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press release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Works/San José
408.295.8378
works_sj@yahoo.com
www.workssanjose.org
CONTACT: Jennifer Levy
What
Art Exhibition: Codes of Conduct
Where
30 North 3rd Street, San Jose, CA 95112
When
July 19th – August 13th, 2005; Tue – Sat, 12 – 4pm;
Thurs, 12 to 7pm
Reception
Friday, July 22nd, 7pm – 9pm
Artist Talk
Thursday, July 28th, 7pm (explores the evolution of each artist’s
exhibited work)
Cost
Free Admission
Description
The artists in this
exhibition consider how human behavior is influenced by cultural norms
and perpetuated in the society at large. From familial structures and
institutional entities emerge codes of conduct for society’s ideal
male and female. The codes are perpetuated in a variety of ways - as lessons
passed down through our family structure, by the media through television
and advertising, and by our individual tendencies and experiences. They
comprise a list of dos and don’ts as well as personal identifiers
that we use to defend ourselves, raise our families, and conquer the other
sex. Yet, these codes also get translated as groupthink, allowing individuals
an anonymity that sanctions them to act out aggressions and fantasies.
Beliefs, actions, imagery, and words related to the codes of conduct influencing
men, women, and children are explored in this exhibition through works
of photography, sculpture and installation.
Pilar Agüero-Esparza’s mixed media installation
investigates the school setting as an entity where children are both engaged
and assessed and considers the old held practice of using craft-making
as a means to keep children busy and out of trouble. In photo documentary
style, Emilio Banuelos captures groups of people interacting
in highly public settings – parades, nightclubs, parks, church services
and rituals. In this context, Banuelos seeks the individual, caught between
the pressures of acting within the confines of a group and his or her
own private thoughts. Maria Elena Carrasco’s works
explore the social expectations of the female ideal and specific words
used to express it (like mother, lover, or wife). Through photographs
and interviews, Carrasco documents women's interpretations of these words
and the conduct codes they imply. Francisco Graciano’s
wire sculptures are a series of weaponry associated with power and machismo.
These works remind us of the media’s constant portrayal of the working
class thug as "captured" on video by police officers and law
enforcement from reality shows such as Bad Boys.
Works/San
José is a volunteer-run, non-profit, alternative exhibition
and performance space dedicated to providing a venue for artists, ideas,
and images that expand the scope of cultural and artistic experience.
works/san josé
451 south 1st street • san josé,
california 95112• 408.286.6800
hours: t,w,f,sat 12pm - 4pm and th 12pm - 7pm
Copyright © 2003/2007 works/san josé. All rights reserved.
