Press Release: Xuxa Santamaria (Sofia Córdova and Matt Kirkland) Live and Video Performance at Richmond Art Center
XUXA SANTAMARIA (ARTISTS SOFIA CÓRDOVA AND MATT KIRKLAND) PRESENT A LIVE AND VIDEO PERFORMANCE SUITE FROM ECHOES OF A TUMBLING THRONE
(ODAS AL FIN DE LOS TIEMPOS) AS PART OF THE
RICHMOND ART CENTER’S FALL 2016 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE
A digital spell teleports viewers through three video vignettes accompanied by a beautiful semi-improvised score to life 1,000 years from now, presented in conjunction with Making Our Mark, the 80th Anniversary Exhibition at the Richmond Art Center.
RICHMOND, CA — AUGUST 29, 2016 — Echoes of A Tumbling Throne (Odas Al Fin De Los Tiempos) is a live sound and video performance suite that imagines our world 1,000 years in the future. Presented on September 16 at the Richmond Art Center by artists Sofia Córdova and Matt Kirkland, this performance creates a world that examines current social structures: racial and gender hierarchies, humanity’s relationship to nature, the environment vis-à-vis technological, industrial, and capitalist society.
As part of the Richmond Art Center’s Fall 2016 exhibition, Making Our Mark, Córdova’s performance-based work will coexist with the installation ¡Auxilio! ¡Socorro!, on exhibition with work by renowned photographer Richard Misrach. These songs are scored by XUXA SANTAMARIA, the musical team of Córdova and Kirkland.
Image courtesy of Sofia Córdova
“This work speaks of the possibilities inherent in redefining ourselves in a world that—due to the conditions we’ve concocted in the anthropocene—has become aggressively hostile to our existence,” says Córdova. “Echoes… is a site to consider post-feminist, colored, and queer realities. The landscape of this future world—its denizens, artifacts, and culture— also serve as a distorted lens aimed at our present in keeping with the tradition of dystopian science fiction. ”
The piece is scored by original music made by consulting the tarot (with a nod to Philip K. Dick’s methodology in writing The Man in the High Castle) and covers of pop songs originally in English which are translated into Spanish and radically changed to reveal the timeline of this work of speculative fiction.
 Image courtesy of Sofia Córdova 
Sofia Córdova |
This special performance will take place in the Richmond Art Center’s Main Gallery on Friday, September 16 at 6 p.m. and is free to the public. For more information on the event, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/event/sofia-cordova-collaborative-sound-performance/
About Making Our Mark:
From September 13 through November 12 in three galleries, Marking Our Mark will highlight 14 established and nationally known artists who have supported, and enriched the programs and exhibitions at the Art Center over many years. These artists include Christopher Brown, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Allan deSouza, Mildred Howard, James Melchert, Hung Liu, Richard Misrach, Richard Shaw, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang, artists who reflect various philosophies and media (painting, ceramics, fiber, sculpture, and photography). The opening reception for this exhibition will take place on Saturday, September 10, from 5-7 pm. For more information about this exhibition, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/exhibitions/making-our-mark/
To learn more about the Art Center’s 80th Anniversary, including the 80th Anniversary Gala celebration, please visit: https://richmondartcenter.org/making-mark-80th-anniversary/
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog of artwork and interpretation by the Director of Exhibitions, Jan Wurm. The complete list of artists included in Making Our Mark are Dru Anderson, Megan Atherton, Christopher Brown, Ethan Caflisch, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Lia Cook, Sofia Córdova, Yvette Deas, Allan deSouza, Nathan Dollarhite, Michael Hall, Scott Hewitt, Mildred Howard, Hung Liu, Nicholas Makanna, Bruce McGaw, James Melchert, Richard Misrach, Kate Nartker, Deborah Oropallo, Shari Paladino, Johanna Poethig, Richard Shaw, Ehren Tool, Mary Hull Webster, William T. Wiley, and Wanxin Zhang.
About the Richmond Art Center:
The Richmond Art Center is the largest visual arts center in the East Bay, delivering exciting arts experiences to young and old alike who reflect the diverse richness of our community. The Art Center features hands-on learning, well-equipped studios, Art in the Community programs and contemporary exhibitions in its galleries.
Every year, the Richmond Art Center serves thousands of students through classes and programs taught by professional artists, both onsite at the Art Center and at sites throughout Richmond. The Art Center’s four galleries mount rotating exhibitions that display the works of emerging and established Bay Area artists. Artists such as Richard Diebenkorn, Jay DeFeo, Wanxin Zhang, Hung Liu, William Wiley and Peter Voulkos have been showcased here.
The Richmond Art Center originated in 1936, when local artist Hazel Salmi, who worked for the WPA, traversed the streets of Richmond with a suitcase packed with art supplies, eager to teach art to anyone interested. Today, everything at the Art Center continues to breathe life into Salmi’s original vision: That within every person lives an artist.
Contact:
Julie Sparenberg
Communications Manager
julie@richmondartcenter.org
510-620-6772
Download a PDF of the press release.
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