Artist Statement and BioEscobar-Morales is a team comprised of Maya Escobar and Andria Morales. The two artists, based in Chicago and Philadelphia 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 Institue 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).
Internet Art & Activism- the #delValleMural
I am a Chicago-based digital media and performance artist. I created this grassroots, social media, portable mural in support of Miguel del Valle's campaign for Mayor.
follow hashtag: #delValleMural to see how the mural was created.
#delValleMural
The #delValleMural is finally complete!
#delValleMural, 2011, Acrylic on CanvasI am thinking that after the elections a Chicago Public Library would be a really nice home for the piece. What do you guys think?
putting final touches on the #delValleMural
The #ChicagoMayor elections are right around the corner...
And I am happy to report that I am ALMOST done with the #delValleMural(the hashtag is silent)
Valentines Day LOVE from El Rio
You them saw and loved them last year...Check out the new crop of Valentines by El Rio.
and as always:
Happy Valentine's Day to all of my friends, lovers, and drunken makeout partners! El Rio’s Valentine’s Day Cards are back for 2011 like a Sir Mix-A-Lot song! This is the 5th year of my cards and it’s turned into my longest running project. Enjoy!
As always, please post these cards on the pages of your online friends, real life enemies, booty calls, baby daddies, and friends with benefits. - El Rio
#delValleMural in progress
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.
Help Maya Help Lolo and Raise Awareness for Domestic Violence
Please support Maya Chinchilla in her efforts to raise $3,000 to send her partner Lolo, her mother Lolita and her daughter to Mexico to reunite with family they lost 34 years ago. Maya wants to use this experience to fight domestic violence and child abuse as well as create spaces for healing and support from our community. For more information about their story go here.
Instead of a birthday party this year with your help I am throwing a fundraiser for Lolo and her family to reunite with her 4 brothers and sisters that were kidnapped from her mother 34 years ago. This is the only thing I want for my birthday so please help make my wish come true!
So far for our silent auction we have:
-Warriors tickets donated by Lisa Marie -a print and several goodies by artist Rio Yañez -3 life coaching sessions valued at $100 each by Carmen Iñiguez & Colibri Coaching -Burlesque class or performance at an event by Cherry Galette -A meal for two at Lubaos Supper club donated by Irina Contreras and Nico Dacumos -Dvds of the films ‘Pura Lengua’ and ‘Viernes Girl’ directed by Aurora Guerrero -A dozen LadyCakes Cupcakes made by Anayvette Ladycakes Martinez
* ANd special Guests!
We will have yummy apetizers and we will be selling Sangria and asking for a $5-20 donation at the door. Please invite your friends and we are still taking auction donations and any other offerings you can think of!
Please share far and wide! More details to come!
THE WORLD IS WATCHING ARIZONA
(via guardian.co.uk article by Roberto Cintli Rodriguez)
Arizona's cultural genocide law
Legislators in Arizona are pursuing a white supremacist campaign to erase Mexican American presence from teaching
The onslaught in Arizona of reactionary and immoral racially-based laws has managed to attract worldwide attention. The brown peoples of this state are being relentlessly persecuted by a majority population that wants to forcefully remove us and suppress our rights and deny our humanity. Here, the state has even gone so far as to, via HB 2281, to prohibit the teaching of ethnic studies in Arizona schools.
Unquestionably, the brown peoples of this state are treated as less than human. Not everyone treats us this way – just the majority: mostly conservative Republicans, many of them with a supremacist ideology. Their general attitude is: if you're brown (read Mexican), get the hell out of our God-given country. And for those of you who remain, either assimilate and abide by our [contrived and unconstitutional] laws or face the full wrath of the state.
There is embedded hate against brown peoples in Arizona – the kind associated with the 1800s, a time when the United States forcefully annexed half of Mexico. All of it is thinly veiled under the guise of opposition to "illegal immigration" and "border enforcement". However, the battle here is actually civilisational: brown peoples, many of whom have been here for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, represent the unfinished business of Manifest Destiny. For conservatives, we represent a return to a past in which we are viewed as a conquered, subhuman species. This brazen attitude informs all the recent anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant bills, proposed laws that long for a return to an idyllic past, which, in fact, never existed.
Aside from HB 2281, other bills include : SB 1070 – the racial profiling law; SB 1097 – the proposed law that will require children to identify the immigration status of their parents; and HB 2561/SB 1308 and HB 2562/SB1309 – bills that seek to nullify birthright citizenship (guaranteed by the 14th amendment ) to children whose parents cannot prove their legal status.
And now, state legislators have introduced the most reactionary bill of them all: SCR 1010 (pdf). This bill seeks to exempt Arizona from international laws. With this bill, these legislators are acknowledging that all their anti-Mexican laws are also outside of international law.
AND read more about HB 2561/SB 1308 (via AlterNet article by Valeria Fernández)
Arizona Bill Would Create Second-Class Citizenship for US-Born Children of Undocumented Immigrants
A baby born in Arizona to two undocumented parents would have a birth certificate that indicates he is not a U.S. citizen under new legislation introduced in Arizona’s State Capitol on Thursday.
The bills (identical in House and Senate versions, HB 2561/SB 1308 and HB 2562/SB1309) will certainly be challenged in federal court and are already steering a polarizing debate in a state known across the nation as a laboratory for anti-illegal-immigrant policies.
Barbara Kruger Meets Kim Kardashian
GO PUBLIC
"Viaja con Aerolíneas Públicas" ¿Estás cansado de ser perfilado, acosado y tener que mostrar tu identificación cuando vas a, bueno a… cualquier lugar? Vuela en Aerolíneas Públicas y el control de seguridad en tu aeropuerto local será el último lugar donde te pedirán tus papeles. Aerolíneas Públicas vuela sin escalas a destinos amigables como Nueva Jersey, Illinois y el suroeste de Pennsylvania. Te garantizamos que tú mantendrás tu tarjeta de identificación en tu cartera siempre. VIAJA CON AEREOLÍNEAS PÚBLICAS.
“Go Public.” Tired of being profiled, harassed and carded on your way to, well… anywhere? Fly Public Airways and the security checkpoint at your local airport will be the last place anyone asks to see your ID. Public Airways flies non-stop to friendly destinations like New Jersey, Illinois and Southeastern Pennsylvania. We guarantee you’ll keep your card in your wallet for good. GO PUBLIC.
CPS Students Campaign for Miguel del Valle, Video Goes Viral: PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (please forward or repost)
CPS Students Campaign for Miguel del Valle, Video Goes Viral
Tuesday, February 1, 2011, Chicago – High school students may not vote, but they can still impact elections. On Sunday, January 29, students from Sullivan HS in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the northside, wrote and starred in a campaign ad for Miguel del Valle that got over 1,000 hits in the first 48 hours on YouTube and Facebook. Their message is clear, Del Valle is the candidate who will invest in public education for all students, who like them who do not go to selective enrollment or charter schools. No press outlets caught Rahm Emanuel's slip up, played twice in the video, until today when the Huffington Post picked up the story.Christina Henriquez, Gerardo Aguilar and Alexandra Alvarez, in order of appearance, scripted the video in a neighbors living room before filming outside their school an hour later. Their effort to mobilize their community to support Miguel del Valle has been developing ever since they went to the Mayoral debate for youth put on by Mikva Challenge last month. Inspired by del Valle and angered by the other candidates they got together with the Latino Club, and tireless sponsor Jackie Rosa.Last week they stopped by the newly opened northside office for Miguel del Valle, to learn to canvass their neighborhood.The video uses a clip from the WGN Mayoral debate in which Rahm Emanuel wrongly states that "if you take away Northside Prep and Walter Payton, the seven best performing schools are all charters". The next seven in fact, the top nine performing Chicago schools are all public. The video clearly questions anyone who would vote for a Mayor who does not care enough about the students in public school to even do his homework. Delivered with passion and confidence, the last words the students leave us ring true "you want a real school turnaround? Invest in us!".Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afonAiiMTm8Press Contacts:Carlos [email protected] @cdrosaJackie [email protected] @floreciendo_coSandi [email protected] @floreciendo_co
NOW THIS IS GRASSROOTS!!
The Student's @DelValle4Mayor video just made it into the Huffington Post!!
Rahm Emanuel Hit On School Policy By High Schoolers For Del Valle
A group of Chicago high school students has decided to take Rahm Emanuel to task for his education policy.
Cristina Henriquez, Gerardo Aguilar, and Alexandra Alvarez appear in a YouTube video, uploaded Sunday, entitled "Invest in Our Public Schools." The spot attacks Emanuel for his praise of the city's charter schools, and backs rival candidate Miguel del Valle for supporting neighborhood schools.
"I go to Roger C. Sullivan High School," says Henriquez. "This is not one of the schools Rahm Emanuel cares about."
The students, who wrote the script for the video, according to its description on YouTube, also point out what they describe as a factual inaccuracy in Emanuel's portrayal of the city's charters. "When you take out North Side, and you take out Walter Payton, the seven best-performing high schools are all charters."
"Someone didn't do their homework," the video says, listing the seven top schools as reported by the Chicago Tribune. None of them is a charter school.
The video says it has no connection to any candidate, and judging by the del Valle camp's reaction, they seem to be telling the truth. Spokeswoman Joanna Klonsky didn't know much about the video's origins, except to say that "we didn't orchestrate it."
Watch the students take on Rahm:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afonAiiMTm8]
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.
Invest in Chicago Public School Students
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afonAiiMTm8]On January 30, 2011 Chicago Public school students and graduates (from Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood) got together to film a grass-roots/guerilla campaign ad to "tell it like it is," and support the best candidate to improve our neighborhood public schools.The footage used is filmed outside of Roger C. Sullivan High School and from WGN's January 27th mayoral debate. The stars and script writers of this ad are Sullivan HS students (in order of appearance) Cristina Henriquez, Gerardo Aguilar, and Alexandra Alvarez.On February 22, 2011 vote to improve our neighborhood schools - Miguel del Valle!http://www.delvalleformayor.comThis ad was not paid for or endorsed by any candidate or candidate's committee. Labor & love donated.Source of top seven high schools: Chicago Tribune 
el es frida kahlo in RENACIMIENTO
RENACIMIENTO is curated by Rachel Matos.When addressing the topic of duality and rebirth one must think of the two connected through the process of transformation. The initial duality perhaps emerging out of conflicts in accordance to the individuals own internal precepts and colored by the knowledge of their external experiences leads to this transformation, which bares a reawakening or rebirth.The artists in Renacimiento share their personal journey through stories of cultural identity, conflictual relationships and the transcendence from their ancestry. In lieu of the new year, it is an introspective view of how we all change and seek to change – Rachel Matos
el es frida kahlo is from the series Obsessed with Frida KahloAs a Latina artist I will forever be tied to Frida Kahlo in some way. Frida Kahlo is the reference between who Latina artists want to be, and who everyone else expects us to be. Whether I am mimicking her style, her persona, or trying to escape the embedded attachment between myself and the late painters’ legacy, I will still be connected to Frida Kahlo.Frida Kahlo constructed her identity though her public persona. Kahlo’s attitude, personal traumas, sexual escapades, clothing, and political affiliations, all informed her body of work. Now regarded as the number one female artist in Mexico, Kahlo’s image has become so embedded in popular culture that when one looks at one of her self portraits one automatically thinks about her tragic bus accident, her tumultuous relationship with Diego, and her bisexuality. Kahlo inscribed her identity, painting her image over and over, constructing a mythology around her persona.In el es frida kahlo, I stand before a reproduction of one of her paintings. 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 behind me begins to fall. I violently tear down my braids and smudge off my makeup while continuing yelling “I am Frida Kahlo, I am Frida Kahlo, yo soy Frida Kahlo!”
Escobar-Morales Establishes Online Marketing Agency
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.
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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
Shomer Negiah Panties HUGE SALE!!
For a limited time Shomer Negiah Panties will be available on Are You My Other? at 1 for $15 or 2 for $20.choose from: S-XL in Black & Hot Pink, Black & White, or White & Hot Pink
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?
All I want for my birthday is to go to Texas
Tomorrow I turn 27. And everyone keeps asking me what I want, what I need. Things may be tight, but I have what I need: a roof over my head, food to eat, an adoring husband and wonderful family and friends.But what I want more than anything, is to be able to go to Texas with my collaborator Andria Morales. She and I were just accepted to the 2011 National Popular Culture Association Conference in San Antonio Texas, where we will be presenting our self portrait dialog exchange project Are You My Other? We are thrilled about this opportunity and think it is the perfect place to situate our work. But after totaling our expected expenses, we realized that collectively we need to come up with $1,500 just to make it happen.So Andria and I are launching our first-ever Are You My Other? fundraising campaign Taking it to Texas. In exchange for donations, we are offering Are You My Other? goodies, alongside favorites from our individual bodies of work... but at a fraction of the price!SHOMER NEGIAH PANTIES (usually $20 each now one pair for $15 or two for $20) and Andria's BLASTER BIKE TOTES ($15) and T-SHIRTS ($20)
