Biomythography

 

“Axis of Ego: When and Where I Enter” is a video and multimedia installation which investigates notions of toxic masculinity, cultural humility, cultural

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speculation, and myth creation while exploring intersecting concepts of inherited racial and social constructs including but not limited to masquerading’s of masculinity and the destructive nature of racially, culturally, and gendered hierarchical organization. The film “Axis of Ego” highlights a comparative link between Cognitive Dissonance in race relations and Sigmund Freud theory on the Ego Defense Mechanisms.

 

The videos are anchored by the exploration of the figure of Dr. Mabuse a hypnotic character developed post World War II by filmmaker Fritz Lang. Mabuse is depicted as a sinister mesmerist/psychiatrist and developed into a cultural conception representative of the growing influence of authoritarianism. The work is further augmented through the creation of a dense multilayered aesthetic similar to a “wall of sound” layering, and distorting images, audio, and video from a diverse milieu of visual and popular culture including Norman Jewison’s A Soldier’s Story, as well as various interviews by authors such as James Baldwin. Similar to sampling practices in music, the work is layered and varied- creating labyrinthine narratives that engage different perspectives and possibilities.

 

The installation, which mimics both traditional institutional display, and religious architectural elements including “confessionals”, allows the audience to engage in an introspective and reflective space permitting a literal and physiological space of entry and contemplation.

 

 

FAR Bazaar: Cerritos College

Alternative Art Fair & Art Collective Festival

January 28-29, 2017 |10AM- 10PM 

 

FAR, one of the oldest artist-run non-profits in Southern California, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. To honor this milestone, Cerritos College will host the group’s largest FAR Bazaar event on January 28-29, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

 

The large-scale event will be held in the College’s abandoned 1950’s mid-century modernist structure and former Fine Arts building. The structure is slated for demolition just days after FAR Bazaar 2017 to make room for the College’s new modern facility. FAR Bazaar 2017 will occupy more than 50 abandoned rooms, transforming the facility’s 30,000 square feet of interior into a collection of alternative art spaces curated by local art groups. Graduate students from regional universities and art schools, and food trucks and an art book/print fair will be onsite.

 

FAR Bazaar 2017 will feature a series of scholarly panel discussions on issues such as the history of artist collectives and artist-run spaces in Southern California and the plight of aging modernist architecture. In the newly relocated Cerritos College Art Gallery, there will be two exhibitions, one featuring the work of this year’s Art+Tech Artist-in-Residence, Stephanie Deumer, and the other highlighting work by former FAR board members, amongst them current professors and administrators from Otis, Occidental, UC Berkeley, Scripps, and Art Center.

 

Participating collectives include: Adjunct Positions, Association of Hysteric Curators, Ave 50 Studio, Biomythography, Boys of Summer, Concrete Walls Projects, D-Block Projects, DH Arts Collective, Disposable Collective, Durden & Ray, Earth Like Planets, Elephant, FA4 Collective, Finishing School, Hinterculture, Improvised Alchemy, JAUS Gallery, KCHUNG, LA Freewaves, Machine Project, Monte Vista Projects, Motherboy, Rough Play, SASSAS, Shed Research, Sixpack Projects, Slanguage Studios, South Bay Contemporary, Summercamp's ProjectProject, and Tilt-Export

Participating MFA programs include: Art Center, CalArts, Claremont Graduate University, Otis (Public Practice and Fine Arts), UC Irvine (Fine Arts and Critical/Curatorial Studies) UC Los Angeles (Design Media Arts and Fine Arts), UC Riverside, and University of Southern California

 

To learn more about FAR visit www.far-la.org/

To learn more about FAR Bazaar visit http://cms.cerritos.edu/farbazaar/