YouTube Video Reel
January 31, 2011 § Leave a Comment
AM and I are applying to another residency!
Unlike our current Wonder Woman Residency, where we applied as Escobar-Morales, this particular program does not accept joint proposals. So we are submitting seperately and hoping (and hoping and hoping) we will both be accepted.
I am applying to the #InternetArt section.
And she is applying to the Photo section.
Invest in Chicago Public School Students
January 30, 2011 § 2 Comments
On January 30, 2011 Chicago Public school students and graduates (from Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood) got together to film a grass-roots/guerilla campaign ad to “tell it like it is,” and support the best candidate to improve our neighborhood public schools.
The footage used is filmed outside of Roger C. Sullivan High School and from WGN’s January 27th mayoral debate. The stars and script writers of this ad are Sullivan HS students (in order of appearance) Cristina Henriquez, Gerardo Aguilar, and Alexandra Alvarez.
On February 22, 2011 vote to improve our neighborhood schools – Miguel del Valle!
http://www.delvalleformayor.com
This ad was not paid for or endorsed by any candidate or candidate’s committee. Labor & love donated.
Source of top seven high schools: Chicago Tribune
el es frida kahlo in RENACIMIENTO
January 21, 2011 § Leave a Comment
RENACIMIENTO is curated by Rachel Matos.
When addressing the topic of duality and rebirth one must think of the two connected through the process of transformation. The initial duality perhaps emerging out of conflicts in accordance to the individuals own internal precepts and colored by the knowledge of their external experiences leads to this transformation, which bares a reawakening or rebirth.
The artists in Renacimiento share their personal journey through stories of cultural identity, conflictual relationships and the transcendence from their ancestry. In lieu of the new year, it is an introspective view of how we all change and seek to change – Rachel Matos
el es frida kahlo is from the series Obsessed with Frida Kahlo
As a Latina artist I will forever be tied to Frida Kahlo in some way. Frida Kahlo is the reference between who Latina artists want to be, and who everyone else expects us to be. Whether I am mimicking her style, her persona, or trying to escape the embedded attachment between myself and the late painters’ legacy, I will still be connected to Frida Kahlo.
Frida Kahlo constructed her identity though her public persona. Kahlo’s attitude, personal traumas, sexual escapades, clothing, and political affiliations, all informed her body of work. Now regarded as the number one female artist in Mexico, Kahlo’s image has become so embedded in popular culture that when one looks at one of her self portraits one automatically thinks about her tragic bus accident, her tumultuous relationship with Diego, and her bisexuality. Kahlo inscribed her identity, painting her image over and over, constructing a mythology around her persona.
In el es frida kahlo, I stand before a reproduction of one of her paintings. With a mixture of rage, anxiety, and complete fear, I chant “el es Frida Kahlo, ella es Frida Kahlo, el es Frida Kahlo, yo soy, yo soy, yo soy Frida Kahlo,” he is Frida Kahlo, she is Frida Kahlo, I am, I am, I am Frida Kahlo. As I yell, the painting behind behind me begins to fall. I violently tear down my braids and smudge off my makeup while continuing yelling “I am Frida Kahlo, I am Frida Kahlo, yo soy Frida Kahlo!”
Escobar-Morales Establishes Online Marketing Agency
January 20, 2011 § Leave a Comment
As a follow up to Are You My Other? our current Internet based self-portrait dialogue exchange project, Escobar-Morales is establishing an online marketing agency. Acting as designers, distributors, and promo models, we plan to produce a series of advertisements addressing contentious topics in the news, such as Arizona’s SB-1070 and the Dream Act.
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Why did you have to pick this weekend to be a Chicano?
January 14, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Mayra Ramirez makes my heart pitter patter….
(here is a repost of one of her latest posts on her blog Hella Breezys)
It’s hard for me to fully express my disappointment and frustration with Arizona’s law makers… last week they passed HB 2281 witch bans “Ethnic Studies” in the states K-12 grade classrooms. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be able to learn about the history of our peoples, of our ancestors, and to be able to find pride and empowerment in that. It’s such a sad and scary time in both Arizona and the country. Here is a great article about HB 2281 that I found very interesting…
So now I want to share my favorite Save by the Bell episode where Slater finds his Chicano Power!!! I feel it’s a great example of why having Ethnic Studies in our classrooms is so crucial…
FUCK ARIZONA’S ETHNOCENTRIC LAWS… WE NEED TO FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO LEARN OUR HISTORY, OUR CULTURE AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR RAZA… TIERRA, JUSTICIA, Y LIBERTAD!!!
RIGHT ON MAYRA!!!
And be sure to check out her collaboration with the always amazing Rio Yañez
Shomer Negiah Panties HUGE SALE!!
January 14, 2011 § 1 Comment
For a limited time Shomer Negiah Panties will be available on Are You My Other? at 1 for $15 or 2 for $20.
choose from: S-XL in Black & Hot Pink, Black & White, or White & Hot Pink
Wonder Women Residency: New News is Old News
January 10, 2011 § 1 Comment
2011 is going to be a good year. I can feel it already. In addition to our upcoming presentation at the 2011 PCA/ACA Conference this April, Andria and I were also accepted to the Wonder Woman Residency at the _gaia studio, in New Jersey. Curated by Maya Joseph-Goteiner and Doris Caçoilo, this year’s theme is: New News is Old News.
New News is Old News
In our society, the importance of news has shifted; some would argue that it has been elasticized or else devalued. As the blogosphere replaces the daily newspaper as the purveyor and distributor of breaking news, the reporting of events is no longer filtered by the journalist/editor. Instead the voice of news is replaced by a dynamic exchange of information.
Already, online, the same article that has appeared black on white in the early print edition has been updated, corrected or even replaced on the web. Newspaper stories no longer fit the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of news as “a report of recent events: previously unknown information.” In many respects, we have created an endless source of updated information online, a bottomless pit of patter. We cannot possibly consume all the news and commentary published online, and while few people have the time to read the entire newspaper, even fewer can keep up with the minute-to-minute updates via Twitter, blogs, online publications, and RSS feeds.
A residency that focuses on the ways in which news is presented, represented, distributed, and modified within the space of the web… hmm… can you think of anything more perfect for us?
So what are we doing?
I won’t spill all the beans yet, but here is an excerpt from our preliminary proposal:
Our project takes its cue from the recent Buy Life Digital Death campaign, where celebrities volunteered their virtual lives (activity on Twitter and Facebook) with the goal of raising $1 million for children and families in Africa and India affected by HIV/AIDS. We were fascinated by their use of highly stylized, seductive images of Kim Kardashian (and other participating celebrities) lying in a coffin, and the role these images play in the dissemination of news coverage surrounding this HIV/AIDS campaign.
Almost immediately following Digital Death’s inception, images of a “dead” Kardashian started appearing in news stories everywhere from CNN to Gawker. Now layered with multiple levels of history and meaning, screenshots of the sultry Kardashian lying in a coffin, continue to be re-distributed on personal blogs, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter pages…
Stay tuned for more project updates here and on Are You My Other?
All I want for my birthday is to go to Texas
January 9, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Tomorrow I turn 27. And everyone keeps asking me what I want, what I need. Things may be tight, but I have what I need: a roof over my head, food to eat, an adoring husband and wonderful family and friends.
But what I want more than anything, is to be able to go to Texas with my collaborator Andria Morales. She and I were just accepted to the 2011 National Popular Culture Association Conference in San Antonio Texas, where we will be presenting our self portrait dialog exchange project Are You My Other? We are thrilled about this opportunity and think it is the perfect place to situate our work. But after totaling our expected expenses, we realized that collectively we need to come up with $1,500 just to make it happen.
So Andria and I are launching our first-ever Are You My Other? fundraising campaign Taking it to Texas. In exchange for donations, we are offering Are You My Other? goodies, alongside favorites from our individual bodies of work… but at a fraction of the price!
Maya Escobar, Shomer Negiah Panties, 2005-present
Andria Bibiloni, Blaster Bike, 2007
Gallery of Gifs pt 2
January 5, 2011 § Leave a Comment
If you enjoyed Gallery of Gifs (pt 1) check out these bad boys:
(click images to view posts on Are You My Other?)
