| lotu5 on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:10:36 +0100 (CET) |
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
| <nettime-ann> The Rubber Rose Gallery Announces XX Boys in November and New Curators |
. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Rubber Rose Gallery Announces XX Boys in November and New Curators
WHO: The Rubber Rose WHERE: 3812 Ray St, San Diego, CA 92104
CONTACT: Rebeca L Rodriguez, 619.296.7009
Micha Cardenas, 619-750-8851
The Rubber Rose, 619-296-7673
www.therubberrose.comFrom Kael T Block's bio:
"Kael T Block was working toward his Masters in Visual Communication and Graphic Design at Creapole (Paris). He stopped in 2005 to completely engage himself in his political and artistic project XXBOYS, which aims not only to document a younger generation of trans FtM in its great diversity, but also to give his community sexy and positive representation. Throughout his travels an international community of transboys started to grow, as he captured the images and emotions of FtMs across the globe.
Kael T. Block started by taking pictures of himself. This work of himself is a crucial part of his transition, to distance his image, in order to see himself change, trans form, construct, to build an empowered self image and identity, refracted by the numerous images which corresponded to his desire. This photographical experience as a tool for identity construction and the desire to see images of transguys out of the medical and documentary context led him to start the XX BOYS project, and to travel meeting other young trans in order to produce images saturated with signs and colors, seductive pictures of a proud and transgressive young trans generation. Block strives to depict FtMs as sexy, to give his community alternative referential images. These images carry an identity claim - Trans is sexy - and choose seduction as the principal political weapon. It is his idea of Beauty that is at work here.
If some of the boys photographed have a beauty that corresponds to the criteria established by Hollywood or fashion, others have a beauty that comes from more eccentric mixes, asserted style and gender ambiguity. Block's pictures play with this plurality. Most of the pictures are in vibrant color with violent contrasts; making a celebration out of each image; of the person photographed, of his body, of the moment shared by the photographer and the model. Kael T. Block's work creates new icons. Immersed in the Image's contemporary culture of advertising images, fashion, rock star pictures and their fans. Starting from his identity and that of his community, Block too creates icons that can be appropriated and taken as a model by trans and queers. These images are to serve as a base from which to build a strong self-image.
Block's work is reminiscent of early 80's New York artists such as Goldin, Wojnarovic, and O'Sullivan. It too is a journey into a peculiar territory, populated with the marginalized, which is to say those forced to choose their own freedom. It's not only about transgenderism or homosexuality. Block's work, as that of his New York predecessors, is not only documentarian. The marginality that forces us to constantly invent ourselves- invent our lives, our bodies, our attitudes, our pleasures- shows itself and directs itself in these images."
Rebeca L. Rodriguez is a community activist and artist. Rebeca's community activism includes work with Austin Indymedia, San Diego Indymedia, Colectivo Zapatista and Ballet Folklorico en Aztlan. She has experience working with and supporting many art and cultural spaces here in San Diego, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. She has preformed at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, The Esperanza for Peace and Justice Center, Our Lady of the Lake University, The University of Texas at Austin and Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park.
Micha Cárdenas is an MFA candidate at the University of California San Diego and an MA candidate in Media and Communications at the European Graduate School. Micha's studies bring to the Rubber Rose Gallery an understanding of and experience with the latest developments in contemporary art. Micha is a founding member of a number of art/activism collectives including Sharing is Sexy.org and the borderlands Hacklab. Micha's video and performance work has been shown at community spaces around the world including the Marcuse Gallery at UCSD, the Steinmatte at the European Graduate School, the Rubber Rose, Artivistic 2007 in Montreal, freEtech 2007, the Casa de Iniciativas in Málaga, Spain, the Americas Social Forum in Quito, Ecuador, the Seoul Human Rights festival as well as on Free Speech TV and Paper Tiger TV.
The Rubber Rose is a space where healthy and joyous exploration of sex and sexuality is encouraged and embraced, facilitating the development of a stronger, safer, and more educated sex positive community.
More info about the Rubber Rose: http://therubberrose.com
More info about the National Transgender Day of Rememberance: http://www.lgbtcampus.org/faq/transgender_DOR.htm http://www.gender.org/remember/day/what.html http://www.gender.org/remember/day/how.html
More info about XX Boys: http://xxboys.20six.fr
###
--
blog: http://technotrannyslut.com gpg: 0x5B77079C // encrypted email preferred gaim/skype: djlotu5 // off the record messaging preferred _______________________________________________ nettime-ann mailing list nettime-ann@nettime.org http://www.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-ann