Georgina Valverde: Moral Geometry

Georgina Valverde: Moral Geometry

Also this month's Project Wall Space: Chris Wood

Opening Friday December 4, from 6pm-10pm
December 4 - January 2, 2010

With performance by Microgig starting at 8:00 p.m.

In the introduction of The Book of Tea, Okakura Kakuzo speaks of “moral geometry” to explain how ‘The Philosophy of Tea,” or “Teaism,” embodies Eastern ideals related to purity, simplicity, and a sense of proportion to nature and the cosmos. “Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence,” says Kakuzo.

Moral Geometry makes sense out of the “sordid facts” of the quotidian: repetition, waste and consumption. Using the components of over 1600 teabags donated by friends and acquaintances, Georgina Valverde creates a body of work exploring the potential for repeated small actions to manifest form, beauty and meaning.

The centerpiece of Moral Geometry is a small building titled Teacage based on the Wardian case, a precursor of the modern terrarium. Working for the British East India Company in 1848, Robert Fortune used Wardian cases to smuggle 20,000 tea plants from Shanghai to start the first plantations in Assam, India. Teacage is a flexible structure that can be broken down into a series of screens or space dividers. As such, Teacage is a forum for performance, workshops and social encounters. The first event is a performance by Microgig. Other events will be announced.

Georgina Valverde was born in Mexico City in 1962. She has a BFA, 1987, in Painting and Printmaking and a BA, 1987, in Modern Languages from James Madison University, Va., and an MFA, 2003, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Georgina’s work has been most recently featured at the Centro Jaime Sabines in Tuxtla Gutiérrez and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Tamaulipas, México, the University of Texas Pan-American, Edinburg, and the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago. Her work has also been exhibited at the former Bodybuilder & Sportsman Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art and the Cullacht Residency program at the Galway City Arts Center, Ireland among other venues.

This project is partially supported by a Community Arts Assistance Program grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

ANTENA
1765 S. Laflin St.
Chicago IL 60608
www.antenapilsen.com
antenapilsen (at) gmail.com
(773) 257-3534
Hours: by appointment only

The Incredible Journey That is Consciousness

---

Please join us


Saturday, November 7 from 7-11pm

to launch

The Incredible Journey That is Consciousness
a new publication from Chicago's Alex Fuller and Gabe Usadel

"Squares, circles and triangles are at the core of what makes the industrial world around us. A universal visual language apparent in all things—the tools we use, the fashion we wear, the buildings we live in and the communications we see..."

*Limited edition artist prints will be available for sale

GOLDEN AGE
1744 W. 18th Street
Chicago, IL 60608
Thurs-Sun 12-6pm

+1 312 850 2574
contact@shopgoldenage.com
shopgoldenage.com

EL: Pink line to 18th Street, walk 1/2 block west

La Pocha Nostra Performance

photo: Zach Gross, 2007

SPECIAL PERFORMANCE:
Corpo Illicito: The Post-Human Society #69
Friday, October 30, 2009. 7:00pm. FREE.
Columbia College Chicago , 618 S. Michigan , 2nd Floor

Join us for a debut performance by members of La Pocha Nostra, the acclaimed Mexican-American “trans-disciplinary organization” and 2009-2010 Critical Encounters Artists-in-Residence. “Corpo Illicito” is the third in the group’s Mapa-Corpo series and will feature Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Violeta Luna and Roberto Sifuentes. The new piece tackles this historic moment of reinvention by looking into the past and attempting to prognosticate a possible future without resorting to quick fixes and false hopes. Using performance bodies as sites for political reinvention and poetic prophesying, La Pocha Nostra explores both the legacy of fear of the Other, the criminalization of the brown body inherited by the Bush administration, and the emerging culture of hope, imagination and faith that has developed in response to the former world order.

Zombie: A Mindless Affair

Zombie: A Mindless Affair
Curated by: Edra Soto

Also Project Wall Space:Irene Perez

ARTISTS:
C Through Outfit (Erik Brown, Catie Olsen, Carl Warnik and Dawn Reed)
Deborah Boardman
Nate Lee
Jason Mena
Mindy Rose Schwartz
Amanda Browder
Derek Chan
Christopher Simkins
Chris Smith
Ann Toebbe
Harold Mendez
Paul Nudd
Noah Berlatsky
Vladimir Kharitonsky
Dana Peters
Gretel Garcia
Susannah Kite Strang
Rachel Hewitt
Corinne Halbert
Bert Stabler
Beatriz Monteavaro
Miguel Cortez
Edra Soto
Candace Briceno
Death by Design Co. (Teena McClelland and Michelle Maynard)
The Wiener Girls (Sydney Croskery and Katey Rafanello)
Betsy Odum
Jen Thomas and Bobby Lively
Jacob C. Hammes
Andrea Jablonski
Jeff Libersher
Aide Martinez

Opening Friday October 23 from 6pm-10pm
October 23 - November 21, 2009

ABOUT: Zombie: A Mindless Affair
Celebrations that invite us to observe a historical occurrence are still strongly practiced in contemporary culture. Halloween, as celebrated is America, profoundly depicts the strongest features from gothic and horror literature, film, TV, and graphic arts. Among the repertoire of traditional characters, the zombie distinguishes itself for possessing the biology and behavior of a normal human being, yet lacks consciousness. This exhibition uses the vernacular of the mythological zombie as a starting point to engage in ideas of death, mindlessness and symbolisms for the occult and inexplicable. The term zombie also intends to address issues referring to the mindless self in a social spectrum: leading and following; acts of automatism and fanatic behaviors.

From 6:30-7:00pm on opening night:
Join author Scott Kenemore, artist Mindy Rose Schwartz and collaborators Teena McClelland and Michelle Maynard from Death by Design Co. in conversation. They will talk about the darkness that enlightens their work. Screening of the film made by Death by Design Co. immediately after the conversation. Moderated by Edra Soto.

** During the opening, Carl Warnick of C Through Outfit will be running a Zombie Movie Server that will share over 60 movies. From I walk with a Zombie (1943) to a telecine of Zombieland (2009). Bring laptops or thumb drives to get free films! (note: Films are between 700mb to 1.5gb)

ANTENA
1765 S. Laflin St.
Chicago IL 60608
www.antenapilsen.com
antenapilsen (at) gmail.com
(773) 257-3534
Hours: by appointment only
see MAP HERE

CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS

CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS Gallery is proud to present this special exhibit as our entry in the annual PILSEN OPEN STUDIOS Art Walk for 2009. We are #30 on the map which you can access on the internet at: www.pilsenopenstudios.org There will be buses to take you around to the over 40 artists' studios and galleries.

PIPELINES & BORDERLINES--ROUND 2

NOW THAT "W" IS GONE AND OBAMA IS IN
EVERYTHING IS OK!
.........................OR IS IT?

The CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS Gallery presents "PIPELINES & BORDERLINES--ROUND 2, a grass roots political print portfolio featuring artists from Canada, the United States, and Mexico, the three NAFTA countries.

This exhibition is curated by Beverly Keys and has already travelled to all three countries. Brochures documenting the project and giving updates on what "W" called "NAFTA-PLUS" will be available.

In 2008, artists from the U.S., Mexico and Canada collaborated to creat artworks to spread awareness of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which the Bush administration called NAFTA-PLUS. It is an umbrella for 300 joint corporate and governmental initiatives. Corporations set the agendas and these initiatives were carried out with LITTLE legislative and absolutely NO public input or awareness.

Participating artists are:

RENE ARCEO, MARNIE BLAIR, NICOLAS DE JESUS, JAVIER LARA DIAZ, STEVE FISHER, JEFF ABBEY MALDONADO, JESUS ORLANDO MARTINEZ, CAROL FREIDLE, BALTZAR GODOY, MICHAEL MCGOVERN, LAURA MYNTTI, HEATHER HUSTON, EVELINE KOLIJN, BEVERLY KEYS, JANET SCHILL, MARY ELLEN PONSFORD, GABRIEL TRINIDAD, VICTOR JUAREZ VASQUEZ, & JOHN PITTMAN WEBER

Beverly Keys has chosen two of the 300 projects which affect all three countries for the focus of the PIPELINES & BORDERLINES portfolio exhibition.

The first is the OIL SANDS MINES project in Alberta, Canada. It is the largest surface mine in the world, with toxic chemicals endangering citizens as well as the wildlife left after massive deforestation. Thousands of laborers were bussed up from Mexico to work in the mines, promoting their exploitation, and weakening the labor force in all three countries.

This mine is large enough to be the SOLE REASON that Canada cannot meet its carbon reduction goals to combat global warming. A pipline is set to run from Alberta to mostly U.S. refineries, including the British Petroleum (BP) plant in Whiting, Indiana.

There, as we have heard, toxins will be released that will threaten the health of anyone who depends on Lake Michigan for drinking water.

The second project chosen was the AUTOMATED TARGETING SYSTEM (ATS), which combines the U.S. "no-fly" list into a single North American database. Every person flying over a U.S. border is assigned a "risk" assessment score.

It is full of errors and has assessed preschoolers and even the late Senator Ted Kennedy as "high risks". No one has access to find out what their score is and NO RIGHT TO CHALLENGE IT.

We are allowing pipelines to cross borders but preventing people from doing so. President Obama says that we need to rengotiate NAFTA, in order to "STOP THIS RACE TO THE BOTTOM.

WILL WE?

You won't want to miss this important print portfolio exhibition by well-known artist from the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

Artists can express emotions in unique ways. Is this exhibition visually exciting, YES! Is it political?.....YOU BETCHA!!

Your presence is invited and will be welcomed. Don't miss the opening reception on October 16th at 6:30 p.m.

CARLOS & DOMINGUEZ FINE ARTS Gallery
1538 W. Cullerton Street (2000 South, east of Ashland)
Chicago, Illinois 60608

Lost? call 773-580-8053 for turn-by-turn instructions.

Antena @ Pilsen Open Studios

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - Sunday, October 18, 2009

Pilsen Open Studios is an artist run art walk that takes place in October. Each year artists, galleries, cultural centers and cafes open their doors during special hours. Over 30 spaces, 60+ artists from Carpenter St. to Leavitt St. and from 16th St. For more info go to: http://pilsenopenstudios.org/

Antena will participate again in this year's 18th St. Pilsen Open Studios' art walk weekend by showcasing new work by artists:

Jenny Priego
Miguel Cortez
Jaime Mendoza

Jenny Priego is visual and performance artist who draws inspiration from her existence as a feminine being and random beauty. She uses several forms of media to interpret her self exploration, such as technology, her body, voice, and formal fine art technique. Her latest and ongoing project is "Adelita Pata de Perro" a photographic journal of Adelita, a character that was inspired by the women who fought in the Mexican Revolution. Priego's Adelita is a hyper-ethnic woman wandering the world on an ever changing journey, and on her voyage of discovery she encounters symbols of power, femininity, sex, and cultural imagery. She finds herself in different situations and places that take her from Paris, to Rome and sugar cane mills in Mexico. Priego studied at Columbia College and currently works as a Stewardess.

Jaime Mendoza was awarded a grant from the National Performance Network/Visual Arts Network to participate in a one week residency at Galería De La Raza’s. The name of the exhibit, “No Distance Is More Awesome” was part of PICTURING IMMIGRATION, a year-long series of exhibitions and public events examining immigration from Latino perspectives. Mendoza earned his earned his Master of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2002.

Miguel Cortez is an artist living in Chicago and born in Guanajuato, Mexico. He has studied filmmaking at Columbia College and has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Recent exhibitions include a show in Champaign, IL at the Krannert Museum and at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, as well as, in Bridge Art Fair in Miami. Past shows include an exhibit in Dallas at Mighty Fine Arts Gallery, "Lo Romantico" at Glass Curtain Gallery and "Lies that Bill Gates told me: Exploring the Digital Divide" at VU Space in Melbourne, Australia.

18th St. Pilsen Open Studios 2009
Saturday and Sunday October 17-18, 2008
Noon - 7pm

ANTENA
1765 S. Laflin St.
Chicago IL 60608
www.antenapilsen.com
antenapilsen (at) gmail.com
(773) 257-3534

18th St. Pilsen Open Studios 2009

18th St. Pilsen Open Studios 2009
Artists open their studios to the public!!
Saturday and Sunday October 17-18, 2009
Noon - 8pm

Pilsen Open Studios is an artist run art walk that takes place in October. Each year artists, galleries, cultural centers and cafes open their doors during special hours. Over 30 spaces, 60+ artists from Carpenter St. to Leavitt St. and from 17th St to Cermak.

There will be FREE buses that will take you to the studios. So park your car, jump on the buses and enjoy visiting the artists in Pilsen as they open their studios to the public during Chicago Artists Month!

http://www.pilsenopenstudios.org

DOWNLOAD PDF MAP HERE