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Culture of Violence: Work by Victor Cartagena

MACLA

October 25-December 23, 2006

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MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana is pleased to present Culture of Violence by San Francisco-based artist Victor Cartagena. This timely exhibition follows the artist’s investigation into violence as an underpinning element of our society. The exhibition features two multi-media installations Bang! Bang! Toy Gun! & Con los Ojos Vendados and related two-dimensional work. The first installation, Con los Ojos Vendados (With their eyes blindfolded) was first conceived in 2005. The installation utilizes video projection and features a dining table with blindfolded faces made out of loves of bread. The installation questions society’s collective blindness towards violence and asks the viewer to open one’s eyes and engage in dialogue about complicity. The second installation, a new commission by MACLA, Bang! Bang! Toy Gun! is inspired by prevalence of youth violence and a recent study that indicated that the firearm homicide rate in the United States was 16 times that of the average for other industrialized countries. Comprised of four video projections of youth holding guns, the artist will hang 500-600 toy guns from the gallery’s ceiling to consume nearly two-thirds of the gallery space. MACLA will publish a catalogue in conjunction with this exhibition. Victor Cartagena has been making art in the Bay Area since fleeing his homeland of El Salvador in the late-80s. Much of his early work dealt with his struggles as an immigrant in the US and the memories of violence in his native El Salvador. While the work in Culture of Violence is informed by Victor’s experience coming of age in a war torn nation, the exhibition examines issues of violence from a global perspective that also happens to be a pressing societal concern here in the United States. Victor is a highly accomplished artist whose work is known for opening a dialogue about challenging issues. His work has been exhibited widely in the Bay Area, southern California, New York and Greece. He’s been the receipent of numerous awards, most notably, the “Visions from the New California” grant award program, sponsored by a seven-member California Artist Residency Consortium that included a month-long residency at the 18th Street Arts Complex in Santa Monica, CA.

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• Ticket Info

  Tickets: Free

• Dates & Times

  Dates:
  October 25-December 23, 2006

  Times:
  Opening Reception 11/2: 7pm-9pm
  
  Gallery Hours:
  Wed & Thurs: 12pm-7pm
  Fri & Sat: 12pm-5pm

• Venue Info

  MACLA

  510 S. 1st Street San Jose, CA 95113

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• Accessibility Info

  • Wheelchair Access

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    Comment posted by: Tavius Dyer from San Ramon, CA, May 21, 2009
    

    I am a spoken word artist who has never slammed. I saw the movie, though. I've never been. I hope to come down soon and rep the scene!

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    I am a spoken word artist who has never slammed. I saw the movie, though. I've never been. I hope to come down soon and rep the scene!

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    Comment posted by: Alejandra from CA, Mar 18, 2009
    

    This documentary is in English. Sorry, no Spanish subtitles for the version we will be screening this coming Saturday at MACLA.

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    This documentary is in English. Sorry, no Spanish subtitles for the version we will be screening this coming Saturday at MACLA.

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    Comment posted by: patty from CA, USA, Sep 08, 2008
    

    The best book I ever read that I didn't understand.

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    The best book I ever read that I didn't understand.

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    "Travelling The Trail of Tears"
    Comment posted by: Peter Moeau, Rongowhakaata tribe, great-great-greatgrandson of Te Kooti Rikirangi from Te Karaka (4022) Aotearoa NZ, Sep 16, 2007
    

    Nga mihi aroha no nga iwi maori o Aotearoa. E te rangatira, e te kairaranga purakau, e te hoa, tena koe! Vincent - I was privileged enough to see your work, and to meet you in Wairoa, Aotearoa NZ... Expand

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    Nga mihi aroha no nga iwi maori o Aotearoa. E te rangatira, e te kairaranga purakau, e te hoa, tena koe! Vincent - I was privileged enough to see your work, and to meet you in Wairoa, Aotearoa NZ a number of years ago at the Inaugural Indigenous Film Festival. Thank you for such a powerful statement. I had to stand and acknowledge the deep-felt emotion that your work invoked in me. This was the right way for me to talk to you, brother to brother, through whaikorero. As well, seeing Ron His Horse is Thunder reminded me of the healing powers of the descendants of those who suffered way back then. He reminded me of how men of today need to talk to the men of tomorrow and teach them the ways of the old people. He embodied the spirit of his tipuna, Sitting Bull. My aroha goes to you both, and to our tipuna who have already walked their trail of tears. Collapse

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