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Maya Escobar

Conceptual Identity Artist

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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
 

Negotiating Latina Identity through Performance Art on the Web

Andria and I will be presenting  Are You My Other? next week at the 2011 National Popular Culture Association Conference in San Antonio, TX.

Negotiating Latina Identity through Performance Art on the Webwith Maya Escobar and Andria Morales

Challenging mainstream and academic representations of Latina identity, performance artists Maya Escobar and Andria Morales publicly negate, deconstruct, and reconstruct their individual histories, identities, and conceptions of self. In their current project Are You My Other? a self-portrait dialog exchange blog, Escobar and Morales draw from popular culture, Latino/a cultural iconography, and their lived experiences to create and virtually perform conflicting representations of Latina selves. From devoted homemaker to hockey player, reggaetonera to construction worker, conceptual artist to human corn on the cob, the artists model the multiplicity of identity.

Due to their shared physical similarities, followers of their online exchange often mistake Escobar and Morales for one another. The merging of their identities is further perpetuated through their activities on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. By locating these performances within the space of the web, where they are free from restrictions of time and place, the artists are able to concurrently enact multiple personas while simultaneously forming a unified (Latina) hybrid self.

tags: Andria Morales, Are You My Other?, conference, Escobar-Morales, Maya Escobar, PCA/ACA
categories: Are You My Other, Art, Latina, Pop Culture, social media
Thursday 04.14.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

it's official: Escobar-Morales has arrived

visit us now at http://escobar-morales.com

tags: Andria Morales, Escobar-Morales, Internet Art, Maya Escobar
categories: Art, curatorial
Sunday 03.27.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

Escobar-Morales Establishes Online Marketing Agency

AMerican MEdia Output

As a follow up to Are You My Other? our current Internet based self-portrait dialogue exchange project, Escobar-Morales is establishing an online marketing agency. Acting as designers, distributors, and promo models, we plan to produce a series of advertisements addressing contentious topics in the news, such as Arizona’s SB-1070 and the Dream Act.

twitter Facebook LInkedIn
tags: AMerican MEdia Output, Andria Morales, Are You My Other?, Dream Act, Escobar-Morales, marketing, Maya Escobar, Promo Model, SB 1070, Wonder Women Residency
categories: Are You My Other, Art, news, Performance Text, social media
Thursday 01.20.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

Wonder Women Residency: New News is Old News

2011 is going to be a good year.  I can feel it already.  In addition to our upcoming presentation at the 2011 PCA/ACA Conference this April, Andria and I were also accepted to the Wonder Woman Residency at the _gaia studio, in New Jersey. Curated by Maya Joseph-Goteiner and Doris Caçoilo, this year's theme is: New News is Old News.

New News is Old NewsIn our society, the importance of news has shifted; some would argue that it has been elasticized or else devalued. As the blogosphere replaces the daily newspaper as the purveyor and distributor of breaking news, the reporting of events is no longer filtered by the journalist/editor. Instead the voice of news is replaced by a dynamic exchange of information.

Already, online, the same article that has appeared black on white in the early print edition has been updated, corrected or even replaced on the web. Newspaper stories no longer fit the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition of news as “a report of recent events: previously unknown information.” In many respects, we have created an endless source of updated information online, a bottomless pit of patter. We cannot possibly consume all the news and commentary published online, and while few people have the time to read the entire newspaper, even fewer can keep up with the minute-to-minute updates via Twitter, blogs, online publications, and RSS feeds.

A residency that focuses on the ways in which news is presented, represented, distributed, and modified within the space of the web...  hmm...  can you think of anything more perfect for us?So what are we doing?I won't spill all the beans yet, but here is an excerpt from our preliminary proposal:

Our project takes its cue from the recent Buy Life Digital Death campaign, where celebrities volunteered their virtual lives (activity on Twitter and Facebook) with the goal of raising $1 million for children and families in Africa and India affected by HIV/AIDS. We were fascinated by their use of highly stylized, seductive images of Kim Kardashian (and other participating celebrities) lying in a coffin, and the role these images play in the dissemination of news coverage surrounding this HIV/AIDS campaign.

People Hate Kim Kardashian's Tweets More Than AIDS

Almost immediately following Digital Death's inception, images of  a "dead" Kardashian started appearing in news stories everywhere from CNN to Gawker. Now layered with multiple levels of  history and meaning, screenshots of the sultry Kardashian lying in a coffin, continue to be re-distributed on personal blogs, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter pages...

Stay tuned for more project updates here and on Are You My Other?

tags: Andria Morales, blogosphere, Doris Caçoilo, Internet Art, Kim Kardashian, Maya Escobar, Maya Joseph-Goteiner, PCA/ACA, Wonder Women Residency, _gaia studio
categories: Are You My Other, curatorial, exhibition, facebook, feminist, news, Nuevos Compañeros, twitter, women
Sunday 01.09.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

Gallery of Gifs pt 2

If you enjoyed Gallery of Gifs (pt 1) check out these bad boys:(click images to view posts on Are You My Other?)

tags: Andria Morales, animated gif, deal with it, Internet Art, Maya Escobar, Mayonesa, Performance Art, The Fat Free Elotera
categories: Are You My Other, Art, curatorial, humor, Latina, new media art
Wednesday 01.05.11
Posted by maya escobar
 

Finding Frida on Are You My Other?

5are-you-my-other-block-party.jpeg

Earlier this week AM and I decided to add a search function to Are You My Other?We quickly discovered the unthinkable...Our fame-seeking Fat Free Elotera is NOT #1 search on our blog. Instead, this slot belongs to the one and only Frida Kahlo.Are You My Other? tag cloudHmm... I wonder how our little Elotera will respond.Are You My Other as the Two FridasLas Dos Locas

tags: Andria Morales, Are You My Other?, Frida Kahlo, Maya Escobar, Tag Cloud, The Fat Free Elotera, The Two Fridas
categories: Are You My Other, artista, blogging, Performance Text
Monday 12.06.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Ian Weaver, The Black Knights of the Black Bottom, and Are You My Other?

On the afternoon of November 18, 2010, on the Island of Facebook, history was made...Coat of Armsin response to the Fat Free Elotera post:Ian Weaver: I take ALL the credit for this (and future) collaborations between these two exceptional artists....! [just needed to make sure I put in that legal boilerplate stuff, just a formality]Andria Morales: No doubt! We are eternally grateful to the prolific genius of Ian Weaver for the inspired notion of pairing us together.Maya Escobar: YES!!! So true- we are Are You My Other? because of this Fine Man. We keep trying to figure out just how to pay homage... Latina Black Bottom promo girls? Just saying :)Ian Weaver: By commenting on my post you have in effect given me the legal authority to profit in part from any future performances, lectures, presentations, and sales of related merchandise. I will work out the percentages later with my BB lawyer, but for conversation sake, let's just say if you perform jointly at, say, the Mattress Factory or the Renaissance Society that I will net 33.33% of profits from said performance.Again, I will get my BB lawyer to draw up the papersAndria Morales: Did we just get served??? So much for the We ♥ BB Knights campaign...Ian Weaver: Nooooo! You haven't been served! I can't do that online; you will be formally served in person presently (I think someone is at your door; delivery guy??? Flowers By Irene???)Maya Escobar: I think a cut of all "BB profits" is totally fair and should be required.. LOL.. "profit" what an interesting concept... "to make money from art"... am I dreaming? But hey Ian if you can work us in to an of the aforementioned "performances, lectures, presentations, and sales of related merchandise" and oh "performances at, say, the Mattress Factory or the Renaissance Society" Are You My Other? would be eternally grateful.Ian Weaver: Done! I am on the phone with Hamza was we speak. I will work the Pittsburgh angle after the holidays.And seriously, fantastic work by both of you! I got on the blog; really interesting! I am having Maya present in my spring Research class for artists, and if I had the dough I would fly you out Andria and have you guys co-present. But, that would blow my transfer student's minds!Andria Morales: I think Maya and I meeting each other in person would blow OUR minds. Lets start a fundraiser!Maya Escobar: Wow, wow, wow!!! Is it okay with the two of you if I screen-shot this convo and re-post? Ian, I am going to try to see if there are any opps to lecture in other SAIC departments that week so that we could get funding for Andria to come in.Andria Morales: Summon your internet powersIan Weaver: GO FOR IT! I AM OPEN TO IT!!

tags: Andria Morales, Chicago, Hamza Walker, Ian Weaver, Internet Art, Mattress Factory, Maya Escobar, mythologies, Renaissance Society, SAIC, School of the Art Institute, The Black Knights of the Black Bottom
categories: Are You My Other, Are You My Other PROMO, Art, contmporary art, facebook, intertextual, Nuevos Compañeros, Performance Text
Thursday 11.18.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Día De Los Muertos Individuales

Check out the Día De Los Muertos art project I designed for Spanglish Baby, a wonderful blog dedicated to raising bicultural and bilingual children.I wanted to create a project that would inspire family togetherness, cross-generational dialogue, and communal interaction. A project where the process through which the work was produced, becomes an integral part of of the work itself.So, I came up with Día De Los Muertos Individuales- functional collaged placemats, modeled after altares, that can be used inside and outside.  The image below is of the Individual I made in honor of my abuelita.Día De Los Muertos IndividualVisit the project on Spanglish Baby and on YouTube.  And if you decide to make an Individual, PLEASE send me pics!  I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.Feliz Día De Los Muertos!xoMaya

tags: art project, bicultural, bilingual, Dia De Los Muertos, Maya Escobar, Spanglish Baby
categories: art-education, artista, curriculum, identity, multicultural art
Friday 10.29.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

II VVVIENAL DE VIDEO ARTE VALPARAÍSO

I really need to get to Chile...  The incredibly talented curator and artist Menru Silva Avila, just informed me that my work is featured in II VVVienal de Video Arte Valparaíso 2010!II VVVIENAL DE VIDEO ARTE VALPARAÍSO 2010

II VVVIENAL DE VIDEO ARTE VALPARAÍSO 2010

29 DE SEPTIEMBRE AL 2 DE OCTUBRE

INAUGURACIÓN Y SORTEO GRAN RIFA GRAN“AUTOGESTIÓN ARTESANAL”

29 DE SEPTIEMBRE 20:00 HRS.CINE CONDELL / CALLE CONDELL 1585NOS TOMAMOS EL EX CINE PORNO!!!!

PROGRAMA GENERALMIÉRCOLES 29 DE SEPTIEMBRE20:00 Hrs. INAUGURACIÓN.VIDEO INSTALACIONES

21:30 Hrs a 23:00 Hrs.DATURA STRAMONIUMESTILO EXPERIMENTAL LIBRE + VISUALESINSTALACIÓN PERFORMÁTICA COLECTIVO COMBI-NATION / PA QUE TE PIQUE

JUEVES 30 DE SEPTIEMBRE

12:00Hrs a 13.00 hRSCONVERSACIÓN CON RITA FERRER / MODERA GUISELA MUNITA

15:30 Hrs a 22:00 Hrs.EXHIBICIÓN DE VIDEOS E INSTALACIONES.

21:00 Hrs a 23:00 HrsTETONESMÚSICA ELECTROACÚSTICA EXPERIMENTAL + VISUALESDJ FRACASO + VISUALESELECTRO PY

VIERNES 1 DE OCTUBRE

12:00Hrs a 13.00 hRSCONVERSACIÓN CON FRANCISCO HUICHAQUEO “EL DISCURSO POLÍTICO EN LA ESTÉTICA AUDIOVISUAL” / MODERA GUISELA MUNITA

15:30 Hrs a 22:00 Hrs.EXHIBICIÓN DE VIDEOS E INSTALACIONES.

20:00 Hrs a 21:00 HrsTERAPIA GRUPAL / MÚSICA EXPERIMENTAL + VISUALES ANÁLOGAS

21:00 Hrs a 22:00 HrsREINOSO SANTANA SMITH (ELECTRÒNICA Y CACHIVACHES VARIOS)

ESTARÁN PRESENTANDO UN HOMENAJE AUDIOVISUAL DEDICADO A LA MEMORIA DEL DR. JORGE KAPLAN MEYER Y SU EQUIPO, QUIENES REALIZARON EL PRIMER TRANSPLANTE DE CORAZÓN EN CHILE. PARA ELLO SE HARÀN VALER DE UNA SERIE DE IMAGENES PERTENECIENTES A LOS REGISTROS DEL DOCTOR KAPLAN Y QUE LLEVA POR NOMBRE "CUIDADANO DE BUEN CORAZÒN"DURACIÒN: 21 MIN.

ALE PEREZ: WWW.ELPUEBLODECHINA.ORG

SÁBADO 2 DE OCTUBRE

12:00Hrs a 13.00 hRSPREM SARJO y ROCÍO CASAS BULNES, DIÁLOGO ENTORNO A SU PERFORMANCE RAVOTRIL / MODERA GUISELA MUNITA

15:30 Hrs a 22:00 Hrs.EXHIBICIÓN DE VIDEOS E INSTALACIONES.

21:00 Hrs a 22:00 HrsCEREMONIA DE CLAUSURA.EDIFICA & PORTALUPPI / VJ DJ

EXPOSITORES II VVVIENAL VIDEO ARTE VALPARAÍSO

CHILE

CECILIA VICUÑA / GIOVANNI LONGO / FERNANDA BARROS / KLAUDIA KEMPER / PAULO FERNÁNDEZ / SENORITAUGARTE / MELANIA LYNCH / CYNTHIA JACKSON / ZAIDA GONZALES / CARLOS SILVA / JUVENAL BARRÍA / JESSICA BRUNA / PREM SARJO / FRANCISCO HUICHAQUEO / MATIAS BIGGS / VICTOR URZÚA / MARIANA GUZMÁN / FRANCISCA VILLELA/ GIANFRANCO FOSCHINO / PABLO VERGARA / MARÍA JOSÉ ROJAS BOLLO / PABLO ULLOA/ MYRÉN URIARTE / N.A.R / ALVARO HERZ / GABRIELA RIVER A/ FELIPE ROJAS / ELECTRO PY / DJ FRACASO / COME PERRO FUMA GATO/ TETONES / ANTONIA CRUZ / ROSARIO ATEAGA / MISS3SENORITAS / COLECTIVO LEPIDÓPTERO ACCIÓN DE ARTE AUDIOVISUAL

FRANCIAJEAN MARC LAMOURE / CAROLINE DELAPORTE / GEE-JUNG JUN / MOIRA TIERNEY

ALEMANIADAVID BUOB

POLONIAMARCIN POLAKARKADIUSZ SYLWERSTROWICZ

INGLATERRAMMMMM

CUBAANALÍA AMAYA

GUATEMALAMAYA ESCOBAR

SELECCIÓN DE VIDEOS CULTORES POPULARESCENTRO DE LA DIVERSIDAD CULTURAL DE VENEZUELA

SELECCIÓN GENERAL DE VIDEOS REALIZADA POR:VICTOR HUGO BRAVOFRANCISCO HUICHAQUEOCONSUELO ARRIAGADAMENRU SILVA AVILA

ITINERANCIA II VVVIENAL DE VIDEO ARTE VALPARAÍSO 2010COMPILACIÓN DE VIDEOS

PIA MICHELLE 30 SEPTIEMBRE AL 02 DE OCTUBRECASA BLANCA 13 OctubreQUILPUE 8- 9 OctubreVILLA ALEMANA 8- 9 OctubreQUINTERO 15-16 OctubreQUILLOTA 22-23 OctubreLOS ANDES 22- 23 OctubreVALPARAÍSO / ANIBAL PINTO29 - 30 Octubre / LANZAMIENTO PÁGINA WEBWWW.VALPOV.ORG

PATROCINANILUSTRE MUNICIPALIDAD DE VALPARAÍSOARTENLINEAARTEKESCANER CULTURALPLATAFORMA CULTURA DIGITALPIA MICHELLESABORIZANTE

PRODUCE CRUCE

tags: arte, chile, II VVVienal de Video Arte Valparaíso, Maya Escobar, Menru Silva Avila, Valparaíso, video arte
categories: artista, exhibition, Talented Female Artists
Wednesday 09.22.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

el es frida kahlo at the gallery

frida-kahlo-at-bruno-david-gallery.jpg

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
 

Jewish Women on DovBear

Too much kool-aid Jewish Women on DovBear

Last night @DovBear sent me this tweet:

@Mayaescobar posted your jewish women clip w\o realizing it was parody. A little too well done. ;)

I visited his blog and found a post on Jewish Women called Too much kool-aid. The comments generated by this post are really interesting and address the video from a multitude of perspectives.expert from his post:

"Aside: At the end, the woman on the film suggests that Jewish women who are dissatisfied with their back of the bus status secretly wish to be men. There's some truth to that, of course. Jewish women wish to be men in the same way that Jim Crow blacks wished to be white, meaning they want the same freedoms and opportunities that are available to men. Though Judaism has made much progress in this regard, the RW and Ultra circles still run like MadMen. Telling women they're more spiritual, pat pat, run along, is just a way to protect the status quo."

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H8mpau6dSc]

Jewish Women from the series Acciones Plásticas 2007

click here to see FULL POST and COMMENTS

selection comments posted below:

zapp645if you follow the link-trail, it becomes clear that this video is likely making fun of the attitudes it depicts. so as right as what you say in this post is, it's not really aimed at this video...
urielSo are you opposed to any distinction whatsoever between men and women in Judaism? Do you think we should get rid of the mechitza and the laws of niddah and negiah and tzniut because they all make distinctions between male/female and thus somehow discriminate against and oppress women? If so, why aren't you a Conservative Jew? If not, why not? What kinds of distinctions between men and women are not discriminatory in your book?The fact is, Judaism have a very conservative halachic process that makes it difficult or impossible to change most things. Do you think we should change that process to make it easier to make big changes? If so how is that different from the Conservatives?People mistakenly think that every explanation for distinctions between men and women must be some kind of conspiratorial justification for the status quo. But that's not true. You have to look at the history of the explanation. For example, consider shelo asani isha. The explanation is, women, slaves and gentiles don't have to perform certain mitzvot, so we're thanking Hashem for giving us more mitzvot to do. Conspiracy to trick people into thinking Judaism isn't sexist? No -- it's in the tosefta to the earlier version of the three berachot (which thanked Hashem for not making one an ignoramus.) So that supposedly "P.C." explanation was from before the mitzvah was even finalized!It's a mistake to think about Judaism in the same terms you think about American history. It's apples and oranges. If not, you'd be calling someone a "bigot" for not accepting the ordination of women, just like many liberals today will call you a bigot if you don't accept gay marriage. Of course bigot is an implicit reference to anti-black American racism. Which is a lot different from differing roles of the sexes in Judaism.
NoPeanutzActually, oppressing women is the best reason to get rid of the mechitza.  Nidda has nothing to do with this.And Tzniut has nothing to do with this.  Tzniut has everything to do with social norms. Oppressive double-standard tzniut should be abolished immediately,
NoPeanutzAnd you do not have to be a Conservative Jew to understand this.  You just have to be an Orthodox woman.
AnonymousAFIK the mechitza is an outcropping of the orthodox halachic process.  It is at least a universally (amongst orthodox) practice minhag.  How would abolishing the mechitza be consistent with orthodox Judaism?I enjoy davening in my own (men's) section, because I would likely feel distracted/embarrassed by any attractive women in our shul standing next to me, hearing me sing, etc.  I don't see how this translates into a desire on my part to oppress women.  I'm sure there are men who wouldn't feel this way, and would probably daven just fine, just as there are young men, on the other side of the spectrum, who would maybe even ogle women.  But it's impossible to satisfy everyone in a community.I agree that there are misogynists in Jewish communities, but I don't think allocating separate space to men and women in the synagogue automatically translates into oppressing women.
NoPeanutzIn most Orthodox shuls, I would agree that most mechitzot themselves are misogynistic.Buried in the back, or the corner, with an obstructed view of the proceedings.The purpose of the mechitza is to allow for the inclusion of women in the service.  Not the exclusion.
it depends on who you're dealing with. i do remember once watching a woman scream at someone for reverse sexism and when iu asked "what about me? i do the same!" they replied "you take the additude seriously and actualy believe we're inherently better than men... and act in a fashion ment to prove it"so it really depends upon how it is felt about and put into practice lemaise. I remember one woman quoting a sicha of the lubavitcher rebbe ztz"l a"h and saying "it sounds like litvish appologetics doesn't it?" she then adds "well there is a difference, the litvishers are telling this to women, the rebbe first said this sicha to men!"
urielThis wikipedia article seems to support your views, except for the citation of R' Hirsh (who might be hard to depict as a feminist). But the article may be leaving out earlier sources.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role_of_women_in_Judaism#Debates_within_Orthodoxy
RubyVIt's part of a series called Acciones Plasticas by a Jewish Latina artist.   http://mayaescobar.com/accionesplasticas.html It looks like an examination/satire of the stereotypes associated with her heritage.
E. FinkTITCR
Sh'lomo'Whoah, that lady had the most steriotypical modeof Ashkenazi-Jewish speech I ever saw...
DovBearUriel do you really and truly think everything frum Jews say and do is authentically Jewish? well guess again. The post is a critism of the man made culture, not the god decreed religion.
urielThe answer to your question is no. Will you answer my questions?
urielLook at the quote from Rav Hirsh in the wikipedia article and you'll see that the idea that women are more spiritual than men is indeed authenticly Jewish (unless you see Rav Hirsch as some kind of pre-feminist apoogist). How old it is, I'm not so sure.
DovBearThe idea that women have a better nature or more spiritual is NOT authenticly Jewish. We know this because non Jews got fed the same horse manure as a way of keeping them satisfied with less. Look, I dont even know what youre arguing: The more right you go the worse off Jewish women are -in satmar they cant even drive and have to shave their heads. Thats an inrefutable facr.
urielThat's an odd way of proving something, you have to admit. I think a better way is to see how old an idea is. But even if it's not that old, if Rav Hirsh and Rav Aaron Soloveichik said it, I would say that's pretty authentic. Something doesn't have to be somewhere in the Mishnah to be authentic (though the older the more authentic). Much of kabbalah, mussar and chassidus would be inauthentic if that were your standard. At that point you'd be creating your own special denomination that is very picky and choosy about what in modern Judaism is authentic to you -- and that sounds like Reform.
urielAre you saying Satmar is more authentic than other Jewish groups? Chazal surely had more contact with heretics and gentiles than Satmar does.

E. FinkI think Zapp is right.

This is a parody / satire for sure. She is NOT serious.

Also check out comments generated by a 2007 post by DovBear on Shomer Negiah Panties called Tzittzit for women?.

tags: Acciones Plásticas, DovBear, humor, idenity, Internet Art, Jewish, jewish blogoshpere, jewish women, Maya Escobar, Performance Art, Satire, screenshot, shomer negiah panties, twitter
categories: blogging, curatorial, Jewish Life in America, Judaism, Shomer Negiah, Stereotype, women, YouTube
Wednesday 02.03.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Just For Jewish Girls

Shomer Negiah Pantiesexcerpt from article in The Jewish Chronicle by Justin Jacobs Walk into the Saint Vincent College art gallery in Latrobe and the first thing you’ll see is a wall covered in brightly colored women’s panties.Not the most common item on display at this small, staunchly Catholic institution, but peek a little closer — each pair is adorned with Hebrew text: shomer negia (don’t touch). Or, as artist and designer Maya Escobar explained, many interpret her panties as, “If you’ve gotten this far, you’re too far.”The underwear is part of Tzit Tzit: Fiber Art and Jewish Identity, Saint Vincent’s new exhibition as assembled by guest curator and associate art professor Ben Schachter. The pieces included interpret the exhibition’s title both literally and metaphorically — tzit tzit as art, certainly, but also as a symbol of how Jews are bound together by material through tradition and practice.“I wanted to make something like a ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bracelet but for young, Jewish girls,” said Escobar of her popular creation (they sell online at her Web site). “But why do people automatically assume it has to be a sexual message for men? It should be a halachic thing for women. Ideally, these aid in being shomer negia because they’re a reminder. They’re about individual sexuality for women.”“They’re provocative and also ‘keep your hands off’ at the moment of greatest vulnerability. It’s really post-modern and funny,” said Schachter. “I mean, it’s underwear.”click here for full articleSHOMER NEGIAH PANTIES are avaliable on ShomerNegiahPanties.com

tags: Ben Schachter, exhibition, feminism, fiber art, halacha, jewish chronicle, Maya Escobar, orthodox, Panties, pop culture, post-modern, shomer nagia, Shomer Negiah, shomer negiah panties, underwear
categories: humor, Jewish Life in America, Judaism, women
Tuesday 02.02.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

free el es frida kahlo animated gif

el-es-frida.gif

el es frida kahlo will be on view at the Bruno David Gallery in St. Louis, MO from 1/22-3/6. In conjunction with the exhibition, I am offering a FREE embeddable animated el es frida kahlo gif on mayaescobar.com.

el es frida digital giveaway

tags: animated gif, artist, Bruno David Gallery, commodification, el es frida kahlo, free, Frida Kahlo, giveaway, Internet Art, intertextual, Latina, Maya Escobar, mayaescobar-com, new media, st- louis
categories: Art, artista, exhibition, humor, identity, new media art, Performance Text, women
Saturday 01.16.10
Posted by maya escobar
 

Berlin's Eruv Talk

I will be presenting Berlin's Eruv at KAM Isaiah Israel, as part of their World Jewry Program, this Sunday, November 8th. The lecture is open to the public.

video still from interview with Moshe Or

In 2008 I traveled to Berlin as part of exchange program with my University. Prior to this visit, I had never been to Germany- nor did I have any particular reservations about going or not going, but it seemed everyone else had their own opinion on the matter.“Germany, how can you go there as a Jew?” “There are Jews in Germany? I thought they were all dead?” “You are so brave to go to Germany…”Ultimately people’s projections as to my intentions for going to Germany became the filter through which I experienced Berlin.While I was in Berlin I conducted interviews with members of the community concerning the highly visible presence of the monuments and memorials commemorating Jewish life (death) have impacted their individual and communal Jewish identities. Other topics included: the notion of German Jews vs Jews living in Germany and how this differs from an American Jewish identity, their status as diaspora Jews and their relationship to Israel, their thoughts on the European Union, anti-semitism and the widespread use of facebook as a mode of connection.The title of the piece Berlin’s Eruv is a play on the fact that there is not actually an eruv in Berlin.  An eruv is a rabbinically sanctioned demarcation of space that transforms public space into private space for the purposes of the Sabbath, allowing Orthodox Jews to carry in public places, a practice which is otherwise prohibited. Modern eruvs are often made of wire strung between utility poles, a gesture towards a “walled courtyard,” indicating an enclosed, private space.Just as the eruv exists in the minds of the people who abide by it, Berlin’s Eruv manifests itself through the conversations surrounding the idea of the piece. The interviews I conducted in Berlin relied on the presence of institutionalized markers of Jewish identity, to give weight to the idea non-presence of the living Jewish community.

Berlin's Eruv Talk

11/8/09 @ 10:30 amKAM Isaiah Israel1100 E Hyde Park BlvdChicago, IL 60615-2810773-924-1234

tags: anti-semitism, Chicago, diaspora, eruv, eruvin, facebook, germany, Israel, Jewish, jewish identity, lecture, Maya Escobar, psychogeography, talk, thesis
categories: berlin's eruv, contmporary art, culture, identity, Jewish Life in America, Judaism, Washington University ...
Monday 11.02.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

SHOMER NEGIAH PANTIES ON ESTY

Shomer Negiah Panties have finally arrived!!  Get a them on ShomerNegiahPanties.com and EtsyShomer Negiah is a concept in Jewish law halacha that prohibits any degree of physical contact with, or touching of, a member of the opposite sex, except for one’s spouse and immediate family. Shomer means “guards”, but due to its common use in phrases relating to religious practice, it has come to mean: “adhere to” as well. Negiah is the Hebrew word for “touch”, and thus Shomer Negiah is a term used to describe one who “guards the touch” or simply “adheres to restrictions of touch”. Although the feminine form of the term is technically Shomeret Negiah, it is almost always used in the masculine, even when in reference to women. Shomer Negiah Panties allow a woman to abide by the halacha, but still be individual and sexy at the same time.

tags: channuka, etsy, feminism, fiber, girls, halacha, hiddur mitzvah, Jewish, Maya Escobar, Panties, shomer negiah panties, textile, tznius, women
categories: Art, feminist, humor, identity, Judaism, Shomer Negiah
Sunday 10.25.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

Orchard Street Artist Cultural Heritage Project

My father and I participated in the Orchard Street Artist Cultural Heritage Project.

orchard street site

During the months of December 2009 and January 2010, The John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art in New Haven, Connecticut will come alive with memories, recollections, and recreations of an important community heritage site,  in an innovative group installation designed to both stimulate reflection on the legacies of past generations and engage the public in dreams for the future.The Orchard Street Shul Cultural Heritage Artists Project is an art exhibition, a history lesson,  a point of cultural exchange, and meeting place for dreamers, both nostalgic and visionary.  Artists, researchers, and scholars have joined together to celebrate an important historic New Haven landmark which was once central to the life of a large Jewish immigrant population in the Oak Street neighborhood.Urban changes in the last 50 years have all but erased evidence illustrating the importance of the Oak Street neighborhood in the lives of the newly arrived immigrants and migrants who populated much of the area now known as the "Oak Street Connector", Route 34.  Where some see open space, or a new hospital, or a school, or a parking lot, others with longer memories see shops bustling with activity, voices shouting in Yiddish and Italian, sprinkled with a variety of accents from elsewhere, including near and distant regions within the USA.Contributions to the installation offer a range of approaches.  Some artists researched the history of the Orchard Street Shul and its neighborhood, uncovering multiple stories of this community: stories of women working together to aid refugees, stories of hard-working fathers and mothers who dedicated themselves to making a better life for their children, and stories of teenagers who giggled and mingled on the steps of the Shul.   Others built on their own experiences, reaching into their hearts to create depictions of the Shul that are evocative of deeper connections with history and community.  Still others focused on the issues of urban renewal, making real the shifts in our urban landscape that are difficult to imagine as we visit the site today.Included in the Project are presentations by researchers from Yale University who developed innovative ways to document the building, including  virtual reconstructions exploring new digital methods, ground-breaking research by computer scientists that promises to change the ways that cultural heritage sites will be documented in the future.  Some contributing artists used this digital data in their creative work.The Orchard Street Shul Cultural Heritage Project is organized by Cynthia Beth Rubin, a New Haven based artist, in collaboration with participating artists and researchers: Nancy Austin, Meg Bloom, DonnaMaria Bruton, Jeanne Criscola, Roslyn Z. Croog, Linda Drazen, Paul Duda, Gonzalo Escobar,  Maya Escobar, Alan Falk, Greg Garvey, Shalom Gorewitz, Jaime Kriksciun, Leslie J. Klein, Beth Krensky, Seth Lamberton, Mary Lesser, Lisa Link, David Ottenstein, Bruce Oren, Robert Rattner, Cynthia Beth Rubin, Holly Rushmeier, Janet Shafner, Frank Shifreen, Suzan Shutan, Sharon Siskin, Christina Spiesel, Yona Verwer, Julian Voloj, Laurie Wohl, Chen Xu, and Howard el-Yasin.  The group includes artists from California, Florida, Utah, Missouri, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New York, who traveled to New Haven to contribute to the project alongside artists from the region.A Project Book is being published in conjunction with the exhibition, including essays by Haisia Diner, the eminent scholar of Jewish immigration history,  Walter Cahn, renowned historian of art and and architecture, and Hana Iverson, known for her remarkable multi-media installation "View from the Balcony"  that was instrumental in helping attract attention to the renovation project of the Eldridge Street Shul.  The book will also feature photographs of the works in the exhibition and memories of the Orchard Street Shul, with commentary by Karen Schiff.  The innovative book design is by Criscola Design.The Public is Invited to the Opening Reception for the Participating Artists,  on Sunday, December 6, from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 pm.    To set the mood for the launch of “The Orchard Street Shul Artists Cultural Heritage Project”, the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale for Jewish Life at Yale will host a Jazz jam session on December 5 at 7:30, celebrating the swing dance music of 1924 and beyond, when the cornerstone of this Synagogue was put in place in a ceremony attended by Mayor Fitzgerald and much of the entire New Haven community.The John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art is open W-F, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, and weekends 2:00 pm  to 5:00 pm.  Schools and other organizations who would like to arrange a group visit outside of regular hours may do so by sending an email to: [email protected].

tags: Alan Falk, architecture, Beth Krensky, Bruce Oren, Chen Xu, Christina Spiesel, collaboration, community, Cynthia Beth Rubin, David Ottenstein, Donnamarie Bruton, Frank Shifreen, Gonzalo Escobar, Greg Garvey, Holly Rushmeier, Howard el-Yasin, installtion, interviews, Jaime Kriksciun, Janet Shafner, Jeanne Criscola, Jewish, Joyce Burstein, Julian Voloj, Laurie Wohl, Leslie J- Klein, Linda Drazen, Lisa Link, Mary Lesser, Maya Escobar, Nancy Austin- Meg Bloom, new haven, Orchard Street Artist Cultural Heritage Project, Paul Duda, psychogeography, Robert Rattner, Roz Croog, Seth Lamberton, Shalom Gorewitz, Sharon Siskin, Suzan Shutan, trans-disciplinary, urban, Yale, Yona Verwer
categories: contmporary art, culture, exhibition, identity, Jewish Life in America, Judaism
Tuesday 10.13.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

ongoing intertextual exchange

The other day I posted a link on facebook to an article by Kevin Kelly on vizual literacy. Both Eric Repice and Eliyahu Enriquez responded to this post, and Eliyahu wrote a post about this exchange on his blog....The following is a repost of Eliyahu's post Vizual LiteracyRT/Hat Tip @mayaescobar Tools for VizualityExcerpt from Fb Thread Transcript:

In archiving poems in blog format, I find embedding videos with a distinct narrative to the word-piece heightens the sensory experience: simultaneous stimuli, rather than a replacement paradigm with regards to medium. The experimental nature of combining/utilizing moving images with poetry, such as those of Filipino Author, Nick Carbó, hints at what I'm trying to get at, though the idea I'm reaching for may be more a novelty for Literary marketing strategies/accessibility on the web... With an accompanying video in whatever length, the reader is more likely to stay with the poem, rather than a wham-bam!-thank you, sir means of creative dissection. Whereas, to capture the essence of canonization - the written word to a cinematic language, while maintaining their distinction - that's something I'm currently playing with...What Would Judas Do?

"I visited a sage, Rav Yosef Shalom Eliashuv, who lives in one of the most secluded ultra-Orthodox communities in Jerusalem. He was in poor health but still taking visitors... Speaking in Hebrew, I told him what, at the time, I felt was the truth. 'Master, I am attracted to both men and women. What shall I do?' He responded, 'My dear one, my friend, you have twice the power of love. Use it carefully' - Rabbi Steven Greenberg."

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu2tkyEWiZc]

I am attracted to

He loved me.He loved me not.

I love bringing pleasure too

She loves mi.She loves mi knot.

The Art of Couch-Hopping

Lark descending.Lost Ark.

As Queer as A Clockwork Orange

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uc30u1r81k]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNcyoT1xLTU]
Sources:

Maya Escobar's YouTube ChannelNick Carbó's YouTube ChannelEliyahu Enriquez's YouTube Channel

tags: collaboration, eric-repice, facebook, gender, intertextual, madkamp, Maya Escobar, poetry, queer, twitter, visual literacy, vizual literacy
categories: Art, blogging, culture, hip hop, identity, new media art, YouTube
Tuesday 04.28.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

breaking down the elephant

Ruth at the writing center (who somehow amazingly manages my artistic craziness and dyslexia) helped me come up with this metaphor for my work, based on the story of the elephant and the blind men.I think it might become my artist statement.

********************************************

Some people think that I am the true representation of the elephant.It is true I am an elephant, but not the only elephant.I try to break up the conception of being the only elephant.Some people see a small portion of my work and think it is the whole- the representative elephant.Others understand that each piece connects to another piece and that individually they are only fragments.When breaking the elephant up into pieces, information slips in through the cracks.People also respond to this new information- creating a bigger more amorphous elephant.

The amorphous elephant is broken up again and again, so that it is relevant to new individuals new experiences...

project mapa) accionesplasticas.comb) mayatalk.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/obsessed-with-frida-kahlo/c) thewayismadebywalking.com/d) www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5sFV2xmpfAe) berlinseruv.comf) www.youtube.com/watch?v=359HwupsY1sg) mayaescobar.com

tags: Acciones Plásticas, artist, artist statement, arts, critical pedagogy, cultural identity, education, grid, Maya Escobar, MFA, postmodernism, stereotyping, thesis, Washington University in St- Louis, wustl
categories: Art, art-education, contmporary art, identity, multicultural art, Performance, Performance Text, Stereotype
Thursday 04.02.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

Dancing with Matisyahu

a little comedic relief in the middle of thesis writing.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKMJ4uRYXPE]you too can dance with matis, other choices involve:jumping out of a plane, becoming a super hero, staring in a fairy tale, or being the hottest toy.I give him mad props for being such a skilled promoter[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATdmGgPbuvU&feature=channel_page]check him out on twitter @matisyahu

tags: comedy, dancewithmatis, dancing, humor, Jewish Life in America, Matisyahu, Maya Escobar, self-promotion, twitter, tznius
categories: hip hop, identity, Pop Culture, YouTube
Tuesday 03.24.09
Posted by maya escobar
 
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