Friday, October 2, 2009 - Sunday, November 1, 2009
Maria Gaspar's performance, Oblation for a Parade, is inspired by how
the artist feels her Mexican heritage has become commodified. She, along with several performers, leads a procession
throughout the museum during the October First Fridays, collecting people to
join them along the way. During the collaborative march, the artist parades a
brown, sculptural shell, reminiscent of a burial mound. This shell, which the
artist feels represents the draining of authentic culture from society,
particularly from persons who are brown, remains in the gallery for the month.
Other remnants of the parade, including flowers and confetti, are left in the
gallery and naturally decompose to brown, exposing and challenging the ability
of symbols to signify a culture.
Claudine, My Mental State, 2006
