11.28.2009

PRINTED II: OPENS DEC.5TH!!



Crewest is pleased to announce “Printed II” an exhibition curated by Two Rabbits Studios and featuring the best selection of hand printed art posters by some of today’s most innovative street artists, activists, and designers.

Opening Reception: Saturday, December 5th, 2009 from 6pm to 9pm featuring live printing by Two Rabbits. Show runs thru December 31st, 2009.

As hand-printed art posters re-emerge in suburban and urban areas all over the world communicating political and social messages to everyday people, Crewest takes a moment to platform this growing genre and open its doors for the public to enjoy. Prints, prints and more prints are what you will see in December at Crewest!

Exhibiting Artists:
Adam Hathorn, Ashira Siegel, Billy Bishop, Bill Green, Branded, Hit + Run, Cat Cult, Clint Wilson, Contra One, Dash 2000 Fidel, Delicious Design League, Deadmundo, Dethkills, DKNG, Enik, Euth One, Firehouse, Geraldine Lozano, Hero Design Studio, James Bentely, Ken Garduno, Lucky Bunny, Mas, Max Nuetra, Mad One, Man One, Michael Alvarez, Michael Hsiung, Miles Grobman, Neko Sluts Crew, Ron Donovan from Firehouse & The Nor-Cal Posse, Septerhed, Shark Toof, SPRFKR, The Bungaloo, Tom Haubrick, WERC, Will Manville, Vyal, Yo What Happened To Peace and more…

Purchase prints at: www.Crewest.com
Contact us at:213-627-8272 or info@crewest.com

11.12.2009

TOTD VI: ALTAR INSTALLATION BY OSCAR MAGALLANES

Oscar Magallanes and his altar installation 2

The cross created by the ancient Mesoamerican glyphs for fire and water is actually an axis mundi representing the four cardinal points. In Mesoamerica there was also an understanding of the importance of including a center point represented here by the symbol of Ometeotl. All of the indigenous cultures of what is now the Americas would situate there cities to these points. The axis mundi was used to represent life weather external or internal, physical and spiritual thus becoming a representation of the Universe. To the Mexica there were nine levels in the underworld the furthest being Mictlan. It is in Mictlan that Quetzalcoatl descended to recover the bones of ancestors and reestablish human kind in the fifth sun. The lower portion of the axis mundi represents its reach into these levels with the skull at the bottom to represent our ancestors. 


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The poem surrounding the three tiered alter is by Nezahualcoyotl.

I am intoxicated,
I weep, I grieve
I think, I speak
Within myself I discover this
Indeed I shall never die
I shall never disappear
There is no death
There where death is overcome
Let me go there
Indeed I shall never disappear.

The seven candles represent my immediate family. 

To tie the piece into current issues I wrapped the two symbols of Quetzalcoatl forming a sort of caduceus often used to represent medicine and physicians. I wanted to create a symbol that represented indigenous philosophies and was almost a mirror of western iconic symbols that was in every sense a mirror image. That is to say the opposite of what it's counter parts are. In this era of "healthcare reform" I think it is important to present alternatives to corporate healthcare and rediscover what has been taken from us, the fact that we can heal ourselves and have done so since the beginning of time. At the point of the first encounter with Europeans the vast cultures of Mesoamerica had already documented over three thousand plants for medicinal uses.

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The photo is of my grandfather who is on the left. We were told he passed away from cancer but after an independent autopsy was performed it turned out that he had passed away from complications of a bad blood transfusion. The four vases holding calla lilies represent my grandparents. My maternal grandparents who lived in the United States passed away at a relatively early age while my paternal grandparents in Mexico both passed away in there 90's.

Oscar Magallanes

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*Oscar's beautiful installation can be viewed at Crewest throughout the month during our Top of the Dome VI exhibition.

**Also available from Oscar is a limited edition 8 color serigraph print:
"and the Boss Laughs" - on archival paper, created at Self Help Graphics, 2009.

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Exhibition ends Nov.29th, 2009


110 Winston St.
Los Angeles, Ca
90013
213-627-8272
www.Crewest.com
info@crewest.com