Montoya's image-making quest is about the discovery and articulation of Chicano culture, as well as the icons which elucidate the dense history of New Mexico. Her work is an autobiographical exploration that has far-reaching implications for both her community and the preservation of its unique history.
In Plain Sight is a coalition of 80 artists, led by Cassils and esparza, united to create an artwork dedicated to the abolition of immigrant detention and the United States culture of incarceration. On July 4, 2020, skytyping fleets spelled out artist-generated messages in white vapor over detention centers across the U.S. This action made visible what is otherwise purposefully obscured: the immoral and appalling treatment of imprisoned immigrants, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. For this Traction: Art Talk, Cassils and rafa discussed In Plain Sight, from its conception to implementation, and consider the role of art, collaboration, and community in ending the government’s unjust treatment of immigrants while providing material support for those most affected.
Engaging works by artists including Deana Lawson, Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, Dawoud Bey, Okwui Okpokwasili, Simone Leigh, and Luke Willis Thompson, Campt argues that these artist's practices require "viewers to do more than simply look... solicit visceral responses to the visualization of Black precarity." The book has been hailed by Art in America as “a methodological offering a theory of what Blackness brings to making and viewing art, and to perception in general.”
The wide-ranging presentations will explore subjects including the science of Buddhist painting, the formation and evolution of planetary systems and the search for life, and the interconnections between philosophy and social justice.
Leonardo Art & Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) is an international program bringing together artists, scientists, and scholars for presentations and conversations. This event is sponsored by the Institute of the Arts and Sciences in collaboration with the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning and The Humanities Institute.
