MACLA Presents:
Chicana/o Biennial Performance Art Night
featuring new work by emael and Nao Bustamante
Thursday, August 23, 7pm
Admission: $5-10, sliding scale
@ Castellano Playhouse/ MACLA
510 S. 1st Street
San José



Un Hombre en la Obscuridad by emael

In the aftermath of his prior work, Performance Art Direct, a four year endurance piece, and the recent success of The Last American Icon, emael ponders what it means to be Chicano. Much of emael’s performance work has had to do with resistance, about occupying space as a "Mexican-American" and dealing with the ignorance of a rather misinformed power structure. Exploring the political realities of the word Chicano, an identity born out of a struggle, he ponders the future by asking a series of questions. Will the struggle ever be over? If the struggle ends, will we call ourselves something else? Have we internalized "the struggle" as an eternal obligation/preoccupation? Un Hombre en la Obscuridad is a site-specific performance inspired by these questions and a desire to cultivate joy in the world.

About emael

emael es de Los Angeles, nacido por padres Mexicanos. Since 1995, his work has primarily focused on performance as spiritual journey and the body as site for ritual exploration. Mapping/documenting this voyage has become increasing challenging in recent years, as formalizing life as art suggests a 24/7 model that is only presently unavailable. Until this is possible, emael spends his time learning to live well and writing. From 2002 to 2006, emael wore a uniform made of hemp canvas as part of a project called Performance Art Direct. As part of a daily art practice, nothing other than the uniforms were worn in this four year period, be it in private appearances or in public performances. He finished the project with a tri-city tour of Manhattan, Mexico City and Los Angeles in 2006. emael has received critical acclaim for his work, and Performance Art Direct was highlighted in Visiones, a PBS documentary on Latino art and culture. For more information see www.loveemael.com

PLEASE NOTE: No flash photography, lights from personal phones or other lcd screens allowed.



Given Over to Want by Nao Bustamante

Given Over to Want is an ongoing conversation within Nao’s larger repertoire of performance works. Sculpting the body with tape, shadow-play and boxed wine all provide material for the exploration between human want, both natural and contrived. The performance deals with the themes of transformation and desire. The image is as primordial as it is hungry and holy, both fully human and fully alien. The performance is approximately 30 minutes in length and there is an installation remnant left in the space.

About Nao Bustamante

Nao Bustamante is an internationally known performance and video artist originating from the San Joaquin Valley of California. Her work encompasses performance art, sculpture, installation and video. Bustamante has presented in Galleries, Museums, Universities and underground sites. Her work has been exhibited, among other sites at, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Arts, and the Kiasma Museum of Helsinki. In 2001 she received the prestigious Anonymous Was a Woman fellowship. Currently she is living in Los Angeles and holds the position as Associate Professor of New Media and Live Art at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. For more information see www.naobustamante.com




The Chicana/o Biennial
@ MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Exhibition: August 1 – September 22, 2007

MACLA is pleased to announce its second Chicana/o Biennial -- an exhibition and public forum conceived to take inventory of and invite reflection every two years on the continuously emergent energy, critical edge, and aesthetic interventions within contemporary Chicano art.

The Chicana/o Biennial is a juried exhibition featuring work by:

Nao Bustamante
Cristina Cantu Diaz
Martin Charlot
emael
Roberto Delgado
Quintin Gonzalez
Jaime Guerrero
Ester Hernandez
José Lizárraga
Annie Lopez
Gustavo Martinez
Jetro Martinez
Joaquin Alejandro Newman
Alejandro Oliva
Viviana (Viva) Paredes
Lydia Sanchez
Anna Salinas
Santos Shelton
Daniela Steinsapir
Rene Trujillo
Paul Valadez
Rosa Valdez
Deborah Kuetzpalin Vasquez

Over the last thirty-five years the field of Chicana/o art and scholarship has developed and expanded exponentially. As an art movement that developed alongside the Chicano civil rights struggles of 1960s and 1970s, Chicano art emerged in direct correlation to social change. Today, there are more points of view and subsequent artists contributing to this important movement of contemporary art, some of which are re-defining what it means to create “Chicana/o art” at this moment in time.

MACLA is looking to challenge the questions and concerns that are currently being brought forth in the contemporary art world. As such, this year’s biennial takes a thematic approach to by asking the following questions: 1) What are the pressing concerns at this moment in time? (politics) 2) What does Chicana/o art look like today? (aesthetics) 3) How do artists engage the community? (activism & organizing).

Exhibition dates: August 1 – September 22, 2007
Jurors
Isis Rodriguez, artist
Eugene Rodriguez, artist and professor of Art at De Anza Community College
Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez, MACLA’s Associate Director & Curator


For more information email biennial@maclaarte.org.

Image Credit:

Homie in a 40, Jaime Guerrero, glass and silver foil, 2005