrant center for contemporary art during the past several years, and its influence resonates in Los Angeles as well as around the world,” said Ann Philbin, director of the Hammer Museum. “This exhibition celebrates the work of some of the most promising young artists who live in Mexico or have spent time there to create work. I’m pleased that the Hammer Museum is able to present this timely exhibition in LA, where the influence of Mexican culture is palpable in all realms of life.”
“This exhibition considers the relevance of place at a moment when contemporary art is increasingly globalized,” said Gilbert Vicario, exhibition curator and assistant curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art. “It examines the relationship between artists native to Mexico—those who have chosen to live and work there—and international artists who are inspired by some aspect of Mexican culture.”
Made in Mexico presents contemporary works in a variety of media by a diverse and often disparate group of notable contemporary artists. The artists explore different facets of Mexican culture including the formal traditions of its art and architecture as well as social issues and questions of identity. Three overarching themes seen in the exhibition are Local Identities, Mexican Modernisms, and Social Spaces. Artists such as Gabriel Orozco, Yasumasa Morimura, Sharon Lockhart, and Mona Hatoum explore local identities in works that engage the essential characteristics of Mexican identity through popular imagery, cultural iconography, and traditional art forms. They often incorporate familiar aspects of Mexican culture such as pre-Columbian art, imagery associated with the Day of the Dead, representations of Frida Kahlo, and the tradition of mural painting. The images and visual language of Mexican architecture, design, and sculpture are used by artists such as Anton Vidokle, Terence Gower, and Pedro Reyes to confront the problems of modernist aesthetic ideologies. Artists including Francis Alÿs, Teresa Margolles, Daniela Rossell, and Santiago Sierra, use a variety of approaches and media that can include performances or involve collaborators to offer analytical and often critical commentaries on the current social and political state of Mexico.
EXHIBITION CATALOGUE
Made in Mexico is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue, which includes an essay by exhibition curator Gilbert Vicario of The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and interviews with several of the artists in the exhibition conducted by Pamela Echeverría, curator of the Carrillo Gil Museum, Mexico City.
ORGANIZER AND FUNDING
Made in Mexico is organized by The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
Altria Group is the national sponsor of the exhibition. Additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Kenneth L. Freed, and La Colección Jumex.
Additional assistance in Los Angeles provided by the Consulate General of Mexico, Los Angeles; Unidad de Asuntos Culturales de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores; Aeromexico; Doubletree Hotel Los Angeles-Westwood; Bohemia Imported Beer; and La Opinión.
RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS
In conjunction with the exhibition Made in Mexico, the Hammer Museum hosts an eclectic and stimulating summer season of free public programs featuring Mexican musicians, critics, and artists in discussions, gallery talks, and a lively series of outdoor concerts. In addition, four contemporary and classic Mexican films will be screened in the Museum’s open-air courtyard.
PANEL DISCUSSION
Sunday, June 6, 2pm
Exhibition curator Gilbert Vicario with artists Erik Göngrich, Pedro Reyes, Sebastián Romo, and Melanie Smith.
CONVERSATION
Thursday, June 24, 7pm
Magali Arriola and Guillermo Santamarina
Magli Arriola is an independent critic and a curator. She was chief curator at the Museo Carrilo Gil, Mexico through 2001. She founded the T/e/r/a/t/o/m/a group and the independent art space CANAIA (Cámara Nacional de la Industria Artística) both of which support the burgeoning contemporary art scene in Mexico.
Guillermo Santamarina is an internationally renowned critic, curator, and professor. He is founder of the FITAC, an annual forum of contemporary art theory, and until recently was the co-director of Casa de Agua, a non-profit visual arts organization. He was appointed Director of Mexico’s Centro Cultural Ex-Teresa in August 2003.
GALLERY TALKS
Thursday, July 15, 7pm
Daniel J. Martinez
Daniel J. Martinez is a conceptual artist who combines photography, video, sculpture, and language in site-specific installations and performances. He has exhibited his work in solo and group shows in Europe, United States, and the South Pacific. Martinez is currently Assistant Professor of Studio Art, New Genres at University of California, Irvine.
Thursday, July 29, 7pm
Bill Kelley Jr.
Bill Kelley Jr. is currently the director of the online art journal LatinArt.com. His work attempts to bridge a gap of discussion beyond ethnic and geographic classifiers. He is currently a freelance writer and curator, and he teaches at Otis College.
MIXED IN MEXICO
A lively series of four outdoor concerts featuring musicians and DJs from Tijuana and Mexico City. The evenings begin with DJs and cash bar at 6:30pm, and headliners perform at 9pm. Exhibition hours will be extended during the concerts.
Thursday, July 15, 9pm
Panoptica and Fussible
Panoptica (Robert Mendoza) and Fussible (Pepe Mogt) are members of the Nortec Collective, Tijuana’s electronic music outift that mixes samples of traditional Mexican music (the norteño, ranchero, and banda sinaloense) with electronic beats to create an original sound.
Thursday, July 22, 2004
Bostich
Bostich (Ramón Amezcua) began his career in electronic music in 1988 with the release of two ambient electronic albums. He worked with Panoptica and Fussible to initially establish the nortec sound, an original musical style blending the sounds of traditional instruments of Tijuana with electronic beats.
Thursday July 29, 2004
Los Super Elegantes
Los Super Elegantes are a unique punk-mariachi-pop group from Los Angeles (via Tijuana and Buenos Aires). Milena Muzquiz and Martiniano Lopez-Crozet formed the band in 1995 and have mixed original music with theatrical stage improvisations in amusing live performances.
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Sonida Apokalitzin
Sonida Apokalitizin is music by three Mexican DJs—Luis Arremio Figueroa Zamano, Jorge Borja, and Vicente Razo—who create a baroque electronic sound by mixing vintage Mexican records. They display visual projections (super 8 projections, slides, video) and special light effects during their performances to produce an interactive environment.
HAMMER SCREENINGS
The Hammer Museum’s courtyard will be the site of outdoor screenings of contemporary and classic Mexican films.
Friday, July 23, 8pm
Amores Perros by Alejandro González Iñárritu (153 minutes, 2000)
Friday, July 30, 8pm
Abismos de Passion by Luis Buñuel (91 minutes, 1954)
Friday, August 6, 8pm
Y tu Mamá También by Alfonso Cuarón (105 minutes, 2001)
Friday, August 13, 8pm
El Lugar sin Limites by Arturo Ripstein (110 minutes, 1977)
For additional information on these and other public programs, including additional film screenings, Hammer Conversations, Hammer Readings, and Hammer Forum, please visit the website at www.hammer.ucla.edu or call 310.443.7056.
HAMMER MUSEUM
The Hammer Museum is dedicated to exploring the diversity of artistic expression through the ages, recognizing that artists play a crucial role in all aspects of culture and society. The Museum's programming spans the classics to the cutting-edge, presenting exhibitions of historical and contemporary art alongside selections from its permanent collections. Founded by Dr. Armand Hammer in 1990, the Museum’s collections include The Armand Hammer Collection of Old Master, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings; The Armand Hammer Daumier and Contemporaries Collection; The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, containing over 40,000 works on paper; and the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden on the UCLA campus.
In addition to selections from its permanent collections, the Hammer Museum presents a range of exhibitions of historical and contemporary art, architecture, and design. The Museum also presents approximately ten Hammer Projects each year focusing on the work of emerging artists. The series provides international and local artists with a laboratory-like environment to create new work or to present existing work in a new context, and reflects the Museum’s commitment to serving artists by providing a responsive, flexible arena for presenting their work to the Los Angeles community.
Website with current program and exhibition information: www.hammer.ucla.edu
Phone: 310.443.7000; TTY: 310-443-7094
Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 11am–7pm; Thursday, 11am–9pm; Sunday, 11am-5pm; closed Mondays, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
Admission: $5 for adults; $3 for seniors (65+) and UCLA Alumni Association members; free for Museum members, students with identification, UCLA faculty/staff and visitors 17 and under. The Museum is free for everyone on Thursdays.
Location/Parking: The Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Boulevard. Parking is available under the Museum. Rates are $2.75 for the first two hours with Museum validation, $1.50 for each additional 20 minutes. There is a $3 flat rate after 6:30 p.m. Parking for people with disabilities is provided on levels P1 and P3.
Museum Tours: For reservations and information, call 310.443.7041
The Armand Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural Center is operated by the University of California, Los Angeles. Occidental Petroleum Corporation has partially endowed the Museum and constructed the Occidental Petroleum Cultural Center Building, which houses the Museum.