mayaescobar

UPDATE: visit AreYouMyOther.com to see Bibiloni's mass card.


Have you ever Googled Puerto Rican funeral? If you haven't then I suggest you do.  And if you live in Philadelphia or in the surrounding area, you should attend Andria Morales and Beth Beverly's collaborative performance Last Ride.
LAST RIDE: collaborative performance-based artwork by Andria Morales & Beth Beverly. Inspired by Puerto Rican funeral celebrations & taxidermy traditions - 03/27/2011 @ The Rotunda @ 3:00pm-5:00pm



LAST RIDE
Performance and reception
Sunday March 27, 2011
3-5pm
The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., Philadelphia

LAST RIDE is a collaborative performance-based artwork by Andria Morales and Beth Beverly.  Inspired by Puerto Rican funeral celebrations and taxidermy traditions respectively, the artists have found a common interest in death.  Using the Rotunda's church-like interior as a backdrop, the artist's work will invite viewers to experience mourning as a celebration.

Andria Morales (formerly Andria Bibiloni) explores the divide between art representative of culture, and art produced from within a cultural community. By immersing herself in situations where cultural identity is consequential, she aims to provoke viewers into a confrontation and analysis of their own preconceptions. The resulting work is multidisciplinary, consisting of mixed media sculptures, self-portraits, performance based videos, and site-specific installations.  Andria Morales's work has been exhibited at Labor K1 in Berlin, Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Projects Gallery in Philadelphia, the Ice Box in Philadelphia, and the CUE Art Foundation in New York. In 2008 she was awarded a Joan Mitchell MFA Grant for her work in mixed media sculpture and installation. Andria is currently a resident in the 40th St. Artist in Residence Program, and teaches at Tyler School of Art.

Beth Beverly is a State- and Federally-licensed taxidermist who has a BFA from Tyler School of Art and graduated from the Pocono Institute of Taxidermy with high marks. Ms. Beverly is passionate about using every part of an animal and being thankful for the ultimate sacrifice each creature makes to land both in her studio and on her plate. She has won numerous awards for her taxidermy creations, including Best in Show at the fifth annual Carnivorous Nights taxidermy contest in New York.  Beth's work has been exhibited at Bahdee Bahdu Gallery, James Oliver Gallery, Wilbur Vintage Boutique and has been featured in a plethora of fashion & art blogs.

Admission is FREE

I can't believe it, I am finally moving back home to Chicago!  And as cliché as it may be, there are so many things I need to do, people to see, and places to go.

One of the top destinations on my list is Humboldt Park.

Now AM, you might be wondering what a little chapina like myself will be doing roaming the streets of Boricuaville. I'll  be searching for a Chapinkini, thats what!

A Chapinkini if you don't know, is a Guatemalan Flag Bikini.  This term was coined by poet and performance artist extraordinaire Maya Chinchilla in response to a Facebook post where I asked if anyone knew where I could find a bandera bikini. Thus far my search has been fruitless. But I have full faith that if Chapinkinis do in fact exist, I will be able to find one in Humboldt Park.

As for Elotes?  Well, you already know about my obsession with Mexican Corn. But I'll tell you one thing, a los Chicagüenses les encanta comer elotes!

And Marimbas? My little brother and I used to belong to the Chicago-based Marimba ensemble Oxib K'ajau. Unfortunately our participation in the group was short-lived, as my brother was... lets just say he wasn't the biggest fan of practicing... and practice is ESSENTIAL to playing the marimba.

I am hoping that once I return to Chicago, I will have the opportunity of playing the marimba again.

xoxo
ME

Andria Bibiloni, 28, of New York, ceased to exist on Mar. 23, 2011 in Philadelphia, where she lived since 2000.  A visual artist and educator, she strove through her work to facilitate a dialogue about sociopolitical and interpersonal issues. Known for riding her Blasterbike, 2007, in the streets of Philadelphia, her departing wish was to be displayed riding a bigger, louder, and heavier soundblasting vehicle.  Beth Beverly of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy will be handling the preparations for the viewing, which takes place at the Rotunda in University City on Sunday March 27 from 3-5 pm.  Guests are invited to stay for refreshments.

The 1st Annual Are You My Other? Block Party

Talk about getting personal, here is an example of the type of emails that I receive on an almost daily basis:



Other messages inform me: I am not Jewish at all, but instead, I am a f#@*ing spic; I should be raped by 15 guys, all at the same time; I speak the truth, my words come directly from G-d; I am an embarrassment to all Jewish people; I am a latina whore...

I am a performance artist.  But my real life always crosses over with my performance life.  How could it not?

xoxo
ME

Some people see a small portion of my work and think it is the whole- the representative elephant. Others understand that each piece connects to another piece and that individually they are only fragments. When breaking the elephant up into pieces, information slips in through the cracks. People also respond to this new information- creating a bigger more amorphous elephant. The amorphous elephant is broken up again and again, so that it is relevant to new individuals new experiences..." Maya Talk, 2009

beautiful.