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Maya Escobar

Conceptual Identity Artist

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If you support Prop 8 and/or SB 1070 un-friend me on facebook

I am incredibly proud of my husband's Facebook status.Please feel free to repost on your own page:

___________ is fed up. If you support California's Proposition 8 or any of the Arizona anti-immigration laws, un-friend me now. NOW. Don't send me an email or comment on this post. This isn't a political issue, it's about avoiding the complacency-in-the-face-of-hatred that doomed 1930s Germany. How you can live with yourself is your own problem.

tags: facebook, Prop 8, SB 1070, screenshot
categories: activism, anti-immigrant
Friday 08.20.10
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
 

Nuevos Compañeros: Rio Yañez

ghetto-fridas-mission-memories.jpg

My newest partner in crime is the talented, witty, godzilla and pikapika lovin' Chicano artist and curator Rio Yañez. I first came across his Ghetto Frida two years ago, while working on the project Obsessed With Frida Kahlo. Immediately I felt some sort of cosmic connection-not to Ghetto Frida- but to her creator. And then to make matters worse better, I found out that he is the son of one my biggest heroes- Yolanda Lopez!There was really no option other than collaboration.  It was fate.Last month we finally initiated our long distance partnership through a tweet.  Since then we have been communicating through TwitPic, Facebook, YouTube, phone calls and texts,  and of course mutual shouts in interviews on the blogosphere (mine to Rio &  Rio's  to me.)Here are a few examples of Rio's recent work:

Amber Rose by El Rio.

"I’ve been twittering for about a week now at http://twitter.com/rioyanez. I signed up as a way to contact Amber Rose after she started writing and posting about the portrait I created of her. I have to say, the most exciting aspect of twitter is the way people distribute images. The short urls for twitpics that often pop up on tweets evoke a sense of curiosity in me; more so than the many thumbnails that can be found on facebook. I think the lack of a thumbnail is more alluring and it forces you to chose to see the image or not, there’s no middle ground of a provided preview." (from his blog)

"Artist Curator Rachel-Anne Palacios flanked by Zitlalix and I. I created this portrait to thank Rachel for including me in the recent Frida exhibit she curated and to join the many artists who are on display on the walls of her apartment" (from flickr)

These images represent my first foray into my Raza Zombies series. They were inspired by the single best mainstream comic book of the 21st century: Marvel Zombies. Marvel Zombies re-imagines classic superheroes as flesh eating zombies. After reading it I felt compelled to do some zombie transformations on a few of my own personal heroes. More to come. (from flickr)[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AhRQrJ7ePg]

Video of Gomez Peña setting the record straight for Rio regarding his Facebook presence.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QycIf6uKRd0]

Rio's Ghetto Frida Mural in the Mission District

stay tuned for more...

tags: amber rose, artist, arts, chicano, collaboration, curator, facebook, flickr, Frida Kahlo, Ghetto Frida, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Marvel Zombies, mission district, mural, Obsessed With Firda Kahlo, Rachel-Anne Palacios, Raza Zombies, Rio Yañez, Twitpic, twitter, wise latina, Yolanda Lopez
categories: Art, artista, blogging, contmporary art, culture, curatorial, humor, identity, intertextual, Latina, Maya Escobar, Nuevos Compañeros, YouTube
Wednesday 09.30.09
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
 

Appropriating and Recontextualizing Google Image Search Results

Part 1 of an article I wrote for jewishinstlouis.orgEvery art student learns about the fair use principle, granting us permission to use any image in our artwork as long as we transform it so that it conveys new meaning.  But beyond that all-encompassing definition, we don’t know what transgressions, if any, we are actually committing.The Associated Press is alleging copyright infringement against Shepard Fairey for his use of Mannie Garcia's photo (left) in creating his "Hope" poster (right). APRecently in the news is the preemptive lawsuit artist Shepard Fairey filed against the Associated Press. According to Fairey the AP threatened to sue him unless he pays royalties for the image that he used as source material for his now famous campaign poster of Barack Obama. Fairey argues that he is protected by the fair use principle. He claims that his intention was not to reproduce any particular image,  but instead was to capture a specific gaze representative of the ideas of hope and change.In an interview on NPR, Fairey declared he was going forward with this suit on behalf of all artists, the thousands of artists that created their own campaign images in the same grassroots manner, pulling images from the web in support of the message of hope, change and a new administration in Washington.screen shot of: first page of google image search results for "Barack Obama"

screen shot of: first page of google image search results for "Barack Obama"

I am fascinated by Fairey’s implication that the process of appropriating and re-contextualizing Google image search results might be considered a grassroots action. As an artist, I frequently use images that that I find on Google. Like Fairey suggested, my motivation for using these images is to highlight the search itself, not the derivative image.Perhaps then, these cyber Robin Hoodian actions—using and transforming Google image search results—are capable of changing the structures that control the dissemination of information. After all, the order that information appears in Google searches is determined by the amount of people searching any given topic. And as a result of the Fairey’s appropriation, his campaign poster may be forever linked to Obama’s presidency.email from President Obama

email from President Obama

Obama’s popularity can be credited to his skillfully constructed presidential campaign that effortlessly linked his name to hope.  I was quick to jump onto Obama’s online campaign message of hope.   Like many others, I subscribed to his twitter, facebook, and YouTube pages. I now get weekly emails from him and I even have a blog on his site…

tags: artist, associated press, Barack Obama, berlin, blog, change, cyber, facebook, floating signifiers, google, hope, Maya Escobar, president, shepard fairey, st- louis, twitter, young people
categories: activism, Art, blogging, new media, news, Performance Text, political, YouTube
Thursday 03.12.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

A Response to a Response to a Response

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359HwupsY1s]This is the Jack McBrayer ResponseTo the Internet ResponseTo the Republican ResponseTo the President's Address to Congress[clearspring_widget title="Late Night with Jimmy Fallon - The Jack McBrayer Response To The Internet Response To The Republican Response To The President's Address To Congress" wid="4727a250e66f9723" pid="49a664282cffce66" width="384" height="283" domain="widgets.nbc.com"]Bobby Jindal Or Kenneth From 30 Rock?

tags: Barack Obama, bobby jindal, cnn, facebook, huffington post, information, Jindal Kenneth, Jindal Kenneth 30 Rock, Jindal Kenneth The Page, Kenneth Jindal, Kenneth The Page Jindal, microblogging, obama, Politics News, president, speech, twitter, video, young people
categories: blogging, political, Pop Culture, YouTube
Wednesday 02.25.09
Posted by maya escobar
 

Negotiating Diaspora Identities Through New Media

Negotiating Diaspora Identities Through New MediaJoin PhD Anthropology Candidate Eric Repice and MFA Candidate Maya Escobar in a brown bag lunch discussion concerning transnational, transcultural, and hybrid negotiations of identity through new media.How do these discussions vary between our fields?IG-RepiceEric Repicefor more information on Eric Repice visit http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~esrepice/homefor more information on Maya Escobar visit http://mayaescobar.com[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3li_mT--f-A][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-GDmDcSH4g][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whLYM9o946w][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz2fhmRzCOA][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14bv0-dzMIc][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNAxEUEE43Y]

tags: Acciones Plásticas, artist, arts, be wife, border, collaboration, courtney love, diaspora, duc, eric-repice, facebook, Heeb, hybrid, hybridity, interdisciplinary, internet, Jewish, jewish girls, Jewish Life in America, jewish women, jewy, kevin coval, latina role model, loren well, margin, myspace, place, remake, remix, sarah silverman, shtreimel, social networking, space, st- louis, stl, tck, the club, transnational, wash u, Washington University in St- Louis, workshop, y love, yitz
categories: art-education, identity, Judaism, Maya Escobar, new media, news, YouTube
Wednesday 01.28.09
Posted by maya escobar