Look to the South: An Uneven Debut for the Sur Biennial

By Scarlet Cheng

February 2012

Another biennial has been launched in these parts, this one a modest one sponsored by Rio Hondo College and guest-curated by Ronald Lopez. The SUR Biennial is made up of work by young and emerging artists loosely gathered around the theme of “Sur” or “South”—that is, south of the border, Latino culture, although the definition was stretched to include artists who have lived or worked in Mexico or addressed border themes. That’s a very broad swath to deal with, and perhaps future shows will be more tightly focused, but this one was not. More problematic, however, were the large swings in quality of concept and of execution.

The biennial took place in three spaces—two colleges, Rio Hondo and Cerritos, and a commercial art gallery in downtown Whittier, the Bluebird Arthouse. Each showed only a handful of artists, from four to six, which felt like too much traveling if you wanted to see the whole biennial. For the future it would be good to concentrate the show at one or two spaces and to increase its duration (the biennial lasted just one month).

Curiously, the work at Rio Hondo itself was the least impressive; it hovered on the art-school level. Some of the best work was at the commercial space—the Bluebird Arthouse. Even though it was the most compact space, basically two long and narrow rooms, the art was also the best presented. At one end of one room was Lizz Lopez, a Goth-inspired artist who re-installed part of her living room, “Memento Vivere,” Latin for “remember to live” (as opposed to the usual memento mori). And what a living room; I’d love to see the whole space. The walls were painted black and mounted with the stuffed heads of two animals—one a stag which has been muzzled—and a shelf lined with jars containing dead fetuses of various animals, among them a bat and a mouse.

Lopez is an anesthesiologist, so she clearly has a fascination for anatomy and biology – and death. The little critters in jars seem peacefully in suspended animation. Edgar Allan Poe, one of the granddaddies of the Goth sensibility, once wrote, “Sleep, those little slices of death.” Lopez did also obtain BA from the San Francisco Art Institute, so she has an art background, and one ornately framed painting in the installation was by her own hand. It’s her own memento vivere/mori, an eerily detailed painting of the skeleton of an infant, tucked up fetal position, lying on a bed of roses, horror and beauty entwined.

Nearby a wall was given to Vidal Herrerra, who created a kind of altarpiece niche anchored by a coffin-couch. The sides are pink and have the familiar handles for pallbearers to hold onto, while the inside has been upholstered in white; four spindly legs have been added to the corners. Online reads that this is not a recycle but a second, so one can appreciate the creative re-use without too much cringing. Above the couch hangs a colorful painting in the style of a touristic postcard, with the lettering across the top “greetings from East Los Angeles.” Two vintage cars are passing across one of the older bridges near downtown, while images within the lettering speak to Los Angeles of multiple identities – what looks like Che Guevera and a peace sign are tucked into the “o” while the stars and the stripes are tucked into the “s.”

At Cerritos there was a terrific Gustavo Godoy wooden sculpture. He employs the basic material of building construction, such as sawn two-by-fours and two-by-sixes, into dynamically balanced objects. Recently I happened to see him working in an open lot in Culver City, near his dealer Honor Fraser. He was assembling a piece the size of a small house, in what seemed a largely improvised manner. Yes, his knowledge of principles of sound construction (he’s studied architecture and urban design at UCLA) was apparent as people were able to climb up and into the sculpture. The one at Cerritos was room-sized but still bristling with slashing energy.

It’s always gratifying to see artists moving from idea to idea, inspiration to inspiration, and for Jane Castillo, space to space. At Cerritos she created a custom-designed photomural for a wall outside the gallery, inserting panels between the grids of the exterior design. Her “Cityscape” is a city of high-rises drawn with herself in various guises, including her signature curly locks to a blonde wig, as the facades of buildings. In the lower section is a crowd, shown in shadow, enjoying a rave. Castillo is proud of her mixed-race heritage, and of the city she inhabits. “Cityscape” is her exuberant acclaim – I am the city and I will live and thrive in it! – and a celebration of self.

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Here is the link to it online. [only part of the review is posted online. I bought a hard copy at Barnes & Noble]

http://www.artillerymag.com/quick-looks/entry.php?id=look-to-the-south

Just finished installing this video installation, entitled “Migration II” at The Museum of History and Art, Ontario yesterday.  It is one of my
favorite exhibitions to participate in.  As, Day of the Dead is one of my favorite days of the year.

“Migration II” follows “Migration” >>seen here:

Each year, hundreds of millions of Monarch butterflies travel from the United States and Canada to the heart of Mexico.
Starting in late October to early November, the butterflies start to arrive in Mexico. Incidentally, this time period coincides with the  Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday. The indigenous peoples of the area believe the butterflies represent their departed loved ones souls, returning in the form of the butterfly.

Aztec tradition holds that the souls of the departed will return as hummingbirds and butterflies, and the link between myth and the monarchs’ annual return spans centuries.

It is my own experiences with the dearly departed in my life and this butterfly that have inspired these pieces.  I hope you enjoy the show.

El Dia de los Muertos

October 15 – November 21, 2010

225 South Euclid Avenue
Ontario, CA 91762

(909) 395-2510

The museum galleries are open and free to the public

12:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Thursday through Sunday