ARTIST STATEMENT
CONTACT | LINKS
- “Bittersweet”
- Descripción
- “Por siempre joven”
- Descripción
- “Hoy he roto tus cartas”
- Descripción
- “Drawing of Man/Drawing of Woman”
- Descripción
- “Historias íntimas”
- Descripción
- “Recuerdo de nuestra boda”
- Descripción
- “120 Minutos de silencio”
- Descripción
- “Días especiales”
- Descripción
- “Preoccupation (Gray Hair)”
- Descripción
- “Dibujo de hombre/Dibujo de mujer”
- Descripción
- “Untitled (Rinse)”
- Descripción
- “In Memoriam”
- Descripción
- Serie “A flor de piel”
- Descripción
- Serie “Flores silvestres”
- “Wildflowers” Series
- “Abuela, madre, hija”
- “Grandmother, Mother, Daughter”
- “Retorno a la pubertad”
- “Return to Puberty”
- “Para verte mejor”
- “The Better to See You With”
- “Ái Spik Ínglish”
- Descripción
- “Para que nos recuerdes mejor”
- “To Remember Us Better”
- “Valentía y coraje”
- “Courage and Bravery”
- “Para besarte mejor”
- “The Better to Kiss You With”
- “Para acariciarte mejor”
- “The Better to Caress You With”
- “Bésame mucho”
- “Kiss Me Plenty”
- “Reddest Red”
- “Escudos”
- “Shields”
- Serie “Instalación en museos de arte”
- “Installation at Art Museums” Series
- “Encierro rosa”
- “Romance Imprisonment”
- “Título de propiedad”
- “Ownership Title”
- “La sombra”
- “The Shadow”
Production stills: Roni Mocán
Para acariciarte mejor
The Better to Caress You With
New York, 2003
Video:
Single-channel digital video
1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds
Color, Silent
Photos:
Digital C-Prints
16” x 20” each
Video close-up of my hands in a static single shot, in which I apply red nail polish continuously until the bottle it’s finished.
In the name of beauty most women will put on makeup, do their hair, nails, depilate, diet, fix their noses and breasts. Although few women will reach society’s beauty ideals, they will sculpt their bodies as needed. In this video I play along with women’s beauty rituals, performing them in exaggerated ways to reflect the pressures imposed by today’s society. The camera focuses on the part of the body where the action takes place: With repetitive gestures I apply nail polish continuously for two hours, questioning our attraction to makeup and its power of seduction.
Its title was inspired by the Red Riding Hood tale.
RELATED ARTWORKS:
“Para
besarte mejor” (“The Better to Kiss You With”)
“Para
verte mejor” (“The Better to See You With”)
“Retorno
a la pubertad” (“Return to Puberty”)
RELATED PRESS:
Goldman, Paula. Imagining Ourselves: Global Voices from a New Generation of Woman. San Francisco: New World Library.
West, Cassandra. “A generation arrives.” Chicago Tribune/Woman News, 2006
Photos Courtesy of Rollo Contemporary Art
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“The Body in Women’s Art Now: Part 1: Embodied,”
New Hall Art Collection, Cambridge, UK
January 31—February 28, 2010
Curated by Philippa Found
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
Photos Courtesy of Rollo Contemporary Art
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“The Body in Women’s Art Now: Part 1: Embodied,”
ROLLO Contemporary Art, London, UK
October 14—November 20, 2009. Extended until January 20, 2010
Curated by Philippa Found
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Retorno a la pubertad”
“Return to Puberty”
Single-channel video, 58 minutes, no audio
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“¡Aquí! (Here),” An Uptown Latino Art Exhibition, NoMAA Gallery, Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, New York, NY
September 25—December 30, 2009
All three videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Photo Courtesy of Emiliano Valdés—CCE/G
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“Pintura: El proyecto incompleto,” espacio ce!, Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española, La Antigua, Guatemala
April 30—June 6, 2009
Curated by Rosina Cazali and Emiliano Valdés
All three videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Photo Courtesy of Abelino Bautista—Arte Américas
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“Espada de Dos Filos, Latina Voices: California – New York,”
Arte Americas, Fresno, California
December 16, 2008—February 14, 2009
All four videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Retorno a la pubertad”
“Return to Puberty”
Single-channel video, 58 minutes, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“IV Encuentro Mundial de Arte Corporal,”
Caracas, Venezuela
September 5—14, 2008
Complejo Cultural Teatro Teresa Carreño
Coordinated by Ana María Zoghbi
All three videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“Resonance
New York,”
Monkdogz Urban Art Gallery,
New York
January 17—February 23, 2008
Curated by Diana Schmertz
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Digital C-Prints, 16” x 20” each
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With””
Digital C-Prints, 16” x 20” each
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“The
Feminine Mystique: Contemporary Artists Respond,”
Jersey City Museum, New Jersey
September 20, 2007—February 24, 2008
Curated by Rocío Aranda-Alvarado
All three videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Photo Courtesy of El Museo del Barrio
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“El Museo’s 5th Bienal: The Selected Files 007,”
El Museo del Barrio, New York
July 25, 2007—January 6, 2008
Co-curated by Elvis Fuentes and Carmen E. Ramos
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Photos Courtesy of Aron Conaway
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“T’What?,” Gallery NuLu, Louisville Photo Biennial 2007, Louisville, Kentucky
June 29-July 30, 2007
Co-curated by Aron Conaway
All four videos were shown in the same monitor:
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Retorno a la pubertad”
“Return to Puberty”
Single-channel video, 58 minutes, no audio
“Para verte mejor”
“The Better to See You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 37 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
Photo Courtesy of III Tirana Biennial
Photo by Regina José Galindo
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“Sweet Taboos”, Episode 4: Bittersweet, III Tirana Biennial, Albania
October 14-November 10, 2005
Villa Goldi complex
Curated by Joa Ljungberg
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio
“Retorno a la pubertad”
“Return to Puberty”
Single-channel video, 58 minutes, no audio
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
Contemporary Latin American Art Group Show, Shimna, New York
August 18–September 3, 2005
Curated by Risa Needleman Gallery
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Digital C-Prints, 16” x 20” each
“Ái Spik Ínglish”
Rubber stamp prints on paper, 7 in total
20 x 15 cm | 8” x 6” each
“Bésame mucho”
“Kiss Me Plenty”
White men’s handkerchief and red lipstick
37 x 37 cm | 14.5” x 14.5” each
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With””
Digital C-Prints, 16” x 20” each
Photo by Antonio Lagunas
EXHIBITION DETAILS:
“La región más transparente. Una exploración
de los espacios íntimos,” Centro Cultural de España, Guatemala
August 13–29, 2003
Curated by Rosina Cazali
“Para acariciarte mejor”
“The Better to Caress You With”
Single-channel video, 1 hour 49 minutes 36 seconds, no audio
“Bésame mucho”
“Kiss Me Plenty”
White men’s handkerchief and red lipstick
37 x 37 cm | 14.5” x 14.5”
“Para besarte mejor”
“The Better to Kiss You With”
Single-channel video, 57 minutes 48 seconds, no audio