One of the most intriguing aspects of this artwork was that it was created by the collective, Okay Mountan.  Artist collectives are created for a number of reasons, but generally their intent is to alter the relationships of power in the art world.  Self-described “as an artist-run alternative gallery space,”  the artists embrace a post-modern approach to resistance that is presentational rather than confrontational.  The statement of this would be:  This is what we want to do, and we are doing it on our own.  This approach does not preclude participation in mainstream venues, because the aim is to maximize opportunity.
It is only within the context of the mainstream museum that the economic value of a commodity can be subverted.  Libby Black recreates high-end designer products from Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade and Hermes, among others.  This type of mimicry is not new, because look-alike reproductions of these products is a big business even though it is illegal.  These reproductions are meant to fool the eye, and the uninitiated usually don’t know the difference between the real item and the copy.  Because part of their value lies in their ability to signify the status of the individual who owns it, it is important for some to know the difference between real products and fake ones.
It is clear that Black’s reproductions are fake and not intended to be passed off as the real thing.  They are made of paper, exhibit a rather clumsy craftsmanship and are not useable.  This may lead you to think that these fetishistic creations might be the provenance of a mad woman.  There is more to this than meets the eye.  It is the sign value of the objects that is significant in this collection.  Within the context (the museum) that the artwork is presented, the logos come to signify an ongoing  ‘critique of consumption’  by well-known artists such as Barbara Kruger and Shepherd Fairey.  It is this association that signifies that the artist is making an important statement conceptually, and can be deemed a valuable art commodity.   The artwork’s monetary value is directly proportional to its worth as an art commodity.  Ultimately, the artwork garners status and value equal to or greater than the designer originals.
Similarly, Conrad Bakker simulates high-end, mass produced,  mid-century modern furniture.  The originals were designed by famous architects and designers from the Bauhaus School in Germany specifically for industrial production.  His wood and paint constructions look like they could be the original prototypes.   Bakker imagines a slight instance of resistance at some stage between completion of the design and mass production, implying that the object would have retained a higher social and artistic value than a mass produced item.  Bakker relies upon a Marxist axiom that commodification destroyed the social value of the handmade object–and he wants us to recognize this.
Bakker romantically re-imagines and  encourages an instance of resistance in his viewers as they contemplate how value is derived for a particular object.  He positions his furniture copy next to a painting of an advertisement for the real chair, posing the question:  Which has more value, this reproduction or a painting of the original?

The question is moot, however, because it is the sign value of these objects that determines their economic value.  The real question here is:  what is the value of an instance of resistance?  Does the artist effectively create a moment of  resistance that will lead the viewer to actively resist economic, political, and ideological domination?
Kiel Johnson exactly replicates the structure of musical instruments without trying to cover up the materials he makes them with.  Throughout his career, he has created copious quantities of sculptures with cardboard, tape and glue.  Johnson sets up a conflict between our way of knowing a familiar object such as a violin and the way we make sense of the violin that Johnson presents to us.  The object subverts socially agreed upon significations, requiring us to consider new ways to make sense of familiar objects.
Kaz  Oshira’s artwork was the most disconcerting and unsettling for me.  I was so put off by the aesthetics of the pieces that I simply was not interested in them at the time.  The one piece that totally flummoxed me was the white kitchen cabinets hanging on the wall.  I have learned that his pieces are actually paintings on stretched canvas.  Within the context of this essay, they now seem to be the most representative of the type of subversion I have discussed.  His kitchen cabinets tip the world’s axis.
It is specifically this re-framing of knowledge that lies at the heart of political art.  Political art seeks to re-tell the fictional narrative that supports our culture and what we know as the “real” world.  This real world is continually being re-framed by politicians, economists, business, and……artists.  The struggle lies in what version of the fictional narrative will be accepted at any given moment in time.   The history of art shows clearly how this re-framing occurs, and also how it becomes a part of the general fictional narrative of our times.

Linda Lewis is a writer/artist living in Edinburg TX.

Azaceta’s Oklahoma 4 is a large wall-mounted assemblage made from acrylic and enamel paint, photos, found objects, tape, plastic fencing, metal studs on wood.  On the wood support, the artist painted an explosive abstract pattern and included images of a severed leg and his own somber self-portrait. Metal scraps refer to the ruins of the destroyed building, while attachments include objects that could have been found in the rubble—such as shoes, stuffed animals, a toy car, and a baby doll. The wreckage is further alluded to in attached photos of old and broken mattresses and flowers. Throughout the composition, these various elements are tied together with caution tape, normally used by police officers to keep spectators away from a scene of violence or disaster.
Azaceta has commented on his emotional response to the fact that so many children were killed in the explosion.

According to the artist:

“I saw on television the devastation of the building, the killing of so many innocent people and children – a lot of children! Seeing  toys, tricycles, stuffed animals, etc., scattered all over the perimeter . . . that was like a loud scream emanating from the wreckage. That made me start making works of art reflecting this horrendous act, with the hope of silencing that pain and creating compassion and visual beauty to counter such an innocuous act of violence against humanity.”

As a youth in Cuba in the 1950s, Azaceta witnessed shootings and bombings firsthand during Fidel Castro’s overthrow of the government led by Fulgencio Batista. Since moving to the United States in the 1960s, he has addressed many social themes in his paintings and sculptures. Most notable are works devoted to raising awareness about the plight of the Cuban “boat people” (who in the late 1980s-early 1990s attempted to escape from Cuba on rafts), the AIDS crisis, gang violence, and Hurricane Katrina.
In Plum’s installation, the artist addresses ongoing problems at the Texas/Mexico border.  Specifically, she has responded to the sad statistics regarding the numbers of women and girls who have been killed or have disappeared in Juarez, Mexico, across the border from El Paso. Many of the victims were raped, mutilated, and tortured, and little has been done to provide protection for the women of Juarez or to bring the perpetrators to justice. To represent the victimized women, Plum created monumental-scale black brooms that are knotted in the middle as a symbol for the cutting off of female energy.  To either side of these hanging brooms, she has placed metates—domestic implements for grinding corn, with a cast-glass Virgin of Guadalupe inserted in their centers, thus giving the overall presentation the appearance of a memorial altar.
Plum believes in the shamanistic and healing potential of art.

Reflecting upon the creation of Solidaridad, she has commented:

“I have come to look at the Rio Grande as an open wound. As a bicultural artist, healer, and activist I see this as an opportunity to bring awareness to these horrible acts of violence, as well as a healing or limpia.”

In addressing some of today’s atrocities through creative endeavor, Azaceta and Plum join the many artists of note—Goya and Picasso, for example—who throughout history have contributed emotionally charged or poignantly poetic commentaries on the issues of their day.  In so doing, they demonstrate the enduring potential of an artwork to awaken the apathetic, to stimulate the mind for reflection and discourse, and to confront with grace the socially relevant problems of our time.

David S. Rubin is The Brown Foundation Curator of Contemporary Art at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Presidential hopeful Rick Perry, on top of his large cuts to the Commission for the Arts and other important programs from the Texas Budget, has been supporting and pushing for the goals of another group of political activists.  This seems to serve as a bit of foreshadowing to the possible future we may see under President Perry.

GOP Presidential Candidates Participate In Debate In Tampa - Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The group is Citizens Against Government Waste.  They are the group that brought us this fear-mongering  video about government spending and the impending doom we all face.  The group, whose site describes their aim as being ‘to stop the runaway spending that is bankrupting America’ is one who only comes up in the national discourse when events like the release of the aforementioned video are released. CAGW, otherwise, are only seen and heard from by those who read political news and scour the internet daily looking for such information.

Gov. Perry sent out a letter with the goal of raising funds for the group (available here) and in it he lines up the traditional claims he usually gives us (jobs, jobs, jobs, why Texas is better than California, jobs) as well as a list of the major government programs/funding targets he thinks are within the sights of the CAGW and should be cut.  Among them are the following:

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (education, arts, culture and news)

The National Endowment for the Arts (self explanatory)

The National Endowment for the Humanities (education, art, history, programs and grants)

Now, as a disclaimer, it must be stated that there is plenty of wasteful spending in the government.  There is no argument against this fact.  It must also be said that one cannot support or condemn a group such as this offhand, just for who they support or are endorsed by.  They are a group who push for action on concerns they find important, like it or not.

But, as the title suggests, the problem here is Gov. Perry.  His own spending record has been under fire, as it should be.  If one brings up any particular subject in the political arena, especially money, one must be able to justify his/her position.  An itemized list would be a bit expansive here, but a quick search should be educational.  The focus here, being the arts, is that he again has started blasting the arts spending as being unnecessary, and in need of cutting.  Even though his own platform of previous years has been highly supportive of the arts, and art related programs, as crucial parts of building the economic structures and employment records he cherishes so much.  He now does a complete 180 and shoots those very same projects in the foot.

His local budget concerns, which also shouted down the arts programs, are a mirror to the national level budget cuts he wants to help push.  So, while at least he is consistent in his huge ‘flip flops’, he shows his true colors.  Those interested in the future of local as well as national level arts programs should be wary of Gov. Perry and his ascension.  It may be a huge mistake, choose wisely.

Networking

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.

Toe to Toe with the Border Patrol - Still from Video - Lee Basham

Filming down by the river is risky. Don’t do it. Nevertheless, documentary is the best resource we have when it comes to telling the truth about America’s deluded domestic war zone. I’ve been pursuing this endeavor for nine years, so I’ve learned nine ‘rules. Think Zombieland – descriptions of what to expect. Legal disclaimer: These ‘rules’  are merely my own, have no universal application whatsoever, and are based on my personal experience alone; I have no legal standing and offer no guarantees. In short: Don’t film on the Rio. Think Deliverance. But if you feel the need, it’ll go a little like this:

Rules for borderland documentarians:

1. You’re a drug dealer, coyote, or arms smuggler, until proven otherwise. The Border Patrol (BP) knows  that a $4,000 video camera is a tricky disguise. Very clever, that.

 

The first time I got detained, I told them I was making a documentary. They replied “That’s a slick trick,”  and that they didn’t appreciate being lied to. If I didn’t tell them about the drugs, they were going to tow my car to sector command and cut it up with chain saws. “Your cocaine? We’ll find it.” Moral of the story: stick to your story. Gently explain your project. Be good humored and patient, smile. Ask if you can film them. It’s part of the drill.

Entry, July 20th, 2006: Today I’m lucky; the Border Patrol agent who detains me is from McAllen, the town I live in. I tell him about the new Convention Center and he finally believes my ID isn’t fake. I ask if he doesn’t feel silly trying to catch the little kids sneaking over from Mexico to go to school. He says, “Yeah, it’s idiotic, but I love driving that road.”

2. Your kayak, canoe, or other flotation device will drive the BP batty. Think Apocalypse Now.’ You will be swooped down upon by armed helicopters,
closely filming you, while military-style ground forces are on their way. But having a boat is definitely worth it.

 

In Nuevo Laredo local entrepreneurs have discovered that cheap, plastic, kiddy-pools are perfect to ferry contraband across the Rio – the disposable cigarette lighter of smuggling. Abandoned pools line the banks west of town. But the canoe, now, that is probably the worst choice for smuggling: It’s big, turtle slow, expensive, takes two people to easily operate, and you can see everything that’s in there.  Get a canoe.

Kiddypool - Still from Video - Lee Basham

Entry, March 7th, 2011: About the dumbest thing we can do is put a $4,000 video camera in a 10 cent trash bag, toss it into a canoe, and head out on the Rio. So we do it. We leave, eager for the water, wary of the heat. The dashboard radio chatters about Muslim hordes, hordes of Mexicans. It’s AM 710, the best ‘hate radio’ in south Texas. It sets the mood: ‘unreal,’ for Susan. At the river the air is thick, sweet with springtime, the new greenery is luminescent, and the water, crystal clear. We put in and head upstream for the bend where trucks gather on the south side, waiting. As we paddle on, ‘picnickers’ pepper the south shore, lounging on blankets, waiting for darkness. We film, wave, they wave back, stand up, curiously studying us. At sundown, they will walk into the river and cross,  ‘just like taking a bus.’ At the river’s bend there’s the usual colony of vehicles. As we glide by we see a boat tied to shore, where a bunch of young guys surround beer coolers. Two older, serious looking middle-aged men with binoculars stand in the truck beds, glassing the north shore. “Birders, right?” she asks, wide-eyed. “Mebbeso,” I drawl, knowing these are businessmen waiting to move their loads. The cooler-guys race down to the water and dive in, dog-paddling like mad towards our canoe,  laughing and shouting something about “my woman.” Cuanto cuesta? Is that what they’re saying? We pretend not to paddle faster. Around the bend we find another colony. They’re birds, thousands. Swallows. They live in mud-hut cities, and here they cover a south-side dirt cliff and dart freely to the U.S. for grasshoppers to feed their babies.
At sunset everything gets busy. The witching hour. It’s the best time to be on the river. Up on the 30-foot bank of the north shore we see a tight group of silhouettes against the brown-orange sky line. Men and women with suitcases and trunks – Money mules. A dark speedboat appears out of the dim, racing at us. It turns into the bank where the people stand. They leap off the edge, tumble down the steep dirt cliff and struggle onto the boat. It’s amazing. They’re falling, running, and no one says a word. The boat roars, races past, and its wake nearly swamps us. To the south we hear splashing sounds. Like penguins diving into the sea for a meal, here come the replacements.

Now back to the rules:

3. The Border Patrol will find you, quickly.  They may approach for  your ID.  You will cheerfully offer it, if asked.  You will not dig into your pocket without being asked to.  Hands are Bad Things to Law Enforcement.  Hands draw weapons.  Keep your hands in sight. BP may accept or reject your ID.  Be happy with either.

They may cuff you. A little S&M. Enjoy. Don’t worry, ‘What goes on must come off.  You’ll probably be released soon. Again, be patient. Good humored. It’s part of the drill.

4. They will point M-4 assault rifles and 12 gauge combat shotguns at you. You will not act frightened or shocked, but continue in your breezy, chatty way (see rule # 8). You will ask them, “How can I Help?” And you will mean it.

The border isn’t being militarized, it is militarized. You are playing war correspondent. Accept this cheerfully. One plan: Read some of those macho-looking gun magazines they have at the grocery store. Yes, it’s bizarre, even repulsive, but learn about AR-15s, ‘Tactical’ shotguns and semi-automatic pistols. Know what each looks like. The Border Patrol is proud of their ‘Iron’. With a little knowledge, you can correctly compliment their weapons. Ironically, this sets a better tone. The BP are gun nuts. Gun nuts love gun nuts. Play the part.  Speaking of gun nuts: The smugglers are also a friendly lot. As they buzz by in their speedboats or roar by in their trucks, don’t look shocked. Wave, smile, and go on. And definitely don’t let them see you filming them. Leave them alone. They have a job to do.

5. Agents will chase you with vehicles  and  even helicopters. If you see a helicopter, speed up.  Being chased by a helicopter is fun. If it lands in front of your car, you WILL apply brakes fully. You’ll stop for  those flashy lights on their trucks, too.

Photo - Lee Basham

Entry, October 17th, 2010: They chase Jon and me with the helicopter again. We show up in a new vehicle – a jeep – and they freak out. If you really want to have fun, show up in a different vehicle. The blue and white chopper comes over the field at tree-top level and swoops right at our windshield. We spin around and decide to tear down a farm road. Jon is screaming with joy. I’m trying to keep the camera steady. Boom! Another huge bump. The jeep starts sliding sideways. We brake and shudder to a halt.  Jon reaches down and produces a beer can. He cracks it, “Going down in style!” I tell him toss it. He takes a swig and flings it. We gun it, the chopper’s chasing, 50 feet behind us, 20 feet above. Suddenly, the roar is everywhere. It flies right over the top of the jeep! It’s turning. It’s flying backwards! Right in front of the jeep! The speedo says 25 MPH. The pilot is gesturing wildly. He’s pulling farther in front of us, he’s landing on the road! Wow. Dust explodes everywhere. We hit the brakes, bail out cheering, thumbs up to the pilot! Nice! A BP truck is closing fast from behind. The pilot smiles at us, nods, waves and heads back into the sky. We compliment the agents on their Air Force. They calm down and give us the ‘Please be careful’ speech. Nice guys. We’re lucky,  we’ve indulged ourselves, but the video is shaky as hell. We try again at night on black top and it looks better – not as dramatic. The copter won’t come down as close, but the swinging spotlight is beautiful.

6. Agents will watch you from afar, sneak up on you and hide in the bushes, follow you, puzzle over  you. You will not try to avoid or interfere with this.

Yes, that sound over there in the bushes might be friends from the south – check for marijuana scent, Mexico has much more reasonable drug laws than we do. But it’s as likely to be The Man in Green, Mr. BP. Play peak-a-boo if you like, but keep it friendly, never too sneaky or aggressive. Your body armor is your smile. Always wear it.

7. The BP is where the action is. You will watch what they watch. You are Border Patrol Paparazzi.

 

Agents usually break-off their interrogation of you because something’s up, especially at sunset. See where they go, listen for the radio chatter; feel free to follow.

Entry, March 19th, 2011: We’re on the high Roma bluffs. Susan Harbage-Page is cheerful, chatty, amazed at the night view. She wants to drink a beer; I fetch some. I’ve been keeping my eye on the south shore, on the unmoving tiny red dot of a cigarette. He just stands there, cigarette after cigarette. I dub him ‘the smoker.’ The Rifleman up in the BP observation tower to our left is snoring. The long bridge over the river is lit by giant, gorgeous pink lights, hundreds of feet high. They cast amazing pink ellipses on the broad water below. Suddenly, the radio in the tower starts chattering excitedly – that gets my attention. The rifleman snores on. I look down at the river. “Aha!” I whisper to Susan, “Yes! From the south side! Boats! here they come!.”  Two inflatable rafts, stuffed with people and boxes, paddling across the pink pods of light. The camera swings on the tripod. I have them! Susan is hopping up and down. She starts blazing away with her new DSLR. The sight is gorgeous. The first raft reaches the United States. Suddenly there are male shouts from below our cliff. From the north shore, deep blue LED beams slice angrily through the brush, out onto the dark of the water. Women start screaming, we hear big branches breaking, men shouting, a child starts howling in pain, everyone’s panicking, people are running back into the river, the boat is pushing off, the second is turning midstream, people are dragging themselves back on board. The video camera is getting it all. Susan isn’t clicking away anymore. She’s motionless, astonishment on her face. Across the river the smoker doesn’t make a move. Then the red dot vanishes: Maybe tomorrow night, maybe later tonight?

8. Agents like polite, chatty, cooperative and friendly.  They like compliant.  These things keep  them happy.  You want happy machine-gun-carrying agents, not unhappy ones.  You will be all these things.

Yes, you will. No lawyer boy, OK? Not here, not now.

9. The agents will not harm you. Their concern is legitimate, their admonishments to ‘be careful,’ sincere. You will express your gratitude. You will be sincere. If at any time you get a bad feeling, you will leave. You will leave now.

Entry, April 10th, 2011: It’s blazing hot. We’re deep in the thicket, at the edge of a dune over-looking the river. Last week a van on the south-side panicked when we popped up over the dune. Jon had his telephoto. When they saw it they started running in all directions, freaked out, tossing all the product back in the van; they high tailed it out of there. I feel strangely nervous. Not comfortable. Something’s off. My eyes keep turning to the right. But I can name no reason. From the left a sweat-covered Agent suddenly appears in a cowboy hat. The Agent says somebody is sneaking up on us. I, the lone agent, and my friend, scan the brush intensely. We hear hushed, angry voices. On the right, there’s a metallic clicking sound? The agent looks at us, we look at him, and we all decide we need to leave. Immediately.

While I have the gravest reservations about the Federal policies the BP enforce, I suspect, along with a bit of luck and trust in the self, they’re the only reason I’m around to write this. If you need to film on the Rio, do it, there’s truth there, and the truth is, hey, it’s a lot of fun. But try to keep these rules in mind. And good luck. See you down by the river.

Borderlife, focusing on art and life at the river’s edge, is now in post-production. Our documentary is about the militarized border and how people adapt to it and subvert it. It’s the story of human creativity amid the economic, political and existential struggle created by the Department of Homeland Security’s response to the US/Mexican border.

Lee Basham is a professor of Philosophy at South Texas College, and an Independent cinematographer. His film, Joined at the River, received high recognition; the Omar Vasquez Case documentary is currently in production.

Rick Perry by Gage Skidmore

Now that Texas Governor Rick Perry has made his election intentions clear, his history with the art world should be re-iterated for those interested in government funding of the arts.

Governor Perry’s official website has a page related to the Arts in Texas, and the importance (if not outright necessity) of the arts in helping our economy.  The statement includes such well worded gems as;

“The Texas arts industry plays an important role in generating and sustaining this economic success. While legislative initiatives made to establish an inviting business climate are a vital component, the arts are responsible for creating a welcoming environment and high standard of living, which attract tourists and play a significant part in businesses’ decisions to relocate here. They contribute to and express our state’s intriguing culture and heritage. They personify and instill the unique pride common to all Texans, and help cultivate a way of life unlike any other place in the nation.”

And the classic;

“Such efforts to encourage development of creative industries are essential to making Texas the best place in the nation to live. It is in our state’s best interests to foster and support this thriving industry because of its capability to enrich our communities and stimulate economic development. The availability of cultural resources and opportunities helps attract jobs and companies to Texas, and bolsters the continued growth and prosperity of our state.”

These are awesome statements.  They embody some of the deeply felt convictions of artists (at least those who are involved in the business and commercial side of the arts) and the understanding that the work done by artists is of such importance that we need it not only to advance our economy but to even be a part of the culture in which we exist.  Governor Rick Perry shows us that he cares for our state and cultural and understands our needs.

The problem is, of course, that he really doesn’t.  At least not in the Arts.

At least not if we are to take his fiscal concerns and budgetary ‘suggestions’ as any indicator of his true concerns.

The above listed quotes were taken from his website and dated 2008.  In the current budget package proposed by the Office of the Governor (available here) Perry had a completely different view of the arts.  He lists the Commission for the Arts among the top items on the budget to ‘suspend’ until the Texas economy gets on its feet.  The suspension would ‘save’ over $5 million in the state budget.  If the arts are of such high importance in our state’s economic growth and prosperity, why would they be among the first to go?

Also on the chopping block is the suspension of the Texas Historical Commission, for around $4.6 million in savings.  The budget also states savings coming from the suspension of the Board of Professional Geoscientists, Board of Professional Land Surveyors, the consolidation of many Texas Agencies, surcharges on state employee spouses on state health insurance, healthcare cuts and more.  Read it here.

The numbers indicate (and on this Perry seems to be correct) that Texas has been the most successful state in terms of recent job creation.  We have the above listed agencies and commissions to thank for that, at least in part, and Perry points out how much we will save by giving these programs the ax.  What about the cost in job numbers?  What will a loss of $5 million in the arts industry do to the arts industry employment rate?

How about the $1 trillion cut from the Higher Education Base?  Saving $383 million due to ‘increased faculty productivity’ can easily be translated into fire some, make the remaining work harder.

All this is listed as a way to save money.  A ‘cut’ if you will, to help our ailing state economy.  Then the budget rolls on to tell us how much the state will spend on Homeland and Border Security.  Perry’s Budget calls for $40 million to go toward border security.  Perry boasts that his border security initiatives have reduced crime in the border area by 60%.  This was completely false, as the report was constructed along favorable lines drawn to assist in the numbers having a positive outlook.  For more on that report, and the details of it’s problem areas, see Politifact.

So the state can afford to give $40 million to a program that has not shown any provable positive numbers, while cutting a much smaller $5 million to The Commission for the Arts, which Perry’s office claims is of great importance.

All of this is coming from the man who’s office fought long and hard to get federal stimulus money, only to now (when it is politically viable) state that the very idea of federal stimulus is outrageous.

And Perry calls Social Security a ‘Ponzi Scheme’?

Joking aside, anyone interested in healthcare, border security, arts and education funding should visit Presidential hopeful Rick Perry’s official site and then download the budget and compare the sales pitch to the stats and make a decision for themselves.  It must be stated, in the spirit of honesty, that although there are some changes in the educational realm, there are actually some improvements as well.  And there are improvements in many issues dealt with in the budget, and there are huge holes that are of great concern.  Ultimately, these items may be beyond the reader’s concern politically and therefore not matter at all when choosing a candidate, and to each his own.

It is important, however, to state that no matter what one’s political slant, concerns, needs and wants, what is of the most importance is for us to be able choose candidates freely from the information available on them.  One would hope that that information was not only true, but honestly spoken, and not misleading or misrepresented in any way.

One would hope that our politicians, on all sides, could just be honest…

But until such time arrives, we need to dig for the truth, and then make decisions based on our findings.

(see part 2 in this series here)

Playlist for this article:

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

Kelli Ali/Dropz

Networking

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.

The staff and volunteers at VOA have really put together a great set of informative, provocative, creative and in depth reviews and articles for the PAM issue, so it is not an issue you should miss.

• Blue Star Arts Complex
• Liberty Bar
• Art Inc.
• Twin Sisters
• SAMA (San Antonio Museum of Art)
• Witte Museum
• Herwecks Art Supply (Downtown San Antonio)
• REM Gallery
• The Bonham Exchange
• Bihl Haus Arts
• Bismark Studios
• The San Antonio School for Inquiry and Creativity
• G Gallery
• Station Museum
• Redbud Gallery
• Art Car Museum
• Audley Society Gallery

This list will be updated daily, as even more issues of the magazine are being sent out as I type this!  So check back soon, get yours before they are all gone!

Click here for a pdf download of the issue!  Read it, print it…share it!  Also, check out the archives page for a few old issues for available for pdf download.

The PAM Edition of VOA is filled to the brim with articles regarding any of the key political talking points and hot topic issues we all face on a daily basis, and a few that you probably didn’t even know you faced at all.

Businesses and galleries who are interested in getting a stack of issues for your establishment, please feel free to contact me (Allen Keckonen) at one of the below listed sites!

My Examiner.com feed -  San Antonio area art and events.

Low World -  My Personal site.  Short Stories, photography, project updates, stuff…

Voices of Art Magazine -  an archive of my articles for VOA.

Flickr -  My photostream, includes works in progress.

Facebook -  For networking, art, fun and strangeness.

Google+ -  My profile.

LinkedIn -  Professional profile and networking.

In 1996, I  ‘grew out’ of my beautiful studio at my home.  I found a space in the Lubbock Depot district.  As the interest grew in the depot area so did the rent prices.  At this time, this area was sparsely populated with the exception of a few bars and a theater. Within two and a half years, the value of my building increased five fold. My Landlord offered another building in the area, so that my previous studio could become a bar. I worked in that studio for five years, where I began to give student spaces for installation and exhibition. This space was conducive to my own performance work as well as sculpture and painting. At the end of the five years, when the depot district was booming, my rent increased by $1000 and this building became another bar.

waterSpace

I went to the streets looking for a new space to work.  A student suggested that I check out Slaton, Texas, a small town about 15 miles south east of Lubbock.  In Slaton I found a building built in 1943 as a furniture store. The building is quite large with entrances that face on both sides of the corner. It is a reverse L with an open pie shaped area at the corner.  In the 40’s, this corner held a gas station. The gas station has long gone and the open area now serves as a park. This building serviced many different needs over the years, and then came the artist. The large building had been separated into two rental spaces, so in 2003 I rented the south side of the building.  After much cleaning it was seen as a most wonderful working space.  Then in 2005 I was fortunate enough to buy the entire building.    After I renovated the north side of the building as my living space, all was beginning to look very good. The renovation was a simple process of removing the cosmetic additions in order to reveal the beauty of the structure. In my studio space I created a gallery in the front.  The gallery consisted of two long walls facing six large windows. The walls were sheet-rocked to accommodate 2 dimensional artworks while the window area’s raised platforms were suited to 3d artwork. This space served two purposes.  One, folks couldn’t see me working in the studio areas behind and secondly, I could offer students and professional artists an opportunity to exhibit their work.  The addition of expensive track lighting enlarged the exhibition possibilities. This became known as waterSpace south.

WaterSpace facade

Then in 2007 another beautiful building became available so I bought it…waterSpace north was born.  This turn of the century two-story building was in need of much repair. The building was in dire circumstances, having been neglected and abused for many years. It was overrun with bugs, vermin, dirt and refuse.  In time, and with excellent hired help, it has become a living space, studio and gallery.  In addition to basic cleaning, I added an ADA bathroom and a shower as well as a kitchen area and a second upstairs bathroom. This space has housed numerous arts activities including performance art nights, student and professional exhibits, fundraisers for the TTU School of Art and two practicing resident artists. Currently, a third building is being purchased to continue my goal of enabling artists to have opportunities to exhibit their work.  Both student and profession artists have taken advantage of these spaces.  Occasionally we have combined our efforts with the city folks to create festivals (Art on the Slaton Square) where people are able to enjoy local and regional artworks as well as student and academic exhibitions.

WaterSpace facade with Gentry Germany, photo assistant.

These efforts are not entirely self-centered, but rather they are about many artists who contribute to the artistic activities in Slaton. My buildings have been the site for experimental and exciting presentations from my academic colleagues, BFA and MFA students, and local artists. The fact that the building is in Slaton, provides the townspeople the unique experience of seeing a wide variety of artworks right on their hometown main street. The buildings operate as open laboratories, rather than pristine museums. Mine is one of many examples of artists infiltrating communities, sharing ideas and enhancing the quality of life.

Sara Waters is a professor of art at Texas Tech University with a background of painting/drawing and clay. She teaches Sculpture and Drawing.

Robin D Germany, Associate Professor teaching Photography at Texas Tech University assisted in the writing of the article.

The Joseph Bravo/Ron English @ IMAS; Background: X-Ray Guernica,digital print on vinyl, 12’x24’, 2011

Ron English entered the Valley of South Texas in full force and occupied the art community and its Art institutions, demonstrating his seditious creative spirit in three independent and simultaneous exhibits.  English’s approach is so pronounced that a distinctive, yet diverse, connect was witnessed within these three exhibits. South Texas College’s Visual Arts and Music Gallery presented the opening exhibition; the International Museum of Art and Science, (the most prestigious and experienced of the Rio Grande Valley’s Art establishments) presented the  next, and a new, friendly, inventive artist-run space hosted the third.

South Texas College presented English’s inventive satirical and subversive series of works that make a mockery of, and chastise, corporate advertising. English is timely, clever and ingenious with his observations that spank the hell out of their campaign jingles and tag lines. He targets immediately recognized corporate advertising slogans that seduce us with their fervent lies and deceit into believing happiness comes in a baggie, a bottle, or deep fried in lard and coated in sugar.

Ron English, Military Might. Digital print, 2011, STC VAM Art Gallery.

English’s brilliant propaganda of genuine reality changes a Miller Light Ad into a war protest poster. Utilizing the same font he changed the text of the logo to read Military Might, with a Jingle that sings Less Chilling and More Killing. And the small print warning at the bottom reads “Repeated exposure to violence may lead to psychological conditions such as post traumatic stress disorder. Veterans have a higher risk of homelessness and societal neglect after service. “ The beauty of the success of his parodies lies in the fact that they are humorous and accessible; we don’t shut down from their harsh reality, we see corporate advertising’s falseness and become enlightened by the veracity of English’s reality. His concern is to champion the rights of the common man, for compassion, empathy and fairness. True Patriotism often runs against the status quo and requires courage to question the reasoning behind many of the conflicts our country is in today.

He designed a poster with the likeness of a sneering insensitive Uncle Sam clad in a Red White and Blue suit, extending his arm with index finger pointing to a color gradient between dark brown and lily white, like a carnival sign that reads, “You Must be This Tall to Go on This Ride.” But in this version Uncle Sam was forewarning all passersby: You Must Be This Color to Enter the Country. (The gallery audience loved taking their picture next to this poster). English and his crew took the sign across the river into Mexico, set it up at the entrance to their Immigration and Customs Port of Entry and photographed Mexicans walking past the sign entering their customs office. And if that wasn’t ballsy enough he then set it up at the entry door of the Immigration and Customs office on this side of the river, again photographing Mexicans walking past the Snidely Whiplashesque caricature of Uncle Sam as they entered through the glass doors of the U.S. customs office. One can only imagine the perplexed and astounded stares this setup fetched. One of his crew stated, “Customs officials asked to see the work, gave it a worried frown, and passed us thru.” While in Mexico they heard the firefight that left six people dead less than ten blocks from where they had filmed. He then quietly traveled down the river toward Mission, and suddenly, the Border wall sported a Ron English souvenir – a Mexican and U.S. hybrid donkey, which due to its configuration, cannot function normally.  It is, in fact, necessary to participate in one of English’s secret art actions in order to appreciate how determined and daring he is.

While here in South Texas, English never let up; like a throttled wrecking crew he lectured, did radio, and T.V. interviews, filmed, photographed, shaved a horse, bombed the wall, and whether talking to a Diplomat or an art student, never lost his humble, gracious, interest in their creative endeavors.

Super-Sixed Ronald McDonald Piñata destruction at the artist’s space.

English’s event at the artist run space, Texas Naturally Surreal, was the climax of his triad exhibits. English examined the customs of our Border Nation and discovered one of our most popular symbols of established cultural entertainment, the piñata. He had several fabricated in the image of his most admired toys, Fat Super-Sized Ronald McDonald, Gas Mouse, Blue Bunny and his Mexican/American opposing headed Hybrid Donkey. Each was stuffed with appropriate materials that added effect to their meaning: Ronald was overfed with frozen French fries, and the others ballooned with red paint. This became a performance of surreal play, the collective of Artists Unanimous hoisted the piñatas, and English ceremoniously took the first couple of swings. The crowd cheered him on in a traditional metric Spanish chant of Dale, Dale Dale, in excited amusement at this violent theatre of bizarre piñata ballet, until a flood of colored body parts, seasoned with what looked like blood and guts, tumbled from the night sky and fell at their feet. English’s crew and the audience quickly destroyed two more piñata’s. Then he invited the audience back into the gallery to make ruin of the most prevalent icon of overindulgence, Fat Super-Sized Ronald McDonald. English handed the spiked staff of revolutionary reward to a svelte and attractive member from the collective, Artist Unanimous, to annihilate Ronald. She did so, swiftly with flair, showering the gallery floor with golden French fries leaving a shredded and tattered Ronald hanging from the ceiling. This aggressive performance mirrored the violence in our backyard – across the river in Mexico – and represents the hostile challenges we suffer because of our seemingly inept government, and consequential failing economy.

The International Museum of Art and Science, under new Director Joseph Bravo, presented English‘s tour de force exhibit, You Are Not Here. The title refers to the fact that only a few thousand people will visit the Museum to see the exhibit compared to the ‘tens of millions’ that drive past the billboards of English’s art that IMAS placed along the Interstate, plus the flux of English’s images on the IMAS website, links, art zines, blogs, news media, and you tube.

You Are Not Here – but you are here – the media is the extended information file format that English utilizes to reach beyond museum and gallery walls. IMAS set the standard for all three of the English exhibits. Bravo spent five days with English, researching his concepts, process and messages; the product of this interfacing labor is witnessed in a sublime selection and display of art. When entering the exhibit, visitors are immediately star-struck by the scale of the work – large billboard sized reproductions of his paintings printed on vinyl. The quality control English demands for printing is outstanding – it is impossible to identify these as digital prints until they are closely examined. No pixilation, superb resolution. The visual premise of these works mirrors that of a circus sideshow, English borrows beloved popular cultural icons such as Mickey Mouse, Barney, Ronald McDonald, Teletubbies and comic hero The  Incredible Hulk. In his piece, Mouse Mask Murphy, English parodies Mickey Mouse, who wears a gas mask, symbolic of warnings from our revered science community, warning of air pollution and it’s ozone destruction. But as a nation of unconcerned citizenry, we choose to disbelieve forewarnings of climate disrepair and air contamination, and corporate manufacturing refuses to curb its practice that worsens this calamity.  In the piece The American Infantile, a childish Hulk illustrates the intimidating expression of a child throwing a temper tantrum at the check out counter because mom won’t give in to his demands for candy. An immature child-Hulk is a clever representation speaking volumes about how we, as such a young Nation, wield our military superiority, often misguided with corporate interests manipulating patriotic discourse. The centerpieces of this exhibit – two takes on Picasso’s Guernica – are magnificent in size: 12’ x 24.’  In X-Ray Guernica English reveals what could be an under painting- exposing the skeletal carcass of each figure depicted. He simultaneously pulls Picasso’s epic horrific of the Spanish Civil War into a contemporary context of the Atomic age, making us see the piece as the fallout from an accidental Nuclear energy fail.  These exhibits demonstrate English’s genius as a multi-tasking Renaissance man; agitate-activist Ad man, conceptual artist, adept painter, sculptor, filmmaker and a surreal performance artist.

The collaborative efforts of IMAS and STC under the bold and spirited leadership of each (President Dr. Reed and V.P. Jose Cruz from STC, Bravo and Board at IMAS), took a risk inviting this controversial agitate-activist artist. This partnership proved itself daring and pioneering, raising the bar and creating an Empirical Order for future exhibits coming to South Texas’ art community; we look forward to more. Bravo! Dale!
David Freeman is the Editor of VOA

In Gary’s Sweeney’s Take a Chance, presented at Three Walls Art  Space, the artist has recycled local political signs, cutting out and arranging the pictures of the candidates.  In smaller signage, written in cut vinyl, are the lyrics of the 1978 ABBA song Take a Chance on Me. The song plays endlessly in the background, its lyrics are repeated across the gallery’s walls in an assortment of fonts made for Word.

With repetition, the political signage has its formula laid bare. Blue backgrounds. White serif letters. Most likely,  a star somewhere. A photo of a blandly attractive person. The signs may seem like nothing more than banal popular culture, but it’s also our current debased version of democracy. Though an empty pop song and uninspired political signs might seem harmless enough, what’s really going on is the work of a machine whose purpose is to limit your options. It’s a coercion to force a choice between pre-selected choices you would not have picked in the first place  – like the same fifteen songs that are on the radio. Sure, I’ll passively accept an ABBA song on the Classic Oldies station’s choice the same way I passively accept the whoever the Democrats select as the candidate.

I  was surprised when I saw the artist use the face of a candidate that I actually did the design for. I liked the candidate and wanted to produce work that was well designed,  instead of the other generally bad work. Although as soon as she won the primary, the campaign’s graphics were turned over to the political party’s machine to look more like what was being produced by everyone else with design as formulaic as an insipid pop song.

Sweeney is a master of re-appropriation. His most well-known works are public art, in the main parking lot of the San Antonio Museum of Art and at the Denver and San Antonio airports. In these pieces, 20th century lettering and signage are chopped up and reassembled and collaged.  Those pieces work because the scale of the signage and outdoor lettering work for large public spaces. Though the boldness and flatness of the pieces gave the space something of a closed  feeling, the size of the gallery space works fine for both these pieces and the message. The viewer walks in and takes in the color, text and sound experience in the small area for about the length of the song and it works.  I think at a public level, however, at the same scale in the outdoor environment  that  the source elements are designed for, it would be something more than what’s on the walls of the gallery. Free the signs, Gary.

Just down the hall from Sweeney in the Cactus Bra art space is Sabra Booth’s short film Slick. The animation is a retelling of the BP oil disaster. Booth finger-paints with oil and petroleum jelly. This way of painting, along with her stop-motion animation technique makes for a very visceral experience. Small finger marks rapidly push greasy, dark material in complex patterns. Hapless shrimp are couched in these complex gooey marks as they ooze material from their shiny bodies. The animation follows the animal’s journey from the ocean to the dinner table.  Clean graphic cutouts of a nuclear family sit around a dinner table, devouring the greasy seafood. The end of the animation promises another segment from this series. On opposite walls, Booth displays the props and actors that she used in her animation, along with elements from what looks to be the next monster movie chapter. They function best as DVD extras for a gallery show. They may not be fully realized pieces, but instead are an interesting look at what went into the making of the animation. Film and video can often be a sealed product, so it was interesting for the artist to open up her process to the audience.
With old techniques such as the stop-motion animation, finger-painting, and cut paper,  Sabra’s work has a deliberate down-and-dirty DIY appeal. It felt like a lot of whimsical ‘80s independent  animation, like Tom Tom Club’s Genius of Love or something more experimental out of MTV’s Liquid Television. Like Sweeney’s room, the piece is well-scaled to its small gallery space. The film is quick and graphic and people steadily cycled through the gallery, watching the film in its entirety. I have to say, I appreciate work that’s timed to a reasonable viewing time. When I uncomfortably give up on an interminable art video, all I feel from the piece is ashamed that I didn’t have the attention span to appreciate an artist’s 25 minute visual poem.  Slick is part editorial cartoon, part complex play of visceral gooey patterns,  and part fun animated funk.

Robert B Gonzales graduated from UT Austin with degrees in Philosophy and Art History. He is a critic, graphic and fine artist from San Antonio.

I have never really cared much for politics in art. Why? It’s mostly because who profess political art are typically more interested in the message over the medium – and it suffers. The majority of my political art experiences in Texas – local shows, write-ups, and conversations, always seem to gravitate towards clichés of social justices or f#*k corporate America for ruining the world or placing guilt on those who victimized XYZ, to the decadence of the rich suburban American. It’s a crowd that’s comfortable in a rambling outrage about something that Bush did and rarely ever converses, but is more inclined to broadcast. Most of the art endeavors had a proclamation to educate all the ignorant masses of consumer yahoos and idiots in our society. Their targets are the kinds of people who would shop at Wal-Mart, or you would see driving an F-350, or suspect for voting Republican. Or maybe it’s just the artist’s parents.

Condoleeza Rice Playing the Piano by George Zupp

Over the years, I have been drawn into reading and watching politics like a soap opera. But when I read Paul Valadez’ article (Where are the right wing political artists?) and Freeman’s editorial outcry as to why artists aren’t marching in the streets and making art about this urgent time of crisis, I get this feeling that a lot radicals befuddled by their certainty that this is the end of the world and why aren’t you, the morally superior disenfranchised-youthful-budding artists doing anything about it, that something is a bit off here. This frustration about the lack of interest about what’s really going on in America is a motivational problem I might shed some light on: Who’s at play and who isn’t.

 
So let’s start with something that the readers of this magazine know about: the business of art and its culture. Back when I was in grad school over at UTSA, one of my Profs was going off about Bush and the Republican agenda. I told this Prof, “Did you know that about a third of grads (studio, at that particular time) are conservative Christian types?” The Prof was about to bust out laughing, “No way could somebody get this far with this type of education and be that messed up.” In Valadez’s article, in the wisdom of his investigative mindset he might have failed to realize that if you consider yourself a ‘conservative/right wing’ artist, you have no place in the contemporary setting (i.e. this whole magazine or exhibition spaces); your message is not welcome here. Thus, Paul has deduced that there are no right wing artists out there that are original enough to show or be seen, or he would have known about them by now. So lets talk about the art culture for a sec. If you even think you’re a conservative/right wing person or God forbid – a Tea Party person – you basically shut the f#*k up, cause you don’t want your ‘art career’  being tanked by these loud mouths spreading rumors about how bigoted, hateful, and stupid you are. And they are out there picking fights – they would love to pen you as a symbol of oppression, and your art as evil! Hisss! Hissss! Evil! Believe me, I know, try just it for fun. Hell, even as entertainment, some people never shut up and you get this feeling you have been outed as the witch in the holy monastery of art.
Paul needs to understand without creating a mental pathology as to why right-wingers have few original ideas or artists, and that most of the world views art as decoration, and that’s it. Contemporary art is about itself, it’s a society that talks about society, but is also a society that is removed from society, but feels it understands society, sort of. If anything, I would say conservative art is akin to posters or nostalgia of the past. Political cartoons aren’t art in their books. Art is a Remington or a Kinkade; it’s something they also might see in a coffee table art book about the old masters. The magazine Southwest Art has conservatives in it,  I’ll bet, as does the magazine American Artist. Do you think anybody in the ‘real’ world of populace America gives a f#*k about what goes on inside this magazine, or any random party/art/space spread around Texas? Left wing political art made by artists – aimed at artists for their crowd – seems opportunistic because it’s like singing to the choir; it’s easy, and who would want to disagree? There is the thrill that it might be shocking to some, but how far does that go when the exhibit is down in thirty days? So for me, political art made here in this zone has to do more with reaffirmations to the readers, mainly the fifty-plus top art professors/intellectuals/artists who would read this magazine, about the current fashion ability of any of these hot topics in politics that might trigger a commentary or art exhibit as to why America is going down the toilet and who are the good guys and bad (mainly the bad), which draws me back to: “What is political art to a crowd who agrees with you already?”  If anything, politics are very complicated unless you want to make propaganda to clear it up. Ambiguity, especially in politics, starts with understanding the legal matters at hand, continues with events that trigger political positioning – why they happen and how we come to understand them. My outlook has become more like a lawyer as I get older and less of a rebel rouser idealist. I don’t see why people don’t raise more questions like this, instead of exhausting themselves over the same issues again and again.

 
Contemporary art in a political scene should be less about advocating a side and more about creating problems in my book. Politics of  The Daily Show strive at a satire that would shy away from being labeled strictly liberal or left wing, because they do not want to be typecast to restrict the flow of their message. The ambiguity in a political art piece or a political statement, without being so obvious, should provoke both left and right somehow, and quite possibly evolve the issues and discourse beyond that of the exchange of a routine speaking point. Let’s face the fact, if I were to make political art here in this zone (i.e. exhibition spaces/art crowds), whom would I want to question or inform? The conservative Republican readers and viewers? LOL.

 
Maybe I can feel it or resolve it here in Freeman’s angst to motivate the youth, who might already know that the lines have been drawn for quite some time to a strict picture of black and white. Call it complacent, or cowardice, to not rise to the calling, but my father’s devils are not my own. A tradition of iconography has been established here that has lost its meaning beyond that of a good t-shirt design and a movie stereotype. Maybe that’s where political art should belong, but I would suggest that mixed messages are more interesting and might inspire somebody to say, “To hell with both sides of the debate, I can’t tell the difference any more,” and to evolve a new sensibility in politics and art.

George Zupp is a contemporary artist living in Texas.