Guillermo Gómez-Peña
Encyclopedia
Guillermo Gómez-Peña was born in Mexico City and moved to the US in 1978, where he established himself as a performance art
ist, writer, activist, and educator. He has pioneered multiple media, including performance art
, experimental radio, video, performance photography
and installation art
. His eight books include essays, experimental poetry
and chronicles in both English, Spanish and Spanglish
.
culture and the politics of the brown body. His original interdisciplinary arts projects and books explore borders, physical, cultural and otherwise, between his two countries and between the mainstream U.S. and the various Latino
cultures: the U.S.-Mexico border itself, immigration
, cross-cultural and hybrid identities
, and the confrontation and misunderstandings between cultures, languages and races. His artwork and literature also explore the politics of language, the side effects of globalization
, "extreme culture" and new technologies from a Latino perspective.
Gómez-Peña is regarded as a pioneer in US Latino and Latin American performance art. Some of his performance art pieces include Border Brujo (1988–89), The Couple in the Cage (1992–93), The Cruci-fiction project (1994), The Temple of Confessions (1995–96), The Mexterminator Project (1997–99), The Living Museum of Fetishized Identities (1999–2002) and the Mapa/Corpo series (2004–2008) His performances often involve audience participation, elaborate costuming and environments, interactive technologies and other collaborators, including Roberto Sifuentes, James Luna
, Violeta Luna
, Coco Fusco
, Michelle Ceballos, Maria Estrada, Emma Tramposch, Antonio Turok, Demián Flores
, Reverend Billy, and Tania Bruguera
.
Through his unique organization, the San Francisco-based La Pocha Nostra, Gómez-Peña has intensely focused on the notion of collaboration across national borders, race, gender
and generations as an act of citizen diplomacy
and as a means to create transnational communities of rebel artists. La Pocha Nostra runs an extremely popular intensive performance workshop twice a year. Recent locations have included Tucson (Arizona, US), Évora (Portugal), Oaxaca (Mexico), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Gómez-Peña is currently working with Canadian theorist Laura Levin in a book of "conversations across the border" (Seagull Press, 2011) and with Roberto Sifuentes in a book about their performance pedagogy (Routledge, 2011).
.
He studied Linguistics
and Latin American Literature
at the UNAM
(1974–1978, Mexico City).
Videos:
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
ist, writer, activist, and educator. He has pioneered multiple media, including performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
, experimental radio, video, performance photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and installation art
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
. His eight books include essays, experimental poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
and chronicles in both English, Spanish and Spanglish
Spanglish
.Spanglish refers to the blend of Spanish and English, in the speech of people who speak parts of two languages, or whose normal language is different from that of the country where they live. The Hispanic population of the United States and the British population in Argentina use varieties of...
.
His Work
Most of his artistic and intellectual work concerns the interface between North and South (Mexico and the U.S.), borderBorder
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
culture and the politics of the brown body. His original interdisciplinary arts projects and books explore borders, physical, cultural and otherwise, between his two countries and between the mainstream U.S. and the various Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
cultures: the U.S.-Mexico border itself, immigration
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
, cross-cultural and hybrid identities
Cultural identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one's belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity is similar to and has overlaps with, but is not synonymous with, identity politics....
, and the confrontation and misunderstandings between cultures, languages and races. His artwork and literature also explore the politics of language, the side effects of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, "extreme culture" and new technologies from a Latino perspective.
Gómez-Peña is regarded as a pioneer in US Latino and Latin American performance art. Some of his performance art pieces include Border Brujo (1988–89), The Couple in the Cage (1992–93), The Cruci-fiction project (1994), The Temple of Confessions (1995–96), The Mexterminator Project (1997–99), The Living Museum of Fetishized Identities (1999–2002) and the Mapa/Corpo series (2004–2008) His performances often involve audience participation, elaborate costuming and environments, interactive technologies and other collaborators, including Roberto Sifuentes, James Luna
James Luna
James Luna is a Pooyukitchum and Mexican-American performance artist and multimedia installation artist, living on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in California.-Background:...
, Violeta Luna
Violeta Luna
Violeta Luna is an Ecuadorian poet, novelist, essayist, professor and literary critic.-Awards:* Award "A los mejores cuentos", 1969.* Poetry National Award "Ismael Pérez Pazmiño", Diario El Universo, Guayaquil, 1970....
, Coco Fusco
Coco Fusco
Coco Fusco is a Cuban-American interdisciplinary artist and writer who began her career in 1988. Fusco has performed and curated throughout America and internationally, and currently is full-time faculty in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons The New School for Design...
, Michelle Ceballos, Maria Estrada, Emma Tramposch, Antonio Turok, Demián Flores
Demián Flores
Demián Flores Cortés is aMexican visual artist. Flores is probably best known forincorporating Mexican folkloric themes into his work, for example his use of wrestling motifs in his series Arena México...
, Reverend Billy, and Tania Bruguera
Tania Bruguera
Tania Bruguera is a Cuban installation and performance artist, trained at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Bruguera's work pivots around issues of power and control....
.
Through his unique organization, the San Francisco-based La Pocha Nostra, Gómez-Peña has intensely focused on the notion of collaboration across national borders, race, gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
and generations as an act of citizen diplomacy
Citizen diplomacy
Citizen diplomacy is the political concept of average citizens engaging as representatives of a country or cause either inadvertently or by design. Citizen diplomacy may take place when official channels are not reliable or desirable; for instance, if two countries do not formally recognize each...
and as a means to create transnational communities of rebel artists. La Pocha Nostra runs an extremely popular intensive performance workshop twice a year. Recent locations have included Tucson (Arizona, US), Évora (Portugal), Oaxaca (Mexico), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Gómez-Peña is currently working with Canadian theorist Laura Levin in a book of "conversations across the border" (Seagull Press, 2011) and with Roberto Sifuentes in a book about their performance pedagogy (Routledge, 2011).
Performance Art
"The Couple in the Cage" documents the traveling performance of Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco, in which he exhibited two caged Amerindians from an imaginary island. While Gómez-Peña's and Fusco's intent was to create a satirical commentary on the notion of discovery, they soon realized that many of their viewers believed the fiction, and thought the artists were real "savages". The record of their interactions with audiences in four countries dramatizes the dilemma of cross-cultural misunderstanding we continue to live with today. Their experiences are interwoven with archival footage of ethnographic displays from the past, giving an historical dimension to the artists’ social experiment. "The Couple in the Cage" displays a type of tactical media as described by Kaprow's happenings in which by showing a powerful blend of comic fiction and poignant reflection on the morality of treating human beings as exotic curiosities, Guillermo spread awareness about misunderstanding of human rights. His performance allows outside individuals to create their own interpretation of how they view the couple in the cage. The individual's behavior is studied and shown to have misunderstandings of people who are different than them.Organizations
- From 1984 to 1990, he was a founding and active member of the Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo.
- He has worked as a commentator for several NPR programs including Crossroads, All Things ConsideredAll Things ConsideredAll Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
and Latino USALatino USALatino USA is a nationally syndicated public radio program produced by KUT-FM radio in Austin, Texas and distributed nation-wide by National Public Radio . As a radio magazine, the weekly, half-hour radio program focuses on issues of concern to the Latino community while maintaining the technical...
. - He directs the San FranciscoSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
-based performance troupe La Pocha Nostra. - He is a member of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, based at NYUNew York UniversityNew York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. - He is a member of the Latino MacArthur Fellows Ombudsmen group, "Los Macarturos"
- He is an active member of the London-based Live ArtLive Art (art form)Live art is a term used to describe acts of performance undertaken by an artist or a group of artists, as a work of art. It is an innovative and exploratory approach to contemporary performance practices...
Development Agency - He is a contributing editor to The Drama Review (NYU/MIT).
Education
Gómez-Peña received both his B.A. (1981) and M.A. (1983) from California Institute of the ArtsCalifornia Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
.
He studied Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and Latin American Literature
Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and indigenous languages of the Americas. It rose to particular prominence globally during the second half of the 20th century, largely due to the...
at the UNAM
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
(1974–1978, Mexico City).
Honors and awards
- Prix de la Parole at the International Theatre Festival of the Americas
- New York Bessie AwardsBessie AwardsThe New York Dance and Performance Awards, informally known as the Bessie Awards in honor of Bessie Schonberg, are awarded annually for innovative achievement in dance and related performances, particularly so-called "downtown" performances...
- MacArthur Foundation FellowshipMacArthur FoundationThe John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Based in Chicago but supporting non-profit organizations that work in 60 countries, MacArthur has awarded more than US$4 billion since its inception in 1978...
("genius award", 1991; he was the first artist of Mexican birth or ancestry to receive this award) - American Book AwardAmerican Book AwardThe American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. It seeks to recognize outstanding literary achievement by contemporary American authors, without restriction to race, sex, ethnic background, or genre...
- Cineaste Lifetime Achievement Award, at Taos Talking Pictures Film FestivalTaos Talking Pictures Film FestivalThe Taos Talking Pictures Film Festival ran from 1994 to 2003 with a peak budget of $750,000 in 2002 and attracted Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, James Coburn and Julia Roberts....
Books and video Works
Books:- Warrior for Gringostroika (book, Graywolf PressGraywolf PressGraywolf Press is an independent, non-profit publisher located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded on a dedication to the creation and promotion of thoughtful and imaginative contemporary literature essential to a vital and diverse culture, Graywolf Press publishes fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.Now...
, 1993, ISBN 1-55597-199-7) - The New World Border: Prophecies, Poems & Loqueras for the End of the world (book, City Lights, 1996) ISBN 9780872863132
- Dangerous Border Crossers (book, Routledge, 2000)
- Codex Espangliensis (book, City Lights, 2000) ISBN 9780872863675
- "Ethno-techno�� (book, Routledge, 2005)
- El Mexterminator (book, Oceano, 2005) Spanish.
- Bitacora del Cruce (book, Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2006) Spanish and Spanglish.
Videos:
- Border Clasicos (An anthology of all his video works, 1988-2008, Video Data Bank)
- Homo Fronterizus (A collection of his collaborations with filmmaker Gustavo Vazquez, 2008)
- "Border Art Clásicos" (A collaboration with Daniel Salazar, Gustavo Vazquez, and Jethro Rothe-KushelJethro Rothe-KushelJethro Rothe-Kushel , is an American producer and director for motion pictures, television, documentaries, and new media. He has directed award winning MTV music videos for The Calling, among other artists...
, 1990–2005)
Selected Performances and international events
- The International Theatre is in the Festival of the Americas. Montreal (1988)
- The Demons of Los Angeles. France, Spain, and Sweden (1989)
- The 1989 Bienal de la Habana. Cuba (1989)
- The Decade Show. New York (1990)
- Time Festival. Ghent, Belgium (1990)
- EDGE ’90. Newcastle, England (1990)
- The Los Angeles Festival. Los Angeles (1990)
- The Next Wave FestivalNext Wave Festivalis a biennial festival based in Melbourne, Australia, which promotes and showcases the work of young and emerging artists. Encouraging interdisciplinary practice, Next Wave fosters the creation and presentation of works by artists aged 16 to 30 working across a broad range of art forms, including...
. Brooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of MusicBrooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
New York (1991) - The Festival of the Worlds. Finland (1991)
- EDGE ’92. Madrid, London (1992)
- The Sydney Biennial. Australia (1992)
- The Los Angeles Festival. Los Angeles (1993)
- Whitney BiennialWhitney BiennialThe Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
. New York (1993) - Fundación Banco Patricios. Buenos Aires (1993)
- Rompeforma. Puerto Rico (1993)
- The Hamburg Theatre Festival. Germany (1993)
- LIFT. London (1993)
- Banff CentreBanff CentreThe Banff Centre, formerly known as The Banff Centre for Continuing Education, is an arts, cultural, and educational institution and conference complex located in Banff, Alberta...
. Canada (1994) - 3er Festival de Performance. Mexico City (1994)
- Ante-América. Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the US (1994)
- Helsinki Act. Finland (1995)
- LIFT. London (1995)
- X-Teresa Museum. Mexico City (1995)
- Corcoran Gallery of ArtCorcoran Gallery of ArtThe Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
. Washington, D.C. (1996) - 5Cyberconf. Madrid (1996)
- PolverigiPolverigiPolverigi is a comune in the Province of Ancona in the Italian region Marche, located about 15 km southwest of Ancona.Polverigi borders the following municipalities: Agugliano, Ancona, Jesi, Offagna, Osimo, Santa Maria Nuova....
Theatre Festival. Italy (1996) - Szene Festival. Salzburg, Austria (1996)
- Neutral Ground artist centre, Regina, SK (1997)
- ARS Electronica. Lintz, Austria (1997)
- Root/less Festival. Hull, England (1997)
- Inroads, Arts International. Miami (1998)
- Caribe 2000. San Juan, Puerto Rico. (1999)
- Le LieuLe LieuLe Lieu is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, located in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.-History:Le Lieu is first mentioned in 1155 as loco dompni Poncii heremite. In 1408 it was mentioned as le Lieu Poncet...
International Performance Festival. Quebec, Canada (1999) - Sonart (MACBA). Barcelona, Spain (1999)
- Encontro Hemisferico. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2000)
- Eventa 5. Sweden (2000)
- International Theater Festival. Havana, Cuba (2001)
- Experiències: Barcelona Art Report. La Capella. Barcelona, Spain. (2001)
- Ayuntamiento de la Gran Canaria. Canary Islands (2001)
- Performance Space. Sydney, Australia (2001)
- Espacio C. Santander, Spain (2001)
- Encuentro Hemisférico. Lima, Peru (2002)
- House of World Cultures. Berlin, Germany (2002)
- Liverpool Biennale. Liverpool, England (2002)
- Tate ModernTate ModernTate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
. London, UK (2003) - Performance Space. Sydney, Australia (2003)
- Center for Performance Research. Aberystwyth, Wales (2003)
- Muffathalle. Munich, Germany (2003)
- Zuerher Theatre Spektakle. Zurich, Switzerland (2003)
- Detox Festival. Norway (2004)
- Cervantino Festival. Mexico City (2004)
- Guggenheim MuseumSolomon R. Guggenheim MuseumThe Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
. New York (2004) - Toronto Free GalleryToronto Free GalleryToronto Free Gallery is a not-for-profit art space dedicated to providing a forum for social justice, cultural, urban and environmental issues expressed through all media...
. Toronto, Canada (2005) - ARCO. Madrid, Spain (2005)
- Encontro Hemisferico. Belo Horizonte, Brazil (2005)
- LACMA. Los Angeles (2005)
- Bienal del Mercosur. Porto Alegre, Brazil (2005)
- Galeria Artificios. Canary Islands (2005)
- de Young Museum, San Francisco (2006)
- Museo de la Ciudad, Mexico City (2006)
- Performance Studies Internacional, London (2006)
- University of CaliforniaUniversity of California, IrvineThe University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, Humanities Research Institute, Irvine, California (2006) - Center for Performance Research, Aberystwyth, Wales (2006)
- ArnolfiniArnolfiniThe Arnolfini is an arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, live art, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a specialist art bookshop and a café bar. Educational activities are undertaken...
, Bristol (2007) - CCA, New Orleans (2007)
- Cal ArtsCalifornia Institute of the ArtsThe California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, Los Angeles (2007) - Universidad de los AndesUniversity of the Andes, ColombiaThe University of the Andes , is a coeducational, nonsectarian private university located in city centre Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 1948, the University has 9 faculties: Administration, Architecture and Design, Arts and Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, Law, Economics, Engineering and...
, Bogotá (2007) - Centro Cultural La Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2007)
- Border Exercises, Harstad, Norway (2007)
- Festival Escrita na Paisagem, Évora, Portugal (2007)
- Prognosis Festival, Berlin (2008)
- National Review of Live ArtNational Review of Live ArtThe National Review of Live Art, also known by the abbreviation NRLA, is an annual festival of live art which usually takes place in February, in Glasgow, UK.- History :...
, Glasgow (2008) - DIA Museum, Detroit (2008)
- Museum of Contemporary Canadian ArtMuseum of Contemporary Canadian ArtThe Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was founded from the former Art Gallery of North York in 1999, and exists as a not-for-profit, arms-length agency of the City of Toronto...
(2008) - The University of ChicagoUniversity of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, Chicago (2009)
Lectures
- Techno-Dioramas: Ethno-Cyborgs and Artificial Savages Massachusetts Institute of Technology, William L. Abramowitz Lecture Series (1 November 1999)
External links
- Official site of Gómez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra (requires Macromedia Flash)
- Guillermo Gómez-Peña in the Video Data Bank
- Guiliermo Gomez-Pena - fan page