Ammo Bunker (2009) is a multipart installation that includes large-scale wall prints and an architectural model. The work takes as its departure point the history of Wilmington, Ybarra’s native hometown in southern Los Angeles. The piece refers to a Civil War era ammunition store that Ybarra found at the heart of the harbor close to Long Beach. The facility was later used as a temporary prison to hold different people coming from Mexico to Los Angeles during the Civil War. The building’s walls are covered with different marks and inscriptions from that time—what Ybarra likes to call L. A.’s earliest graffiti and which today coexist with recent gang tags. By pointing out the presence of these two kinds of inscriptions in the same historical place, Ybarra furthers his investigation into the intertwining of Mexican-American and Anglo-American social and cultural histories in Southern California.
Mario Ybarra Jr. belongs to a generation of Mexican-American artists who embrace their double heritage and use it in order to create critical and compelling artistic work. Ybarra is based in Los Angeles, where he grew up, and a large part of his artistic practice has grown out of issues related to his upbringing in the Chicano community of Wilmington. He consistently explores the culture and politics of the West Coast to produce, as he says, contemporary art that is filtered through a Mexican-American experience. Ybarra is not only a multifaceted artist, but also works as an educator, gallerist, activist, and social anthropologist.
The collector is developing projects that allow her to support artists in her own unique way....
Rules & Repetition: Conceptual Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum Skip to content “The Maze and Snares of Minimalism” (1993) by Carl Andre in front of Alfred Jensen’s “The World As It Really Is” (1977), on view in Rules & Repetition: Conceptual Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art presents works by groundbreaking conceptual artists of the 1960s and ‘70s alongside more recent acquisitions in Rules & Repetition: Conceptual Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum ...
Exploring the Past Through the Personal: “Meantime” and “Rojak Romance” at TFOOPFest | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles February 18, 2019 By Akanksha Raja (1181 words, five-minute read) It’s 2019 and nostalgia is in the air in Singapore, thanks to the Bicentennial fever that is sweeping the country...
This Bay Area Filipino Streetwear Is a Favorite Among Rappers and Rebels | KQED Skip to Nav Skip to Main Skip to Footer Arts & Culture This Bay Area Filipino Streetwear Is a Favorite Among Rappers and Rebels Dario McCarty Dec 13 Save Article Save Article Failed to save article Please try again Facebook Share-FB Twitter Share-Twitter Email Share-Email Copy Link Copy Link Jaden Yo-Eco (left) and Humbert Lee pose for a portrait at Lee’s home in Daly City on Nov...
Powerful, Inclusive Angels Show to Creative Possibilities of AI Art Home / Art AI Artist Imagines an Ethereal World of Diverse Angels With Majestic Wings By Jessica Stewart on February 5, 2024 After years of curating and showcasing artistic talent as the co-founder of My Modern Met, Alice Yoo is finding her own creative voice thanks to the power of AI...
Some Time Waiting With: Olivier Babin, Robert Barry, Johanna Billing, Pierre Bismuth, Marcelline Delbecq, Jason Dodge, Ryan Gander, Isabell Heimerdinger, Jiri Kovanda, David Lamelas, Kris Martin, Jonathan Monk, Dominique Petitgand, Dan Rees, Mungo Thomson, Mario Garcia Torres, Elin Wikström, Jordan Wolfson...
5 Singapore poems not to quote out of context | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia Articles Elliot Wong October 13, 2019 By Nabilah Said (2,500 words, 7-minute read) In 1968, Lee Kuan Yew uttered the words “Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford” to a roomful of University of Singapore students...