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As a visual artist, my work stems from being an avid explorer of my environment, where ever I may be. For this 5- plus week residency I intend on mapping the centers, and surrounding areas of Oaxaca and Puebla primarily by foot, opening my senses to the colors, smells, textures and people of this a foreign environment. Although my Spanish is fairly limited, I am determined to establish a sincere relationship with this new place, and in turn, plan on creating a site-specific art installation reflecting my experience. This blog will serve as a collection of data as well as a journal recording of my day to day episodes.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Oaxaca's art scene in a nutshell

I am absolutely blown away by the amount of art there is in Oaxaca, and not just of one genre but so many different things going on all the time. This week was jam packed with art events, from openings almost every night, as well as an amazing lecture at the MACO, to the Oaxaca film fest which brought independent film makers from all over the world. It's hard not to go out here. The openings I have attended have been eclectic, interesting and have included a spectrum of artists from all over the world, as well as a plethora of Mexican artists. This place really does blow my mind more every day. With a population the size of my hometown- Reno, NV, it feels more akin to Brooklyn, NY. Go Oaxaca, go!
There are sooo many galleries, and other art-inclined things to explore in Oaxaca, and these are just a small dose of what there is to see. (and this doesn't even begin to scrape the surface!)
An Installation at 'Q' space

An amazing lecture by Australian performance artist, Stelarc at MACO

El Espacio Zegache
Matria- Jardin Arterapeutico

Matria- Jardin Arterapeutico

Matria

Matria

Matria

This isn't supposed to be an installation... but really looked like one. Matria

I don't know, but I like it. Matria

Matria

Matria

For seed bombs. Matria

Matria

Matria
Matria
Matria
Geska & Robert Brečević


Geska & Robert Brečević

Geska & Robert Brečević
Geska & Robert Brečević

Geska & Robert Brečević
Geska & Robert Brečević

Geska & Robert Brečević
'Zapata' a printmaking and gallery space
'Zapata' a printmaking and gallery space
'Zapata' a printmaking and gallery space
A stamp museum, exhibiting work about mail art culture
A stamp museum, exhibiting work about mail art culture
A stamp museum, exhibiting work about mail art culture

Monday, September 23, 2013

Saturday, adventure day.

Saturday was a good day, as it was an "epic adventure." In the morning, Steve and I went down to one of the largest markets I've ever seen- more towards the outskirts of Oaxaca central. As we descended down the street starting form the Arquetopia residency- near Santo Domnigo, and towards the market, it began feeling more and more like "Mexico" as the scenery became more gritty, eclectic, and not toursity at all. The market, Central de Abastos, was incredible although my stomach flipped a few times while walking through the seemingly neverending raw meat aisle...

Save for the meat section, it was awesome walking around the maze-like, endless sprawl of Central de Abastos, with everything you can imagine to buy- from clothing and furniture to produce to boot.
We ordered some quesadillas- quesillo with squash blossoms in an enormous tortilla, at a little stall in the market, then quickly had to chow down in order to make it to the bus heading to Monte Alban at 11:30.





Monte Alban, located approximately 20 minutes above the city, is a vast plateau covered with Zapotec ruins. If you can motivate yourself to make the trek up the impossibly steep steps of the ruins, you will find at the top an incredible view of the enormous, gorgeous sprawl of Oaxaca and beyond. Being up there and looking out is truly an amazing experience that is a must when traveling in Oaxaca. The air was crisp and fresh, and there was a peaceful sense of quiet stillness. Although we were kicking ourselves for not thinking to bring a picnic up there to have while chilling in the soft grass (<--- note to self for next time) we stayed up there for almost two hours taking it all in. Anyhow, I think the photos kind of speak for themselves- breathtaking. Click to enlarge.





  











After Monte Alban, the day continued to unfold in an adventuresome way. Next stop- Zaachila... but only after a brief pitstop at the infamous Mezcalaria- Cuish... Then, Zaachila.
Back at Central de Abastos, we hopped in a sitio taxi labeled "Zaachila." It was a tight squeeze, with 6 people in the tiny cab, but apparently, as Steve claimed "this is how you do it." Our point of going out to Zaachila, a sleepy little town about 20 minutes or so outside of Oaxaca, was to scout out some potential spots for my installation. We heard there was a lot of graffiti and murals there, so we wanted to check it out.
Cuish Mezcaleria
Cuish Mezcaleria
Once we got there, neither of us knew really where to go, so we started wondering down a random street away from the central market where we were dropped off. After a couple of blocks, a boy from across the street waved us down asking "buscan graffiti?" He happily became our tour guide, taking us in a loop through the neighborhoods with all the best graffiti and murals. After a couple of blocks with our spry tour guide, I noticed his shoes were covered in paint. "pintas?" I asked. "Si!" He said with a huge smile, and then we found out that we were actually looking at some of his work. Also, the questionable duffel bag he was carrying was actually filled with spray paint. For the rest of the day we both couldn't get over just how perfect it was to haphazardly meet this kid... Gracias amigo!





Steve and our Zaachila friend with his duffle bag full of spraypaint. Bless his cotton socks!







Post-epic-day-snack