Mapping the Uncharted
Maps have been drawn to mark where we are, what lies around us, what lies before us, and to note the paths taken so that others may follow or we may return. We mark these paths to understand what is present, what is important, and in what relationship things exist. Maps anchor us to a home-base and they give us the freedom to explore expanded vistas.
The five artists in Mapping the Uncharted use physical maps as a point of departure for reconfiguring impressions of geography, politics, and visual language.
Guillermo Galindo composes music from instruments made of found objects. These objects have been collected along the US – Mexico border in collaboration with photographer, Richard Misrach. Abandoned under dire conditions these belongings of illegal immigrants all have a sound in Galindo’s constructed instruments and find voice in his compositions. Galindo’s scores of unique notation are printed on maps, photographs, and flags which have marked humanitarian water stations. Thus his scores create a map of passage and loss.
Mark Garrett cuts and paints and transforms maps into visualizations of patterned accretions emphasizing the fragility and debasement of the ecology.
Indira Martina Morre creates delicate surfaces marking the most ethereal — cyberspace – passwords and passages are noted with symbols and layers noting information. In an almost blinding light, the surface allows islands of gray to emerge with direction and aggregated form.
Lordy Rodriguez expands and conflates maps to make visible our cultural and political conceits. He takes the very iconography of map making and transposes it into a vocabulary for witty images reflecting our popular culture, expectations, and prejudices.
Diane Rosenblum appropriates artworks and superimposes auction prices creating a map of the art world. The transformation of the artwork into a gauge of the art market economy charts a world which otherwise can only be seen by those who navigate the sales rooms and offices of auction houses.
Artists’ Talk
April 8, 2017 at 2:00 pm
Panel Discussion with Mark Garrett, Indira Martina Morre, Lordy Rodriguez, and Diane Rosenblum
