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DOC/UNDOC — Part 5/6, “Open, Explore, Empty, Choose, Reimagine and Collaborate”

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

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accommodations, actress, art, artifact, artwork, audience, borders, Chicano, codex, conflicts, conversation, cultural, debate, dichotomy, DOC/UNDOC Documendado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática, dressing room, emotions, English, essay, ethics, ethnicity, Felicia Rice, Guillermo Gomez Peña, Gustavo Vazquez, historical, identity, illegal immigration, images, immigration, interactions, interdisciplinary, interpret, interpretation, Isabel Dulfano, Jennifer González, Julia Menendez Jardon, language, lipstick, Luise Poulton, Marriott Library, Mexico, mirror, misconceptions, narcissism, opinions, paper, perceptions, performance, performer, reflection, scripts, self-identify, sound, Spanish, spectators, toolbox, United States, video, videos, viewer, visual, words, Zachary Watkins

During Fall Semester, 2015, University of Utah graduate students in SPAN6900-2 Analyzing Texts: Form and Content visited Rare Books. During the third and final session with Rare Books, the students were introduced to late 20th century/early 21st century fine press and artists’ books. The session ended with the premiere viewing of our copy of DOC/UNDOC Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática , purchased in September. Student response was so strong that managing curator Luise Poulton, in her typical, over-enthusiastic way, exclaimed, “You should post your thoughts on Open Book!” Prof. Isabel Dulfano, in her own enthusiastic way, immediately took up the suggestion and made this a new assignment, right then and there. Bless the beleaguered grad students! Rare Books is pleased to present these responses, one post at a time.

From Julia Menendez Jardon

Doc/Undoc photo courtesy of Moving Press Parts

DOC/UNDOC photo courtesy of Moving Press Parts

The literary work “We are here because you were there” was written by the Chicano author Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Published in 2014, it addresses a debate which is frequently heard these days in the United States: illegal immigration and whether the US should entirely close borders with Mexico. The story presents two completely opposite points of view which correspond with the two main approaches towards the topic that the US population stands for. It also brings the issue of ethnicity, and how people self-identify through language – in this case, Spanish and English.

The use of one language or another is specially relevant in this work. One of the characters speaks in English but swaps to Spanish in certain occasions, while the other character speaks only English and rejects the Spanish language. Even though the author identifies himself as a Chicano, he writes his text in English, so that the English-speaking audience can understand it without needing any extra accommodations. It is addressed to the speakers of English in the US. The author uses the first person singular when referring to the immigrant persona, and the third person singular when referring to the US resident persona. This allows Gómez-Peña to create an “othering” effect, a dichotomy that confronts the group of people who stand with the immigrants, versus the group of people who stand against them. This story doesn’t allow for shades of gray. There are only two positions: for and against. By confronting the perspectives of two parts of the US population in their native language, this socially engaged work points at the audience, urges them to reflect on a current topic, and encourages them to take a stand about it.

Although “We are here because you were there” could be approached and analyzed as an only item, it has much more to offer. This text is a performance script that belongs to a bigger work called DOC/UNDOC Documendado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática. DOC/UNDOC is a combination of performance scripts by the aforementioned Gómez-Peña, their visual interpretations made by Felicia Rice, experimental videos by Gustavo Vazquez and Gómez-Peña, sound art by Zachary Watkins, and a historical and cultural essay made by Jennifer González. Each of these parts were created so that they could stand alone, but they are meant to be enjoyed together. By adding their different perspectives, these socially engaged creators made a compilation of opinions on hot topics such as ethics and decision-making, immigration, ethnicity, self-expression and self-exploration. This object carries an interdisciplinary component that is specially appealing to the audience because each of its parts were created while cognizant of the other ones’ existence.

But these are not the only interrelations that the spectators will perceive. DOC/UNDOC is heavily based on the cooperation between the audience and the artifact. From the very beginning, the instructions advise to “OPEN, EXPLORE, EMPTY, CHOOSE, REIMAGINE and COLLABORATE.”

And so we did. A little more than a week ago, my classmates and I explored this artifact thanks to our professor and two members of the Marriott library. OPEN. When we entered the room, the most noticeable part was the big metal box with the display of objects within, and the face mask that was standing on the same table.

We approached this discoverer toolbox, and I saw my reflection in the mirror. It was framed by the two vertical rows of lights and the pink fake fur that made me think I looked like an old time movie actress. I instantly thought that probably everybody else was watching me look at myself in the mirror, and I thought for a second on the degree of narcissism that being a performer must involve. I looked at myself again and I thought I was the actress. EXPLORE. The image of myself that was staring at me was trying to show different emotions. It was looking a little bit calmer than I actually was. It was looking at the sides of the box and at the pink fur, when I only wanted to look at the mirror again. I looked down at the objects and carefully examined the lipstick bar and the tin box that contained the deck of cards. I thought about the toolbox’s potential: it was a playground for grown-ups. If alone under those dressing room lights, one could adopt any identity. I was adopting a different identity already, fueled by my classmates’ ideas and assumptions. I saw my own perceptions been challenged, and I accepted. EMPTY. The image of an especially smooth piece of clay being kneaded came to my mind every now and then.

The most unsettling part of my experience began when the video started playing. I had to make a big effort to try to understand the message behind each of the clips. CHOOSE. I believed that I did not interpret the right message behind some of the videos and, after discussing with my classmates, I concluded that the important goal is to find an interpretation that convinces you as a viewer and to discuss with other watchers to keep the conversation that the creators wanted to develop.

After the videos, we walked again towards the table, and the sound clips started playing.

REIMAGINE. The characteristics of the sound reminded me of the videos I had just watched, but this time the experience was completely different. There was no image associated with it, and the visual input that I was receiving was the art that appeared in the codex. I flipped through the pages, not trying to direct my attention to any of the parts in particular. I was paying attention to the words, but also having different thoughts about each of the images I was seeing. I thought about the quality of the artwork, the thickness of the paper, and the interactions between the images and the performance scripts.

20151201_155243

COLLABORATE. Then, we all started talking. Everybody in the room started to point at different things that they had thought about during the video, the meaning they had found to some parts of the codex, and even the possible relationships between the discoverer toolbox and the sound clips or the videos. None of us was imposing any interpretation or point of view, but we were all trying to find evidences to support each others opinions.

This is an object that targets all the five senses in multiple ways that the audience might like or might not like, but the experience will still be a remarkable one. Not only does DOC/UNDOC facilitate self-discovery and self-expression, but it also encourages the individuals to share their opinions and perceptions. In a world of conflicts and misconceptions, this piece advocates for a pause to work on each others’ understanding.

20151201_155252

Gómez-Peña, Guillermo, et al. DOC/UNDOC: Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática. Santa Cruz, CA: Moving Parts Press, 2014.

Coming soon: Laura Denisse Zepeda

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DOC/UNDOC — Part 4/6, “Ambiguous, Unclassifiable, Undefinable Identity”

29 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by rarebooks in Uncategorized

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ambiguous, ancestry, apprentice, Ars Shamánica Performática, art, artistic, artists' books, audience, blood, borders, boundaries, Catholicism, Chicanos, collaboration, comb, complancence, country, crucifix, Dallas Fawson, Doc/Undoc, DOC/UNDOC: Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática, DVD, English, European, Felicia Rice, fine press, Guillermo Gomez Peña, hat, heritage, identity, iguana, indigenous, Isabel Dulfano, J. Willard Marriott Library, Luise Poulton, mask, metaphor, Mexican, mirror, Moving Parts Press, music, mustache, oils, performance art, poems, rare books, Rare Books Classroom, residence, shamans, skull, snakes, soundtrack, Spanish, spectator, sweat, symbol, tattoos, underground, United States, University of Utah, video, world

During Fall Semester, 2015, University of Utah graduate students in SPAN6900-2 Analyzing Texts: Form and Content visited Rare Books. During the third and final session with Rare Books, the students were introduced to late 20th century/early 21st century fine press and artists’ books. The session ended with the premiere viewing of our copy of DOC/UNDOC Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática, purchased in September. Student response was so strong that managing curator Luise Poulton, in her typical, over-enthusiastic way, exclaimed, “You should post your thoughts on Open Book!” Prof. Isabel Dulfano, in her own enthusiastic way, immediately took up the suggestion and made this a new assignment, right then and there. Bless the beleaguered grad students! Rare Books is pleased to present these responses, one post at a time.

From Dallas Fawson

Doc/Undoc photo courtesy of Moving Press Parts

DOC/UNDOC photo courtesy of Moving Press Parts

In the Rare Books Classroom at the J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah, our Spanish 6900 class had the pleasure of experiencing DOC/UNDOC: Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica Performática (2014), a multi-genre work of art which is the ultimate expression of the central theme of Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s collective body of work: crossing borders. This theme is central to the piece, an unclassifiable combination of artists’ books, performance art videos, underground music, and what the collaborators have called “a traveling case for apprentice shamans,” a heavy container which includes a plethora of objects such as a mirror, a Luchador mask, a comb, and the dried foot of an iguana. With this work, Gómez-Peña and the various artists with whom he collaborated have created a piece of art which crosses both thematic and aesthetic borders, and in that way challenges notions of genre, authorship, and the relationship between a work of art and its spectator.

Given his mixed ancestry and current country of residence, it is unsurprising that the idea of crossing borders has permeated Gómez-Peña’s artistic world. As a Mexican residing in the United States, Gómez-Peña has literally and symbolically crossed borders: his mixture of Spanish and Indigenous blood, as well as his decision to reside in the United States, have given him a flexible identity which is typical of Chicanos, people of Mexican descent residing in the United States. I believe that, in many ways, Documentado/Undocumented serves as an elaborate metaphor for this unclassifiable identity.

Due to the fact that he is a performance artist, it is unsurprising that the theme of crossing borders exists not only in Gómez-Peña’s writing, but also on his own body in the form of tattoos. On the DVD which forms part of Documentado/Undocumented, the viewer has several opportunities to glimpse the artist’s heavily tattooed torso. On one half of his chest, we see a man with a European style hat and mustache; on the other, a skull. And connecting these two images is a crucifix intertwined with snakes. This symbol is useful in two ways: first, it serves as an intriguing artistic representation of the mixture of heritages which make up Gómez-Peña’s identity. The European imagery, such as the mustached man with the hat, contrasts with the Indigenous Mexican symbolism found in the skull. Furthermore, the snake-entwined crucifix which joins these two images can be seen as a symbol for the mixture of Indigenous beliefs and European Catholicism which help to define the identities of many Mexicans today, and in this way showcases Gómez-Peña’s mixed heritage.

This complex tattoo also reveals the way in which Gómez-Peña has crossed borders with his art. Rather than limiting himself to a single genre, Gómez-Peña writes poetry, collaborates with visual artists, and even creates visceral performances using his own body to push artistic boundaries- that is, to cross borders. In fact, Documentado/Undocumented itself is not exclusively a work by Guillermo Gómez-Peña, but rather a collaboration with several other artists, such as Felicia Rice, who designed the artists’ books which form part of the collection. In this way, the work not only pushes the boundaries of art, but also of artistry: what exactly is Documentado/Undocumented, and who should receive credit for it? I believe the work is meant to be ambiguous and undefinable, and therefore serve as a metaphor for the mixed identity of Guillermo Gómez-Peña and other Chicanos, who do not necessarily have a single culture with which they identify.

This artistic border crossing is present in every aspect of Documentado/Undocumented, including the title, which contains a dual binary: the juxtaposition of being documented and undocumented, and the mixture of the English and Spanish languages, two presences which reflect the reality of many Mexicans living in the United States. In spite of the various references to European and Mexican culture, however, it should be noted that Gómez-Peña does not limit himself artistically to these influences. One fascinating aspect of the work is the soundtrack which accompanies it, which includes aggressive, underground musical genres, such as death metal and electro-industrial. Although this may seem arbitrary, it is important to realize that these are genres which also push artistic boundaries. Electro-industrial, for example, is an eclectic genre which mixes elements of heavy metal, electronic dance music, and hip-hop style production. By including these disparate elements, it is a genre which defies classification.

The inclusion of such polarizing musical genres serves at least two purposes. First, it further pushes the boundaries of genres: not only does Documentado/Undocumented include a soundtrack, something which is already atypical of artists’ books, but one containing genres of extreme music with limited audiences. Secondly, it prevents complacence from the audience. In his writing, Gómez-Peña makes it clear that he wants to push people from all sides of the political and social spectrum. In fact, one of the poems included in the work directly addresses the ways in which he is able to offend both liberal and conservative audiences, something which he presents as an artistic obligation on his part. By pushing boundaries from every direction, Gómez-Peña and his collaborators insure that no one will walk away from the work unmoved.

It is important to discuss a final way in which Gómez-Peña and the other artists who worked on this project have crossed borders, and that is with respect to the relationship between a work of art and its spectators. Rather than something which is meant to be admired from afar, the “traveling case for apprentice shamans” is meant to be heavily interacted with. In one of the videos which is included with the set, Gómez-Peña expresses his desire for the spectators to leave some of their sweat and oils behind on the objects included in the case. This desire demonstrates another way in which the artists have crossed borders: rather than the common view that works of art are meant to be perfectly preserved, interaction with this piece is not only possible, but encouraged. This element, which in my opinion is what truly makes Documentado/Undocumented unique, is a final symbol of how Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Felicia Rice and the other collaborators have created an indefinable work of art which crosses aesthetic and thematic borders.

20151201_155144

“Doc/Undoc | Art | UC Santa Cruz.” Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Gómez-Peña, Guillermo, et al. DOC/UNDOC: Documentado/Undocumented Ars Shamánica
Performática. Santa Cruz, CA: Moving Parts Press, 2014.

Coming soon: Julia Menendez Jardon

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