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Maya Escobar

Conceptual Identity Artist

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Yo Soy Oro

centro-musical.jpg

Yo Soy Oro is a state of mind, a feeling and a destination. I Am Gold means as good as it gets, the best that money can buy, constantly increasing in value. El Centro de Oro is all that and more. Third generation family owned businesses thrive, while new investments bring change to the streets. Lovely long haired ladies in shiny gold outfits stride confidently down clean sidewalks where bright yellow big bellies on every corner keep trash where it belongs. Taste the rich flavors of tropical dishes and rock to the sounds of solid gold hits from the best of Latin music.El BohioJerrysLamboy

tags: AMerican MEdia Output, centro de oro, Centro Musical, El Bohío, Escobar-Morales, Jerry's Fashions, Lamboy Furniture, marketing, Philadelphia, Taller Puertorriqueno, yo soy oro
categories: Art, exhibition, identity, Latina, Performance, Performance Text, Pop Culture
Thursday 09.11.14
Posted by maya escobar
 

Escobar-Morales at the Bruno David Gallery

ESCOBAR-MORALES: Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO. Opening on Friday, February 1, 2013, from 5 to 9 pm.  Show runs until February 23rd, 2013.The Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye_3In the New Media Room, the Bruno David Gallery presents a single-channel video work titled “Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye” by Escobar-Morales. The 21-minutes video originated from a performance at the closing for RICH-OO-UH'L, RICH-OO-UH'L at Jolie Laide Gallery in Philadelphia, with sound by Armando Morales.In the Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye (2011), Escobar-Morales perform a funerary ritual, referencing the mythical Mayan tale of the Hero Twins reviving their dead father, the Maize God. In their contemporary interpretation of this ancient story, Escobar-Morales simultaneously represent the body and the soul; the God/ Goddess and twin offspring, in both physical and technological forms using live performance and web based video projection.ESCOBAR-MORALES is a team comprised of Maya Escobar and Andria Morales. The two artists, based in Chicago and New York respectively, have been working together over the Internet since 2010. They produce digital media and performance art that explores the role of self-representation in visual culture and its ability to deconstruct ingrained ideological conventions. By locating their performances online where they are free from restrictions of time and place, Escobar-Morales is able to concurrently enact multiple personas while simultaneously creating a unified hybrid self.Maya Escobar was born in Chicago, IL in 1984. Andria Morales was born in 1982 in New York, NY. Escobar received a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2007) and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2009); Morales received a BA from the University of Pennsylvania (2004) and an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Temple University (2008).Photo by Armando Morales

tags: Andria Morales, Bruno David Gallery, Escobar-Morales, Mayan, Performance Art, Resurrection of Hun-Nal-Ye, video
categories: Art, contmporary art, exhibition, Maya Escobar, Performance, st- louis
Friday 12.28.12
Posted by maya escobar
 

Escobar-Morales: Excerpts from the Ressurection of Hun-Nal-Ye

Performance artists Escobar-Morales perform a funerary ritual, referencing the mythical Mayan tale of the Hero Twins reviving their dead father, the Maize God. In their contemporary interpretation of this ancient story, Escobar-Morales simultaneously represent the body and the soul; the God/ Goddess and twin offspring, in both physical and technological forms using live performance and web based video projection. Performed at Jolie-Laide gallery in Philadelphia.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIIr9MXHLBc]

tags: Escobar-Morales, Jolie-Laide, Maize, Mayan
categories: Art, curatorial, exhibition, Performance
Thursday 07.26.12
Posted by maya escobar
 

AMerican MEdia Output in Philly

Are you Target Audience? Find out in Philly. Stay tuned for details on the next official AMerican MEdia Output appearance.

photo by Abel Arciniega
tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Andria Morales, Escobar-Morales, identity, Maya Escobar, Papeles, race, survey
categories: Art, curatorial, exhibition, immigration, Performance
Saturday 06.30.12
Posted by maya escobar
 

Calavera Elotera at SOMArts Gallery

ESCOBAR-MORALES PRESENTS:Calavera Elotera in Illuminations: Dia De Los Muertos 2011 at SOMArts GalleryYour favorite fame whore Elotita aka The Fat Free Elotera is back...  and this time she has taken it to a new level...  she has faked her own death... and has returned as CALAVERA ELOTERA.Calavera Elotera in Illuminations: Día de los Muertos 2011Curated by Rene and Rio Yañez SOMArts Bay Gallery, 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th)San Francisco, CA 94103Tues–Fri, 12–7PM, Sat 11–5PM, Sun 11–3PM.Opening ReceptionFriday, October 7, 2011, 6–9PMOpening will feature music, interactive performance and the unveiling of over 30 altars and installations. The evening includes a special performance by Herbert Siguenza, of Culture Clash fame. Siguenza will perform and live paint as renowned artist, Pablo Picasso.The exhibition continues to examine the ways technology shapes the celebration of Day of the Dead. Once again, a Flickr group enables the exhibition’s curators to accept digital photos as offerings to those who people want to honor. The public can upload their digital contributions here. Selected images will be printed and displayed as part of the exhibit.

tags: Andria Morales, Dia De Los Muertos, Escobar-Morales, Illuminations: Dia De Los Muertos 2011, mission district, Performance Art, Rene Yañez, Rio Yañez, SOMArts Gallery, The Fat Free Elotera
categories: exhibition, Maya Escobar, Performance, Pop Culture
Monday 09.26.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

AMerican MEdia Output in New Jersey

You saw Escobar-Morales as promo models in TX, "promoting" Arizona Tourism...And here we are as marketing executives in NJ.Andria was live at Gallery Aferro and I skyped in from Chicago.Stay tuned for more details on the performance and the results from AMerican MEdia Output's #targetaudiencesurvey.

tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Andria Morales, Arizona, Escobar-Morales, Gallery Aferro, New Jersey, New News is Old News, Performance Art, Promo Model, Skype, Texas, Tourism, Wonder Women Residency
categories: Art, artista, curatorial, exhibition, immigration, Latina, Maya Escobar, Performance, political, social media, vida, women
Tuesday 05.17.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

AMerican MEdia Output in Texas

[youtube=http://youtu.be/CMDhowuCwDE]AMericanMEdiaOutput.comtwitterFacebookLInkedIn

tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Arizona, Escobar-Morales, marketing, Performance Art, Promo Models, Texas, Tourism
categories: contmporary art, curatorial, identity, Latina, Performance, political
Wednesday 05.11.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

Puerto Rican Taxidermy Funeral pt 2

Will you be attending?

Andria Bibiloni, 28, of New York, ceased to exist on Mar. 23, 2011 in Philadelphia, where she lived since 2000.  A visual artist and educator, she strove through her work to facilitate a dialogue about sociopolitical and interpersonal issues. Known for riding her Blasterbike, 2007, in the streets of Philadelphia, her departing wish was to be displayed riding a bigger, louder, and heavier soundblasting vehicle.  Beth Beverly of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy will be handling the preparations for the viewing, which takes place at the Rotunda in University City on Sunday March 27 from 3-5 pm.  Guests are invited to stay for refreshments.

tags: Andria Bibiloni, Andria Morales, Beth Beverly, Blaster Bike, Puerto Rican funeral
categories: Art, Performance, Performance Text, Talented Female Artists
Thursday 03.24.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

LAST RIDE: Andria Morales formerly Andria Bibiloni

UPDATE: visit AreYouMyOther.com to see Bibiloni's mass card.Have you ever Googled Puerto Rican funeral? If you haven't then I suggest you do.  And if you live in Philadelphia or in the surrounding area, you should attend Andria Morales and Beth Beverly's collaborative performance Last Ride.

LAST RIDE: collaborative performance-based artwork by Andria Morales & Beth Beverly. Inspired by Puerto Rican funeral celebrations & taxidermy traditions - 03/27/2011 @ The Rotunda @ 3:00pm-5:00pm

LAST RIDEPerformance and receptionSunday March 27, 20113-5pmThe Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., PhiladelphiaLAST RIDE is a collaborative performance-based artwork by Andria Morales and Beth Beverly.  Inspired by Puerto Rican funeral celebrations and taxidermy traditions respectively, the artists have found a common interest in death.  Using the Rotunda’s church-like interior as a backdrop, the artist’s work will invite viewers to experience mourning as a celebration.Andria Morales (formerly Andria Bibiloni) explores the divide between art representative of culture, and art produced from within a cultural community. By immersing herself in situations where cultural identity is consequential, she aims to provoke viewers into a confrontation and analysis of their own preconceptions. The resulting work is multidisciplinary, consisting of mixed media sculptures, self-portraits, performance based videos, and site-specific installations.  Andria Morales’s work has been exhibited at Labor K1 in Berlin, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Projects Gallery in Philadelphia, the Ice Box in Philadelphia, and the CUE Art Foundation in New York. In 2008 she was awarded a Joan Mitchell MFA Grant for her work in mixed media sculpture and installation. Andria is currently a resident in the 40th St. Artist in Residence Program, and teaches at Tyler School of Art.Beth Beverly is a State- and Federally-licensed taxidermist who has a BFA from Tyler School of Art and graduated from the Pocono Institute of Taxidermy with high marks. Ms. Beverly is passionate about using every part of an animal and being thankful for the ultimate sacrifice each creature makes to land both in her studio and on her plate. She has won numerous awards for her taxidermy creations, including Best in Show at the fifth annual Carnivorous Nights taxidermy contest in New York.  Beth’s work has been exhibited at Bahdee Bahdu Gallery, James Oliver Gallery, Wilbur Vintage Boutique and has been featured in a plethora of fashion & art blogs.Admission is FREE
tags: Andria Morales, Beth Beverly, collaboration, google, Philadelphia, Puerto Rican funeral, taxidermy
categories: Art, Performance, Talented Female Artists
Friday 03.11.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

women and water... what else are you looking for?

In the heat of the desert...women and water... what else are you looking for?visit http://americanmediaoutput.com/arizonawelcome.html

tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Arizona, marketing, Promo Model
categories: immigration, Performance, political
Friday 02.25.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

The 1st Arizona Welcome Pics Are Here

please feel free to share and re-post...ARIZONA WELCOME GIRLvisit: http://americanmediaoutput.com/arizonawelcome.html

tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Arizona, Internet Art, Promo Model
categories: activism, Art, immigration, Performance
Thursday 02.24.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

AM I her or is she ME: The Chronicles of The Fat Free Elotera

The Fat Free Elotera is a (developing) character on Are You My Other? The Battle Between The Self and The Other, an ongoing self-portrait dialog exchange project, produced by myself (ME) and Philadelphia-based performance and installation artist Andria Morales (AM).  Through a series of weekly exchanged blog posts,  Andria and I publicly negate, deconstruct, and reconstruct our individual histories, identities, and conceptions of self.

The Fat Free Elotera

Click on images below to experience the creation of our latest persona.CornfieldThe Fat Free Elotera with Frida Kahlo Sunglasses Mas Maiz

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIAL-MCPe_A]My Elotes CartThe Fat Free Elotera Challenge

Are You My Other? Block Partyelotera xmas

tags: Andria Morales, Cadáver Exquisito, exquisite corpse, The Fat Free Elotera
categories: Are You My Other, Art, curatorial, humor, identity, intertextual, Maya Escobar, Performance, reggaeton, YouTube
Thursday 11.11.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Photo Booth

Maya Escobar Photo Booth

Being a performance artist is fun. Having a mac allows you to seamlessly document your real life alongside your performance life. Can you tell which pictures are real and which ones are from performances?

tags: apple, flickr, Internet Art, mac, Performance Art, photo booth, photography, screenshot
categories: Art, curatorial, intertextual, Maya Escobar, new media art, Performance, Performance Text, women
Thursday 03.04.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

el es frida kahlo at the gallery

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el es frida kahlo is currently on view in the New Media Room at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO.

el es frida kahlo

el es frida kahlo, 2007-present

Frida Kahlo played with the identity that she wanted to project and the identity that was placed on her by others. Kahlo used her clothing, political affiliations, sexual escapades, and personal traumas, to create a character that informed her body of work. She inscribed her identity, painting her image over and over, constructing a mythology around her persona.

In el es frida kahlo I confront the ambivalence I experience as a result of my simultaneous obsession with Frida Kahlo and weariness towards her commodification. Viewed from a tiny pinhole, dressed as Kahlo, I stand before a reproduction of one of her self portraits. With a mixture of rage, anxiety, and complete fear, I chant “el es Frida Kahlo, ella es Frida Kahlo, el es Frida Kahlo, yo soy, yo soy, yo soy Frida Kahlo,” he is Frida Kahlo, she is Frida Kahlo, I am, I am, I am Frida Kahlo. As I yell, the painting behind me begins to fall. I violently tear down my braids and smudge off my makeup while continuing to scream “I am Frida Kahlo, I am Frida Kahlo, yo soy Frida Kahlo!”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BJmaYn5IIE]

el es frida kahlo at the Bruno David Gallery (video filmed and edited by Felicia Chen)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlMPoFXRT18]

el es frida kahlo YouTube video

FREE el es frida kahlo animated gif avaliable on MayaEscobar.com

link to translation of recent review by David Sperber in Ma’arav Israeli Arts and Culture Magazine:

Frida Kahlo at the synagogue: Maya Escobar and the young Jewish-American Creation

tags: animated gif, Bruno David Gallery, conceptual art, contemporary art, David Sperber, el es frida kahlo, Frida Kahlo, gallery, hypertext, Internet Art, Maya Escobar, new media, Performance Art, st- louis, video, video art, YouTube artist
categories: Art, artista, contmporary art, culture, exhibition, identity, Latina, new media art, news, Performance, Performance Text, Stereotype, YouTube
Friday 02.05.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Latina Role Model on Tiki Tiki

Latina Role Model is on Tiki Tiki: Stories with Cultura, Color and Sabor, thanks to post by Carrie Ferguson Weir entitled  Smart Latina vs Sexy Latina. Check out the post and be sure to leave your responses!

Latina Role Model on Tiki Tiki

tags: Acciones Plásticas, artista, cultura, frames, Hispanic, Internet Art, latina role model, Latino Blogosphere, screenshot, Sexy Latina, Smart Latina, sterotypes, Tiki Tiki, women
categories: blogging, curatorial, feminist, identity, Latina, Maya Escobar, new media art, Performance, YouTube
Wednesday 01.20.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

behind the scenes acciones plásticas purikura

maya-with-frida-tat.jpg

The Latina HipsterThe Latina Role ModelThe Homegirl

Here are some behind the scenes images from the many Acciones Plásticas プリクラ photo shoots.

The Latina Hipster  (performance still)

The Latina Hipster

The Homegirl  (performance still)

The Homegirl

Becoming The Homegirl (performance still)

The Homegirl putting on fake nails (lovin' the shabbos candlesticks and theory books in the background)

The Avodah Girl (performance still)

The Avodah Girl

The 612er  (performance still)

The 612er

---------------------------------------------------------

Check out this inspiring write-up on Acciones Plásticas プリクラ on Truth and Healing Project.excerpt below:

goodness.   I’ve been thinking a lot about the intersections between new media and traditional forms of knowledge and how these intersections can be ways of supporting tradition, innovation, resistance and liberation.  As a media-maker, I’ve thought a lot about non-traditional forms of telling stories and the value of stories to allow us as individuals and communities  to grow and remain in movement.  I want to both  honor our traditions and create space for challenge in order to support growth.   This is particularly challenging when, as indigenos, we are usually FORCED  into the frozen stance (as my sister Whisper says)  of the “American Imaginary”.    Born out of a flat analysis, the “American Imaginary”  boxes us into specific archetypes and narratives that,  though perhaps grounded in truth,  metaphorically and at times literally  “freeze” us and immobilize us from engaging in healthy movement and LIFE.  As a guatemalan-born/ mixed -id’d/ mayan-adoptee I’ve  dreamed about new and innovative ways to create forums and craft form that embodies the intersections of say,  mayan id, transracial queer, working class, single teen mama id.   For example, as a queerasfuck femme I’ve LITERALLY dreamed of beginning a series of corsets created out of huipil’s with stories attached to each… though I have yet to begin work on that.  I am so excited by the thoughts of spaces for dialogue, beauty, challenge & examination of the COMPLEX identities embodies by the our contemporary indigena communities. .  Fierce and phenomenal chicana and radical latina artists  have had HUGE impacts on me but I’ve been hungry to see this come from other guatemelan/ mayan artists.  Today, I got a taste of a  contemporary and GUATEMALAN artist who is  actively engaged in a similar examination!  I came across this blog (and art work)  and it was as if an answer was given to me in the form of possibilities.  A sweet affirmation that this form of mayan/guatemalan  art CAN and DOES exist.

tags: Acciones Plásticas, artist, chicano, collaboration, guatemalan, latina stereotypes, Mayan, Performance Art, purikura, queer, Rio Yañez, The 612er, The Avodah Girl, The homegirl, The Jewess Blogging Queen, The Latina Hipster, The Latina Role Model, truth and healing project
categories: Art, artista, contmporary art, feminist, Frida Kahlo, humor, identity, Judaism, Latina, Maya Escobar, new media art, Performance, women
Wednesday 01.13.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

maya carrying maya

The wonderful Suzan Shutan has agreed to help me with my resume/cv/statements in exchange for web design and video work.  I couldn't think of a better collaboration.  Here is one of the many projects (and its many iterations) that I am attempting to catalog for said documents...

tallit rebozo

Tallit Rebozo, from the series Hiddur Mitzvah, Quilted, Embroidered, Woven, and Recycled Fabric, 2006

Modeling Tallit Rebozo

Comodification Series: Modeling Tallit Rebozo, Performance 2006

maya carrying maya

Comodification Series: Maya Carrying Maya, Photo Collage, 2006

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr8B1u0jw0c]

Gringa Loves Guatemala, YouTube Video, 2007

maya escobar youtube page

Maya Carrying Maya, YouTube background, 2009

@mayaescobar

Maya Carrying Maya, Twitter background, 2009

Former Myspace Profile Picture, found internet photo (repeated here 3 times), 2006

tags: collaboration, comedy, commodification, cv, fiber, gringa, Guatemala, humor, Internet Art, maya carrying maya, myspace, Performance Art, resume, screenshot, Suzan Shutan, tallit, tallit rebozo, textiles, twitter, video, web design
categories: Art, curatorial, identity, intertextual, Maya Escobar, Performance, women, YouTube
Wednesday 12.16.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

rio prayed for la virgen de guadalupe and instead got...

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am quite the fan of awful horrible animated gifs.  As I continue to work with seeNoga and Rio Yañez on the Jewish characters from Acciones Plásticas プリクラ: The Jewess Blogging Queen, The Avodah Girl and The 612er; I thought I would share this terrible image created early on in our collaboration. There is also another version (which I can no longer find) where in last frame of the gif sequence, it rains diet cokes. :)maya rio animated gif

tags: Acciones Plásticas, animated gif, artists, carianne noga, collaboration, humor, J-A-P-, Jewish, Jewish American Princess, purikura, Rio Yañez, seenoga, The JAP©, virgen de guadalupe
categories: Art, culture, identity, Judaism, Maya Escobar, Nuevos Compañeros, Performance
Sunday 12.13.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

Darja Bajagić

Darja sent me a beautiful email on YouTube earlier this week. Needless to say, I was quite taken by her.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuZtuDZjvQE][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hY2_e-HWYI][vimeo=http://vimeo.com/3465404][vimeo=http://vimeo.com/3064268]

Check out her website and YouTube

tags: artist, cultural identity, Darja Bajagić, deconstruction, feminism, hair, Performance Art, video, vimeo, women
categories: Art, contmporary art, culture, curatorial, feminist, identity, Performance, psychogeography, Talented Female Artists, YouTube
Sunday 11.22.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

acciones plásticas goes プリクラ chicano style

the-homegirl.jpg

Acciones Plásticas プリクラ

Acciones Plásticas プリクラ is a collaboration between artists Maya Escobar and Rio Yañez.

The Latina Hipstera bad-ass Morrissey-lovin’, tuff-girl sexy chicaThe Latina Role Modela diploma totin’ intellectual, sexy, social media goddessThe Homegirla hybridized version of Escobar’s Midwestern Chach and Yañez’s West Coast Chola.In Acciones Plásticas Escobar created a multi-faceted “doll” by assuming the role of designer and distributor, and even posing as the actual doll itself.  Each doll was a satirical characterization of some of the many roles that have been projected upon her, and into which she has, at points, inevitably fallen. In conjunction with these images, she developed a short series of low-definition youtube video blogs through which she inhabits the lives of “real women” who have each been visibly defined by societal constructs.Recently, Yañez has been utilizing Japanese photobooths (known as Purikura or “print-club”) as an artist’s tool for creating portraits. These booths are much more common in Japan than their United States counterparts. As a catalyst for creative expression and social interaction they are used primarily by young urban Japanese girls. A standard feature in all Purikura booths allows the user to digitally decorate their portraits after they take them. The options are vast and include wild characters, excessive starbursts of light, pre-made phrases and the option to draw your own text directly on the image. Purikura gives the subjects near-divine powers of self-expression in crafting their own portraits.The two artists who met over the web, decided to bring together Escobar’s highly charged and evocative Acciones Plásticas characters with Yanez’s notorious Chicano graphic-art style and new found obsession with Purikura images, as a way of addressing the construction of Latina identities.Maya posed as The Latina Hipster: a bad-ass Morrissey-lovin’, tuff-girl sexy chica; The Latina Role Model: a diploma totin’ intellectual, sexy, social media goddess; and finally, The Homegirl: a hybridized version of Escobar’s Midwestern Chach (or Chachi Mama) and Yañez’s West Coast Chola. Maya sent digital images to Rio, who in turn drew portraits of her as each of these constructed identities. He approached each portrait with a Purikura sensibility and decorated them each as the characters represented might accessorize themselves. The final series of portraits is the result of negotiating multiple identities and influences. Guatemalan, Jewish, and Chicano sensibilities reflected back through a Japanese Purikura aesthetic. Acciones Plásticas プリクラ challenge and question the thin line between archetype and stereotype. The Purikura elements present the novel signifiers of each social construct represented in the series.This collaboration is the first of many to come as Maya and Rio explore the commonalities and differences of their cultural identities.For more information on Acciones Plásticas プリクラcheck out Rio's blog and stay tuned for guest post by seeNoga aka Carianne Noga on meeting the Chach Homegirl in real life.(video of the Chach featured below)[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj3Q42YF40Y]

tags: Acciones Plásticas, Carinanne Noga, Chach, chica, chicano, chola, collaboration, hipster, homegirl, latina hipster, latina role model, midwestern, Nuevos Compañeros, purikura, Rio Yañez, seenoga, Sotomayor, stereotypes, west coast, wise latina
categories: Art, contmporary art, culture, Frida Kahlo, humor, identity, Latina, Maya Escobar, new media art, Performance, Stereotype, women, YouTube
Sunday 11.01.09
Posted by maya escobar
 
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