Sounds of Cultura SOC: Crossfade LAB

CALA (Celebración Artística de las Américas) Alliance is presenting the next installment of Crossfade LAB, a series highlighting internationally known Latino/a and Latin American artists from Arizona, the United States, and the Americas. ASU Art Museum Curator of CALA Initiatives Casandra Hernandez discusses the series.

Transcript:

JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: CALA ALLIANCE "CELEBRACION ARTISTICA DE LAS AMERICAS" PRESENTS ITS NEXT INSTALLMENT OF CROSSFADE LAB, A SERIES HIGHLIGHTING INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN ARTISTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAS. LET'S LISTEN TO WHAT JOSH KUN CO CREATOR AND HOST OF CROSSFADE LAB HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE ORIGIN BEHIND "CROSS FADE" JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT
JOSH KUN: IT IS BASED ON THE DJ MIXER WHICH IS ALL ABOUT BEING ABLE TO JUGGLE AND MIX BETWEEN TWO SINGULAR AND DIFFERENTIAL INPUTS. THIS ALLOWS YOU TO LIVE IN THE MIX AND FIND POINTS OF CONNECTIONS IN ORDER TO CREATE NEW MIXES AND CONVERSATIONS OUT OF TWO SEPARATE INPUTS.
JOSH KUN: TWO VERTICAL INPUTS.
JOSH KUN: AND JULIO DECIDED IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO TAKE THAT APPROACH WITH THE CROSS FADER AND TURN IT INTO A SERIES OF CONVERSATIONS.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: JOINING ME TO TALK ABOUT THIS IS CASANDRA HERNANDEZ FAHAM, CURATOR OF CALA INTIATIVES FOR THE A-S- U ART MUSEUM. WELCOME BACK. YOU HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. IN THE INTEREST OF FULL DISCLOSURE I SHOULD NOTE I AM A DIRECTOR FOR THIS. THE VIDEO WE SAW THERE PARTS WERE FROM THE FIRST LAB JOSH HOSTED. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HIS BACKGROUND.
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: JOSH IS A CULTURAL HISTORIAN, AN ACADEMIC AND A PROLIFIC WRITER WORKING FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND ALSO WRITES SIGNIFICANTLY ABOUT POPLAR CULTURES, THE CULTURE OF GLOBALIZATION, ABOUT THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER AND SOMEONE WHO IS INTERESTED IN EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOLARSHIP, KNOWLEDGE AND PUBLIC LIFE. HE WORKS TO CREATE SPACES WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME TOGETHER IN CONVERSATION AND IN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION ABOUT THE ISSUES OVER TIME AND AROUND THE CONNECTIONS THAT WE HAVE TO ONE ANOTHER.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: AND SOME OF THAT FOCUS AND INTEREST IS ATTRIBUTED TO HIM BEING AN ACADEMIC.
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: HE IS A PROFESSOR, HE IS A GRADUATE OF ETHNIC STUDIES. HE IS SOMEONE WHO VERY MUCH THINKS ABOUT -- YOU KNOW, THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DO WE BELONG TO ONE ANOTHER? HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND DIFFERENCE IN A SOCIETY? HOW DO WE THINK ABOUT HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN TERMS OF ETHICAL RELATIONSHIPS IN THE UNITED STATES? HE FINDS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE ART AND ARTIST AND THE PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE QUESTIONS AND CREATE SPACES FOR ALL OF US TO THINK ABOUT THOSE TOGETHER.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: J NOTED A MOMENT AGO, THE FIRST ONE, CROSS STATE LAB, WAS SHOWN IN THE VIDEO. THAT ONE WAS AT ASU. TELL US ABOUT THAT AND THEN WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE RECENT ONE.

CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: AS YOU MENTIONED, IT IS A SERIES THAT PRESENTS CONVERSATIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN LATINO AND LATIN-AMERICAN ARTISTS. IT IS AN EX EXPERIMENTAL SPACE WHERE THERE IS PERFORMANCE, MUSIC AND DIALOGUE THAT IS CONNECTED TO THE MOST URGENT ISSUES OF OUR TIME AND DONE IN A WAY THAT CONNECTS ARIZONA TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. SO WE LAUNCHED THIS IN APRIL AT ASU. THERE IS A BEAUTIFUL SPACE CALLED THE SECRET GARDEN AND WE HAD AN ARTIST WHO IS A PERFORMER AND COMPOSURE FROM OAKLAND AND HE RECENTLY DID THIS PROJECT WHERE HE WENT ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER AND COLLECTED OBJECTS LEFT MY MIGRANTS AND MADE INSTRUMENTS AND MADE COMPOSITIONS FROM THOSE INSTRUMENTS THAT CAPTURED THE LANDSCAPE AND THE TRAGIC STORIES OF PEOPLE MIGRATING IN PRECARIOUS SITUATIONS. THEY ARE QUITE BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENTALLY AND VERY SURREAL COMPOSITIONS. HE WAS IN DIALOGUE WITH AN ARTIST FROM MEXICO CITY AS WELL WHO IS ONE OF THE MOST RENOWNED AND FASCINATING CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS DOING WORK INTERNATIONALLY. SHE LIKES TO THINK A LOT ABOUT THE CONNECTION BETWEEN TRADITIONAL MEXICAN ART FORMS AND THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES. SO SHE COMBINES SORT OF THE, YOU KNOW, THE VERY ANCIENT WITH THE VERY, VERY MODERN AND IS VERY INTERESTED IN IDEAS AROUND LANGUAGE AND TECHNOLOGY AND HOW WE USE OUR BODIES TO INTERACT WITH THOSE. SO IT WAS A VERY, VERY INTERESTING CONVERSATION AGAIN. EVERY LAB IS VERY DIFFERENT.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: AND THE SECOND ONE WAS FASCINATING. I WAS THERE. DIFFERENT VENUE. CENTRAL PHOENIX. WE HAVE A CLIP THAT WE ARE GOING TO SHOW OF THAT PERFORMANCE. IN MANY WAYS WHAT IS DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE BEFORE IT:
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: FOR THE SECOND ONE, WE PARTNERED WITH CRESCENT BALLROOM WHICH IS A PHENOMENAL VENUE DOWNTOWN. WE HAD SOMEONE WHO STARTED HER CAREER AS AN ALTERNATIVE MUSICIANS.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: WE WILL LISTEN RIGHT NOW TO WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. WE WILL PUT THE VIDEO UP:
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: AND I THINK BEFORE I CUT YOU OUT, SHE IS NOW FOCUSING MORE ON HER POETRY AND READING.
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: SHE TOOK THE LATIN AMERICAN MUSIC SCENE BY STORM WITH HER VERY HIGH ENERGY BAND WITH VERY INTERESTING POLITICAL LYRICS AND AT THE HEIGHT OF THAT CAREER SHE WALKED AWAY AND DECIDED TO FOCUS ON HER WRITING FULL-TIME. SHE HAD BEEN A WRITER SINCE SHE WAS A CHILD AND NOW SHE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT VOICES OF CARIBBEAN LITERATURE. FOR CROSS STATE LABS, SHE DID READINGS OF HER WORK AND IN THE SPIRIT OF THE VERY EXPERIMENTAL THEY IMPROVISED OVER HER READING. IT IS VERY MUCH ABOUT PUTTING TWO ARTISTS WHO HAVE NEVER MET EACH OTHER IN DIALOGUE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND FINDING THOSE POINTS OF CONNECTION, USING THE METAPHOR OF THE CROSS STATE TO FIND THOSE FIBERS THAT CONNECT THEM AND CREATING SOMETHING THAT IS UNEXPECTED AND BEAUTIFUL IN REAL TIME.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: LET'S TALK ABOUT THE ONE THAT IS COMING UP BEFORE WE GET INTO DETAILS LET'S TAKE A LISTEN TO IT. WE HAVE A LITTLE VIDEO CLIP WE WILL LISTEN TO.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: THAT WAS JULIA WHO IS A POPLAR PERFORMER AND SHE IS AT THE NEXT LAB ON MONDAY WITH RAPHAEL.
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: I REMEMBER THE MOMENT WHEN HER FIRST ALBUM CAME OUT. IT WAS IN THE '90s AND AT THAT POINT IT WAS ALTERNATIVE MUSIC AND INSPIRED BY ROCK BUT ALSO WHAT A FEMALE MUSICIANS PLACE WAS IN WRITING AND IN PRODUCING AND CREATING MUSIC. SHE IS ONE OF THE MOST INVENTIVE, INNOVATIVE ARTISTS AND HAD A CAREER FOR OVER TWO DECADES. HER SOUND KEEPS CHANGING EVERY TIME. HER IDENTITY AS AN ARTIST. FOR PEOPLE WHO GREW UP IN LATIN AMERICAN WHO LIVE IN ARIZONA THIS IS REALLY EXCITING. AND SHE IS GOING TO BE IN CONVERSATION WITH AN ARTIST FROM LOS ANGELES WHO IS A YOUNG ARTIST WHO IS RECEIVING A LOT OF FAME INTERNATIONALLY AND WAS SELECTED FOR THE WHITNEY BIANNUAL. HIS FAMILY IS FROM MEXICO AND HIS FATHER USED TO MAKE ADOBE BRICKS FOR A LIVING. SHE IS INTERESTED IN THIS IDEA IN USING THE BODY TO LABOR, TO CREATE MEANING, TO PRESENCE, TO PARTICULARLY POLITICS.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: KIND OF A POLITICAL PERFORMANCE ART?
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: YES, POLITICAL PERFORMANCE ART. HE DOES THESE PERFORMANCES THAT LAST FOR A VERY LONG TIME AND ARE VERY PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTIVE. HE RECENTLY DID ONE IN LOS ANGELES THAT I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHERE HE WAS PERFORMING ON TOP OF A HILL FROM SUN RISE TO SUNSET AND MEDITATING ON POLICE BRUTALITY AND VIOLENCE ACROSS THE NATION.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: THE PERFORMANCE IS SOLD OUT MONDAY NIGHT BUT HE WILL BE LECTURING THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY?
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: RIGHT. IT IS SOLD OUT. PEOPLE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THESE PHENOMENAL ARTISTS BUT HE IS COMING HERE FOR A WEEK AND DOING A RESIDENCY IN PHOENIX. WE HAVE AN ENGAGEMENT WITH HIM THAT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST AT ASU GRANT STUDIOS IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX. HE IS GOING TO SHARE MORE IN-DEPTH ABOUT HIS PROCESS AND WORK.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: PEOPLE CAN GET MORE SPECIFICS AT THE WEBSITE. JUST ONE LAST COMMENT. ONLY HAVE A FEW SECONDS. THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE AUDIENCE IS MORE MILLENNIAL? AM I RIGHT?
CASANDRA HERNANDEZ: WE THINK SO. BUT YOU KNOW THE LAST ONE WAS VERY INTERGENERATIONAL AS WELL.
JOSÉ CÁRDENAS: WE WILL HAVE TO END ON THAT NOTE. IT IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. THANK YOU FOR COMING HON "HORIZONTE". THAT'S OUR SHOW FOR THIS EVENING. THANK YOU FOR WATCHING. FROM ALL OF US HERE AT HORIZONTE AND YOUR ARIZONA P-B- S STATION. I'M JOSE CARDENAS, HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. CLOSED CAPTION PRODUCTIONS WWW.CCPRODUCTIONS.COM 844-335-0911
VIDEO: "HORIZONTE" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE FRIENDS OF AZ PBS, MEMBERS OF YOUR PBS STATION. THANK YOU.