BODIES AND POLITICS: A GROUP EXHIBITION AT PAMM
Xican-a.o.x. Body in Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is the first major exhibition to showcase work by artists who foreground the body as a site of political agency and imagination, artistic investigation, decolonization, and alternative forms of community.
The exhibition’s title is based on the term, Chicano, that is traditionally defined as an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans who embrace their indigenous ancestry. The exhibition emerges at the intersection of experimental artistic practices dating back to the Chicano Movement’s key years in the 1960s and 1970s and embraces the work of artists who identify in myriad ways—including Mexican American, Chicana/o, Xicanx, Indigenous, Latinx, Black, Brown, and Queer.
The curatorial framework of Xican-a.o.x. Body draws from the idea of the Brown Commons, a term that was coined by the writer José Esteban Muñoz. According to Muñoz’s definition, Brownness is articulated as a feeling and experience of people who exist within an “in-betweenness” and are thus read as Other. Another important framework stems from the idea of Xicanisma, a term that was conceived by the writer and poet Anna Castillo to define a socioeconomic and culturally specific type of Chicana feminism. Xican-a.o.x. Body features conceptual, experimental, and pioneering works from the late 1960s to the present using a diverse range of media—from poetry and ceramics to painting, photography, sculpture, film, performance, and drawings—that enlighten our understanding of Xicanx art and culture.
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Patssi Valdez. Hot Pink (still), 1980-1983. Digitized 35 mm video, color, sound, 5’48’’. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
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Mel Casas (1929-2014) Humanscape 69 (Circle of Decency), 1973 Acrylic on canvas 72 x 96 in. Courtesy the Mel Casa Family Trust and American Federation of Arts
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Isabel Castro (b. 1954) From the series Women under Fire, 1980 Slides printed on Xerox and hand painted, scratched, and dyed 10 x 6 1/2 in. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
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Artemisa Clark (b. 1985) Mrs. Aurora Vargas, struggling fiercely, is carried from house by deputies as hold-outs are cleared from Chavez Ravine. Fourteen deputies made eviction which turned into a melee (Los Angeles Times/1959), 2017 Glitter vinyl and ink on paper 8 x 10 in. Courtesy Luján Collection and American Federation of Arts
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Alex Donis (b. 1964) Scoob Dog and Officer Morales, 2001 Oil and enamel on Plexiglass 41 x 28 in. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
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rafa esparza (b. 1981) Corpo RanfLA: Terra Cruiser, 2022-2023 Archival pigment print 13 x 16 in. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
Artists in Xican-a.o.x. Body include Laura Aguilar, Celia Álvarez Muñoz, Asco (Harry Gamboa Jr., Gronk, Willie Herrón III, and Patssi Valdez, 1972–82), Mario Ayala, Judith F. Baca, Alice Bag, Julia Barbosa Landois, Ariana Brown, Nao Bustamante, William Camargo, Barbara Carrasco, Charlie Cartwright (Good Time Charlie), Mel Casas, Isabel Castro, Yreina D. Cervántez, Enrique Chagoya, Artemisa Clark, Liz Cohen, Adriana Corral, Camilo Cruz, Cyclona, Ms. Vaginal Davis, Albert De Alba Sr., Sandra de la Loza, Natalie Diaz with Mohammed Hammad, Alex Donis, Frances Salomé España, rafa esparza, Justin Favela, Christina Fernandez, Diane Gamboa, Maria Gaspar, Jay Lynn Gomez, Ken Gonzales-Day, Alfonso Gonzalez Jr., Fabian Guerrero, Ester Hernandez, Sebastian Hernández, Celia Herrera Rodríguez, Salomón Huerta, Luis Jiménez, Alma López, Yolanda López, Richard A. Lou, James Luna, Narsiso Martinez, Patrick Martinez, Delilah Montoya, Malaquias Montoya, Chuco Moreno, Gabriela Muñoz, Marcos Raya, Sandy Rodriguez, Gabriela Ruiz, Sylvia Salazar Simpson, Shizu Saldamando, Teddy Sandoval, Tamara Santibañez, The Q-Sides (Vero Majano, Amy Martinez, and Kari Orvik), Walter Thompson-Hernández, John Valadez, Patssi Valdez, Linda Vallejo, Ricardo Valverde, Kathy Vargas, and José Villalobos.
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Alma López (b. 1966) Our Lady, 1999 Giclee on canvas 17 x 14 1/2 in. © Alma López. Thanks to models Raquel Salinas and Raquel Rodriguez. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
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Yolanda López (1942-2021) Tableaux Vivant, 1978, printed circa 1980s Black and white photograph 14 x 11 in.Photography by Susan Mogul. Courtesy Rio Yañez and American Federation of Arts
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James Luna (1950-2018) Half Indian/Half Mexican, 1991 Black and white photograph 30 x 24 in. each Courtesy the Estate of James Luna and Garth Greenan Gallery, New York and American Federation of Arts
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Tamara Santibañez (b. 1987) Belt and lilies, 2023 Glazed porcelain 24 x 15 x 2 1/2 in. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
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Fabian Guerrero (b. 1988) Jose in front of Laundromat, Lynwood, CA, 2017 From the series Brown Queer Rancheros Photograph 16 x 20 in. Courtesy the artist and American Federation of Arts
The exhibition has been co-curated by Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Marissa Del Toro, and Gilbert Vicario.
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