Participating Artists: Josh Rios (No Movies), Alberto Aguilar (Instant Mural), Ariella Granados (First Supper), Nancy Sanchez (Walking Mural), Maria Gaspar (Decoy Gang War Victim), Diego Torres-Casso (Stations of the Cross), Gloe Talamantes (Spray Paint, LACMA). Curated by Alberto Aguilar

Asco: A Call to Response is an exhibition investigating the idea of response as a theme and material. The exhibition brings together a selection of works by 5 Chicago-based artists to respond to the groundbreaking East Los Angeles Chicano performance art collective Asco, active from 1972 to 1987. Asco’s work directly responded to the socioeconomic and political problems surrounding the Chicano community in the United States. Among their notable ‘urban interventions,’ Asco boldly sprayed their names on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, making a powerful statement about the lack of representation in mainstream art institutions. This act of defiance and protest art is a testament to their commitment to challenging the status quo and seeking equal representation.

This exhibition comes at an especially timely moment of reckoning and social justice; moreover, in an increasingly fragile yet profound time of historical reflection now more than ever, we must consider contemporary impacts on artistic aesthetic territories, memory, silence, voice, mourning, innovation, ways of communication, meditation, and celebration.

Alberto Aguilar, the curator, in consultation with Isabella Aguilar, selected iconic artworks for the participating artists to respond to, react to, and explore the complex relationships of Asco through their artistic practices. These include No Movies, Spray Paint (LACMA), First Supper (After a Major Riot), Walking Mural, Instant Mural, Decoy Gang War Victim, and Stations of the Cross.

bench press will produce a catalog project with an essay by Isabella Aguilar and release it on September 29. bench press is a collaborative risograph press based in Chicago, IL, founded by Madeleine Aguilar.

About the Artist Harry Gamboa Jr. Harry Gamboa, Jr., is an American Chicano photographer, filmmaker, essayist, and founding member of the influential Chicano performance art collective Asco. Gamboa’s early organizing work took the shape of student-initiated reforms, most significantly the 1968 “East L.A.

Blowouts” —a series of protests against the inferior conditions of public schools in poor, non-white areas.

More substantially, his work builds upon multimedia spectacles and urban-political images, juxtaposing the contemporary urban Chicano experience with the dominant white experience, “pointing to the pain and alienation caused by both.” Gamboa’s most significant works include mail art of the 1970s, ASCO’s “No movies,” the “urban opera” Ignore the Dents, and Jetter’s Jinx. His work has been exhibited by museums nationally and internationally. He has taught, lectured, and delivered artist talks and panel discussions at various universities and art institutions, including UCLA, the University of California, San Diego, Otis College of Art and Design, Parsons School of Design, California State University, Northridge, and the California Institute of the Arts.

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About Asco

Asco, a unique and influential Chicano performance art collective, was not just established in East Los Angeles and was active from 1972 to 1987. Their work directly responded to the socioeconomic and political problems surrounding the Chicano community in the United States. Among their notable ‘urban interventions,’ Asco boldly sprayed their names on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, making a powerful statement about the lack of representation in mainstream art institutions. This act of defiance and protest art is a testament to their commitment to challenging the status quo and seeking equal representation. New York Times, 2011

About Chicago Humanities

Chicago Humanities connects people to the ideas that shape and define us and promotes the lifelong exploration of what it means to be human. The organization fosters curiosity, celebrates creativity, explores the boundaries of contemporary knowledge and culture, and challenges us to see ourselves and the world.

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Tags: Alberto Aguilar, ariella granados, Asco: A Study Call to Response - Acts of Protest from L.A. to Chicago, Chicago, Chicago Humanities, Diego Torres-Casso, Gloe Talamantes, Harry Gamboa Jr., Isabella Aguilar, JOSH RIOS, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Lower West Side, Madeleine Aguilar, Maria Gaspar, Nancy Sánchez, Pilsen Arts & Community House