Unresolved Circumstances: Video Art from Latin America at MOLAA

The exhibition begins by presenting an open dialogue that relates to Latin American cultural realities, addressing subjects such as the construction of culture and the ironic deconstruction of given artistic and historical iconography. This section includes the work Culture (1999) by Lucas Bambozzi in which the viewer is presented with different perspectives of what culture is and Ivan Candeo’s Miranda en la Carraca (2007) in which the artist criticizes institutional structures by destroying an emblematic work of art.

The second part of the exhibition is dedicated to video works that deal with political issues including colonialism and its effects; the contradictions of a dysfunctional modernity and its consequences, and the establishment of repressive political regimes and their effects. While artists such as Jeannette Chavez ( Self-Censorship, 2006) and Tania Bruguera ( Tatlin Whisper # 6 (Havana Version), 2009) address censorship in their works, Alexander Apostol ( Yamaikater, 2009) refers to social inclusion and the empty discourse of Latin American politics. Included in this part of the exhibition is a significant sub-section on gender issues featuring works by four women artists: Eugenia Calvo, Priscilla Monge, Amalia Caputo and Teresa Serrano. In their work these artists explore themes related to domesticity questioning at the same time traditional gender roles.

The theme of Location primarily concerns poetic and free associations with the landscape. The works of Regina Galindo ( Alarm, 2011) and Adriana Bustos ( Spring, 2004) address issues in the urban landscape including violence and social inequalities. Artists Cao Guimaraes ( Nanofonia, 2003) and Thiago Rocha Pitta ( Heritage, 2007) approach the subject of landscape in their videos with playfulness and a sense of aesthetic beauty.

By presenting an array of videos utilizing a variety of aesthetic approaches to different issues pertinent to Latin America, Unresolved Circumstances illustrates the interconnections between the past and the present, local and universal issues and the intimate and the public, through persistent themes.

Participating artists include: Narda Alvarado (Bolivia), Alexander Apóstol (Venezuela), Brígida Baltar (Brazil), Lucas Bambozzi (Brazil), Tania Bruguera (Cuba), Adriana Bustos (Argentina), Eugenia Calvo (Argentina), Iván Candeo (Venezuela), Amalia Caputo (Venezuela), Jeanette Chávez (Cuba), Donna Conlon and Jonathan Harker (U.S. / Panama), Juan Manuel Echavarría (Colombia), Regina Galindo (Guatemala), Cao Guimaraes (Brazil), José Antonio Hernández Diez (Venezuela), David López (Dominican Republic), Jorge Macchi (Argentina), Erika Meza (Paraguay) and Javier López (Cuba), Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica), Amalia Pica (Uruguay), Miguel Angel Ríos (Argentina), Thiago Rocha Pitta (Brazil), Martín Sastre (Uruguay) and Teresa Serrano (Mexico).

Unresolved Circumstances is sponsored by Epson. Additional funding is provided by the Robert Gumbiner Foundation, Verizon Wireless, Arts Council for Long Beach, the City of Long Beach, and the Annual Exhibition Fund. Media support is provided by KCRW, Los Angeles Magazine and LA WEEKLY.

MOLAA

June 5 - August 28, 2011