New photo series: AmeriKaraoke #art #workinprogress #modelminority #atyourservice #conceptual #photography #text #karaoke #american #assimilation #immigration #military
Cary S. Leibowitz aka CandyAss (via ArtNet)
A Kid Again
2012
Public Installation, Chicago Suburbs, IL,
Simon M.A Kid Again started as a means to contest how public space is deemed heterosexual space by default; by adding my queer narrative to the public sphere, I wanted take up those physical spaces where I felt my identity was either a burden or simply erased. Using the past, I developed a sort of queer map of moments in the suburbs where I grew up.
When I distilled the 11 moments to their circumstances, I realized how misinformed and harmful my perceptions of acceptance, free will, and reality were as a child and adolescent. I had internalized homophobia to the point where I viewed my existence as an “other-sexual” as an inconvenience to “normal” people. This project attempts to start, in public, those dialogues that I never could.
So I printed the moments on signs, put them in the locations where they occurred, and expressed those things that I felt I was never supposed to.
After 5 hours (from 5 AM to 10 AM), there were 3 signs left standing. Many were taken within 2 hours of their installation.
Chicago, July 3rd, 2012
Dear Friends and Followers,
I need your help with an art project. Please give me ONE WORD that has personally offended you, something people called out that hurt you, or that makes you deeply uncomfortable. One word, in any language. Click the “submit” link at the top.
Thank you!
- Kiam
Leah Goren, 2011
Collection of 36” x 36” silk charmeuse scarves
Taking a break to congratulate my friend, Leah Goren, and her amazing thesis collection.
Check it out here, and make sure to visit her awesome Etsy store for more goodies.
Letters I’ll Never Send
(Series of 5, left to right)
-Letter to the Bluest Eyes in Texas
-Letter to a Shadow
-Letter to My Dead Mother
-Letter to an Absent Father
-Letter to the One Who Got Married
(Acrylic)
by Kiam Marcelo Junio
Installation shots by Heidi Norton
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Letters I’ll Never Send was borne of the idea that there is so much we want to say and share with others but we either choose not to, whether due to impossibility or discomfort. These 8x12 inch mirrored acrylic pieces are etched in my own handwriting (scanned, flipped, and burned onto acrylic), and maintain a deeply personal affect. The letters were written in a poetic style with help from several people, including my dear friend, poet, and ex-pat, Annie Le-Moussou.
When seeing the works, the viewer can read the letter and see his or her own reflection on the mirrored acrylic. This creates a conversation between the artist, the addressed identity, and the viewer, who is free to take on any of these viewpoints.
During my critique last week, my classmates, instructor and TA responded favorably to the pieces. I believe I elicited the reaction I intended - a sense of identification with both the speaker and the addressed person. It was mentioned that the letters have a universal quality to them, and are also general enough that anyone can find identification with them.
Other comments that were brought up: consider the flow from one letter to another, from one color to another (I used bronze and slate grey mirrored sheets). This I actually took very much into consideration while setting up. I intended for a somewhat lyrical movement through the letters, from one tone to the next, but all with a similar undertone. There is definitely a deliberate order to the letters.
Another comment made, with which I agree is the “cramped” feeling of the first and last letters. Next time I print these, there will be more of a margin around the letters to allow them better legibility.
One other comment that I will take into consideration is the mention of “Facebook” in one of the letters. Someone said it was distracting and took the viewer out of the moment. I understand this and perhaps will simply use “online” in a future revision. We shall see.
