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Nottingham Study Visit - We Are OCA

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Nottingham Study Visit

first_supperPOSTER
Tutor Diana Ali has a treat of a study visit to the Nottingham Contemporary for students across a wide range of disciplines on the afternoon of Thursday 14 November.
Asco were a Chicano artist-collective active in East Los Angeles in the 1970s and 1980s, with a core membership of four. In their later years Asco numbered a few dozen artists, acquiring the characteristics of a movement. The importance of Asco to the recent art history of Los Angeles has only been belatedly recognized.
Asco’s performances in and around LA resembled scenes from movies that were never made – or fashion shoots, or promotional images of rock bands. They called some of these No Movies. Made in the shadow of Hollywood, Asco’s photographs anticipate the staged photography of Cindy Sherman, Jeff Walls and other major figures in postmodern art working with photography.
Geoffrey Farmer is a unique and disconcerting voice in Canadian art. Borrowing elements from conceptual and installation art, he combines poetry and social commentary with specific cultural histories and memories. He presents these findings in a new and unfamiliar light, creating playful and visually entrancing works.
Let’s Make the Water Turn Black is his most technically ambitious installation to date. Over 70 sculptures have been constructed from found materials, salvaged movie props and discarded theatre sets which he presents as an ensemble on a large platform. Animated by computer, in an environment of changing coloured light, the population of characters are choreographed into a mechanical performance. They move slowly in response to musical compositions.
Echoing a 1968 composition by Frank Zappa of the same name, Farmer’s Let’s Make the Water Turn Black presents an improvised chronology of the six decades of the American musician’s life. Farmer sees the vast sculptural structure as a single instrument.
In addition to a gallery tour and the opportunity to discuss the work with Diana, the afternoon will also include attendance at a symposium on political contest and challenge through art.
Places are free for OCA students, but are strictly limited for this visit. To book please email enquiries@oca-uk.com
Image Credit: Asco, First Supper (After A Major Riot) © 1974, Harry Gamboa Jr.


Posted by author: Genevieve Sioka

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