My work addresses the dialectic of the visible and invisible; whole and fragmentary encounters of western identity. There is a constant pull to search out, reclaim, and reinterpret the scattered, erased, and often unclaimed narratives of the American West.

Recently, an interest in cartography led to investigations of natural topographies and geologic phenomena. I use electronic topographic maps, on-line USGS quadrangles, and my own digital photography to encourage new thinking. For me, these twenty-first century landscape perspectives resurrect historical and private narratives. In this exhibition, Road Ways bears witness to my personal intersections with the rich dynamics of low rider culture.

On my street, on the same block, lives a man known to the neighbors as "Ice-pick Holly." He does not like other people's cars parked in front of his house. When I moved in I did not know this and on two occasions parked my truck in front of his house. The result in both instances was a punctured sidewall. When I was told by neighbors that this was the result of parking in front of Holly's house I was furious. But there was nothing I could do about it, for no-one has ever seen him do it. What I felt like doing was to blow out all four of the tires of his car. But Holly parks his car in front of his house at 6 am each morning, driving it around from the garage in the alley, and at 6 pm he drives it around to park it in the garage again. There is thus no chance to get even with him in the middle of the night. I asked some of my kids to sneak down the block and puncture his tires. But Holly spends most of the summer days sitting on his front porch. And we also know that he carries a gun in his pocket. My kids were reluctant, even when I offered money. My fantasy was to get even without being there. The "Radio Controlled Car with Electric Drill and 16mm Gunnery Camera" was the answer. The car is camouflaged with fallen tree leaves. It was meant to be launched in Fall from my location on the block and travel -- by radio control -- underneath other parked cars to Holly's house. The electric motor on this radio controlled car has been changed to a low-speed high-torque gear-motor. The electric drill operates in the forward direction when the car moves forward, and reverses when the car reverses. The power pack adds traction to the rear wheels, and is able to supply a large amount of power for drilling. The Gunnery camera (not operating) is meant to get a record of the event. It operates from a separate radio control. I haven't used it yet.

For a complete resume, see http://jnocook.net/resume


RUBEN DE SANTIAGO (CHICAGO, IL)


Madres de los vagos
Ruben De Santiago
Video VHS 2003
Click here to DOWNLOAD RUBEN.MPEG



GUILLERMO GALINDO (OAKLAND CA/ MEXICO CITY, MEXICO)

click here to DOWNLOAD GALINDO.MP3

Composer/ Performer/ Soundscape Architect
Artistic Statement

LIZA GROBLER (CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA)

I regard the energy that is generated through the interaction between works as of greater importance than any single work, and the creative process and end product as of equal importance. Over the last couple of years I made use of a number of different materials, but found myself time and time again surrounded by discarded plastic and mass-produced low-cost objects. My artistic practice became a celebration of small fragments and everything unimportant: the core of modern civilization?

Although many of the works might refer to pressing social issues, it is not my aim to change the world, but rather to disrupt subtly by infiltration…

The convergence of the concepts of car and woman, one often a surrogate for the other, points to an interesting cultural phenomenon of elevated adoration in a power structure that is outwardly patriarchal. However, the strength of a woman, both as an idea and as a person, to affect change, points to a different distribution of influence; or at least, the potential for such influence. As we move forward into the 21st century, old rules are beginning to fall away in favor of more individualized paths.

At this juncture, I return my work to the underwear as a trope for offering a new direction. At first viewing, Tailgate Panties 1 & 2 seem to be criticizing the Low Rider cultural as one of machismo and subjugation of women. This is certainly part of the commentary, but not in the manner of heavy-handed 1970s feminism. Instead, I am offering a cautionary work; one that describes the connection of woman and car, acknowledges it, and then advises the viewer of the possibility of wearing underwear, labels, ideas as badges of something different. It's a sort of permission (and also a warning) that yes, this woman is herself, she is living in the cultural moment, but she is capable of much more than the reduction to metal and paint or even fabric and ink would indicate.

These pieces are mixed media utilizing various types of printmaking paper and other papers, I use several types of paint acrylic, industrial finishes, oil etc. I use a subtractive method, where I start with various paints then eliminate some of the passages (leaving ghost images) this process is repeated over and over again, until I reach the desired image. I never work from any preliminary sketches or pre-conceived ideas, it's mostly impulse, then at some point I notice a point of interest and try to develop it or bring out the image I'm after.


GISELLE MERCIER (CHICAGO, IL)

Now you can strut your stuff... baby lo
mixed media on baby stroller, 2003

GISELLE A. MERCIER is a professional artist and arts educator with a culturally rich and multi-disciplinary approach to curriculum development in youth arts. She is a seasoned program developer and project leader with over 15 years of experience in partnership building and community arts programming. Giselle is a passionate and dedicated arts administrator that has worked with Chicago’s most prestigious cultural and educational organizations: The School (currently) and the Museum of The Art Institute of Chicago, The Dance Center and the Office of Community Arts Partnerships of Columbia College Chicago , The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, Performing Arts Chicago and Randolph Street Gallery. An accomplished lecturer and curator, Ms. Mercier is originally from Panama and has both her BFA and MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.



MICHAEL MAC GARRY (JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA)

Low-Fi
mixed media, 2003