Located in San Antonio, Texas, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center’s (GCAC) newest exhibition is La Mezcla/ The Mixture, scheduled January 28- March 5, 2010, presenting works from artists Sarah Fisch, Karen Mahaffy, Cruz Ortiz, and Chuck Ramirez. The GCAC has a mission to showcase art specifically from the people of Chicano, Latino, and Native American heritage. This establishment, which was founded in 1980, helps to encourage this diverse group of artists and assists in the celebration of San Antonio’s unique identity. Ethel Shipton, curator for La Mezcla/ The Mixture, has brought together this group of artists whose work consists of installations, videos with and without sound, and photography in efforts to express their outlook and their perception of being a current San Antonian.
In one of the rooms there are 350 colored photographs taken from an iPhone by Chuck Ramirez exposing his life. The first wall has roughly 50 photographs laid out in a precise arrangement with considerations to visual balance and the connection by association. The remaining photos are located on the perpendicular wall directly behind it, laid out in a similar manner. Every image has a wide, white border and is adhered to the wall with simplistic, clear thumbtacks. This collection allows the viewer to peer into Ramirez’s intimate affairs. I saw this composition or theme as one of the stronger pieces in the exhibit, the possible message Ramirez is trying to express is that maybe this generation has become very interested in overexposing themselves. These photos have a similar subject and composition to what would be viewed on social networking sites. Ramirez’s piece is art reflecting life with an unclear line of where art begins.
So do you think using a cell phone camera is valid? Could you use it in your own work? You are telling me a little, but give me a judgment on what it means that someone is taking imagery that might appear on Facebook and putting it in a gallery and calling it art. Why is it one of the stronger pieces??? How do these photos show overexposure? Come on Jacquelyn, tell me what you really think!
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