As a community-based performance artist, I find the act of sharing the process equally important to the act of sharing the final product.Here are images from the last week of the #delValleMural unfolding.
Barbara Kruger Meets Kim Kardashian
YouTube Video Reel
AM and I are applying to another residency!Unlike our current Wonder Woman Residency, where we applied as Escobar-Morales, this particular program does not accept joint proposals. So we are submitting seperately and hoping (and hoping and hoping) we will both be accepted.I am applying to the #InternetArt section.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk54gsndAQY]And she is applying to the Photo section.
Why did you have to pick this weekend to be a Chicano?
Mayra Ramirez makes my heart pitter patter....(here is a repost of one of her latest posts on her blog Hella Breezys)
It's hard for me to fully express my disappointment and frustration with Arizona's law makers... last week they passed HB 2281 witch bans "Ethnic Studies" in the states K-12 grade classrooms. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be able to learn about the history of our peoples, of our ancestors, and to be able to find pride and empowerment in that. It's such a sad and scary time in both Arizona and the country. Here is a great article about HB 2281 that I found very interesting...
So now I want to share my favorite Save by the Bell episode where Slater finds his Chicano Power!!! I feel it's a great example of why having Ethnic Studies in our classrooms is so crucial...
FUCK ARIZONA'S ETHNOCENTRIC LAWS... WE NEED TO FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO LEARN OUR HISTORY, OUR CULTURE AND THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR RAZA... TIERRA, JUSTICIA, Y LIBERTAD!!!
RIGHT ON MAYRA!!![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0wvG3RMKPc][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih1Qmq5Ie5k]And be sure to check out her collaboration with the always amazing Rio Yañez
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.
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?
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?)
Mas Maiz
Clearly, The Fat Free Elotera has played a major role in last few corn related posts. And, just when you thought she was gone... she's back. And she's doing what she does best... dancing with the crew.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIAL-MCPe_A][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz1kVvMO0os][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAbJPSCofh8][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CWxcXbbWzE][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYqf6DEqAfk][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkKW9UEQb5E][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ucteHb6j-M][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32apk7hVlwo]
AM + ME Open Studios
AM and I visit each other's Studios on Are You My Other?
AM studio
ME Studio
Elotes
¿Sabes una cosa? ¡A los Chicagüenses les encanta comer elotes! En el verano, puedes encontrar elotes en muchos vecindarios, especialmente en los parques.Aquí hay una colección de vídeos donde el tema principal son los elotes. Si tú tienes un vídeo de elotes, por favor compártelo aquí.Y pronto tendremos recetas saludables e interesantes de elotes en Are You My Other?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epv1oYmIX5Q][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZb8XYAeufw][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r887rSMq6fQ][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viI2opape6k][youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJm5Zw76vvI]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r887rSMq6fQ
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.
Click on images below to experience the creation of our latest persona.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIAL-MCPe_A]
Internet Kahlo
While I remain dutifully committed in my quest to find the #1 Frida Kahlo fan, I continue to nurture my own compulsion: collecting and generating realtime results for my favorite deceased painter.search:Frida Kahlo Paintings | Frida Kahlo Photos | Frida Kahlo Art | Photos As Frida | Frida Kahlo Products | Frida Kahlo Tattoos
The Real ME
Taking it to Tumblr
Prompted by a Google Alert and a recommendation from my friend Carrie Ferguson Weir, I decided it was time for me to set up shop on Tumblr.below are some of my favorite Tumbls:
Andria MoralesIn addition to my own Tumblr blog, I also started a Frida Kahlo FANATIC blog Obsessed with Frida Kahlo*.some of my Frida Tumbls: 
gallery of gifs
Updating About Me
Maya Escobar is a conceptual identity artist.
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SELECTED STATEMENTS
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Bio for About Page 2010:Maya Escobar is a performance artist, Internet curator, and editor. She uses the web as a platform for engaging in critical community dialogues that concern processes by which identities are socially and culturally constructed. She performs multiple identities, sampling widely from online representations of existing cultural discourses. Her identifications as a Latina-Jewish artist, dyslexic blogger, activist and educator are indexed by the blogs she keeps, the visual and textual links she posts, the books, articles, and blog posts she cites, the public comments she leaves, and the groups she joins.Escobar received her MFA from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, Washington University in St. Louis, and her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited work in Spain, Guatemala, United States, Germany, Venezuela, and Chile.Twitter Bio for @Maya_Ate_This 2010:I am a 2nd generation Latina artist, nutrition buff, and fitness enthusiast. Here, I'll be tweeting what I am eating as well as sharing beauty and fitness tips.Artista Disléxica Del Internet pt 1 of audition video for Reality TV Show on Discovery En Español 2010:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T_8KzV8kLw]Short Bio for Acciones Plásticasプリクラ 2009:Maya Escobar is a Guatemalan-Jewish digital media and performance artist, currently living in St. Louis. Her work addresses issues of cultural hybridity, gender, placelessness, and the construction of identity.Bio for Conney Conference on Jewish Identity 2009:Maya Escobar is a Guatemalan Jewish digital media and performance artist. She received a BFA with an emphasis in Art Education from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and is currently completing her MFA at Washington University in St. Louis. She can usually be found on the web blogging, tweeting, or youtubing. Escobar also serves as the online art editor for Zeek: A Journal of Jewish Thought and Culture. She has taught, performed and exhibited work in Germany, Spain, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the United States.About Me for Maya E. on Jewish Wedding Network (2009):I have always lived between multiple worlds, I come from a Guatemalan Jewish American family of activists and educators. The planning of my wedding is like most things other things we do, a familiar and communal affair. In addition to the Bosa Nova band that will perform, my fiancee's band rock band Cavalry will be covering various Jewish tunes such as hava negilah and more.Breaking Down the Elephant Blog Post 2009: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…Manifesto for MFA Thesis Exhibition Catalog 2009:As an artist and an individual, I am in constant conversation with the values transposed through multiculturalism. I seek to challenge notions of sameness, unity, and political correctness with pieces that affirm a sense of community for some, while paradoxically alienating others.Major influxes in international travel, technological advances, immigration, adoption, and intermarriage are causing the borders and boundaries between countries to merge together at an increasingly rapid pace. The imagined spaces of individual cultures are no longer autonomous.Therefore it is with a conscious move that I, and many colleagues and contemporaries, unapologetically go forward, breaking through traditional conceptions of art and artistic practice. No longer tied down to medium-specific practices, we produce work derivative of a multitude of discourses. The works that we produce, however, are distinct from those in the fields that our work represents. We are concerned with the past, but we will not allow the past to solely delineate the future. We hope to form a new definition of artistic practice that will include our constantly shifting environment.Short Web Bio for Stumble Upon 2008:MFA Candidate at Washington University in St. Louis. Current art/research centers around mental constructions of space and the social and political implications that result from these imagined boundaries. On this blog I share my random thoughts on hybridity, transnational and transcultural identities, liberal multiculturalism, critical pedagogy, feminist theory, latinidad, jewish life in america, youth culture...Bio for Acciones Plásticas at the Bruno David Gallery 2007:Maya Escobar is a Guatemalan Jewish interdisciplinary artist and educator. She is a recent graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received a BFA with an emphasis in Art Education. She has taught, performed and exhibited work in Spain, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and the United States. Currently, Escobar is pursuing a MFA in Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.Bio for Camp JRF 2007:Maya Escobar is a Guatemalan Jewish interdisciplinary artist and educator. She is currently completing her degree in Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Sharing her non-traditional approach to exploring Jewish identity, Maya will expose campers to a wide variety of contemporary artists, artistic mediums and processes. Campers will have the opportunity to work both independently and as a collective, to produce work that inspires and participates in ongoing personal and communal dialogue.Artist Statement 2006:Through the performance of actual and fictitious moments of my life, I explore my personal identity as the daughter of a Guatemalan father and Jewish mother. I compare the complexities of projected societal, cultural, and gender-determined roles to the lived experiences of Latina and Jewish women in our contemporary American culture. My work translates ongoing anthropological and sociological investigation into accessible narrative forms, incorporating technical skills in multiple mediums. As a commentary to the objectification and exoticization of otherness that I have personally experienced, I reclaim ownership of myself; I transform my body as well my “self” into an object used within the performed ritual, which is then documented through analog and digital photo, video and collage.
Savvy Latina: Smart. Sexy. Stylish.
Recently I had the honor of being featured on Savvy Latina.
Savvy Latina is more than just an online publication; it’s a lifestyle.Savvy Latina is here to fill a void for today’s successful, stylized & sophisticated Latina. Savvy Latina is dedicated to keeping in step and following topics important to today’s Latina.Savvy Latina offers in-depth coverage of key figures in Latino culture, entertainments rising and accomplished stars, business leaders, politicians, policy makers and the Savviest Latinas.Image is everything but knowledge is the key. Savvy Latina is dedicated to keeping Today’s Latina looking good and well informed with the newest and latest. Savvy Latina’s mission is to make sure today’s Latina has a source dedicated to just who she is, a publication with a wealth of information on various topics important as well as entertaining to her.Savvy Latina was founded by a Latina and dedicated to Latinas with traditional beliefs but that are also craving some of the finer things in life that are well deserved as a result of our hard work and dedication we have put in to advance not only themselves but Latinas as a whole socially and economically.Today’s Latinas are not only influencing but are now directing government policy, business practices, arts, entertainment, fashion and a whole lot more.We are proud to present to you Savvy Latina. We hope you love it as much as we do.
do not click here
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?
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?.
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!
