Angelica Muro
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Angelica Muro (1977) is an multimedia visual artist, curator, and art educator.
Biography
[edit]Muro was born and raised in the Central Valley agricultural community of Hopeton, California.[1][2] She holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Mills College and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Photography from San Jose State University. Currently, Muro is the Chair of the Department of Visual and Public Art and Assistant Professor of Integrated Media and Photography in the Department of Visual and Public Art at California State University, Monterey Bay.
Art
[edit]Muro situates her artwork within a complex dialogue about contemporary political, social, and cultural issues. Muro herself focus on the complexities of the ecosystem–the spectrum of productivity, exploitation, and the distribution of wealth–and relates to issues of gender, race, and class.[3] Through her art, Muro attempts to engage in address contemporary social and cultural issues brought about by consumerism, and often contrasts images of wealth with those of hardship.[4][5] Her most well known work includes Club Lido: Wild Eyes,[6] Occasional Dreams,[6] and Packing Heat.[1] She has made significant contributions to collaborative projects, including Public Space, Space 47 Projects, Chafismo: New Artforms of Art Post-Raquachismo, and Artists for Democracy 2024.[6][7]
Packing Heat is a multimedia installation inspired by female representations in Mexican Cinema, consisting of photographs, drawing, and sculptural elements that reference the female action heroine as femme fatale - openly playing into the "new math" of post-feminism, equating attractiveness with self-empowerment.[8] These images evoke cinematic expressions and allegories that imply a culture of fear while paradoxically indulging romantic notions of gender empowerment, violence, and equalization.[8]
A Guide for Agricultural Workers Series Using drawings and photographs, Muro examines agribusiness exploitation of farmworkers through unsafe pesticide handling policies and practices.[8] As a tool of discourse, this work utilizes a pamphlet provided by the Environmental Protection Agency to farm workers to advise them on pesticides. Written in Spanish, the pamphlet uses cartoon characters that appeal to common stereotypes and overly simplistic language to patronize farmworkers who ironically have a deep understanding of the negative effects of pesticide debris on their communities. Her reproductions of these drawings place the illustrations in a different context, inviting the viewer to contemplate the pamphlet designer's demeaning and unbridled choice of images and text.[8] Agricultural Workers in Gucci is an archival pigment print featuring a three-piece drawing that depicts field workers eating lunch. One female worker is depicted wearing Gucci heels and carrying a matching purse, contrasting with the black-and-white portrayal of the workers. The background features colorful, intricately detailed flowers. The juxtaposition of high fashion with agricultural labor has been interpreted as a commentary on socioeconomic status and the conditions faced by field workers.[9]
Untitled (Club Lido), in collaboration with Juan Luna-Avin, depicts the downtown San Jose subcultures at Lido Night Club. While San Jose has large Vietnamese and Mexican populations, these two groups rarely interact.[8] At Lido Night Club, however, Vietnamese performers entertain weekend crowds, while club-goers dance to Mexican banda music. The split-level structure of the nightclub contains a Mexican cantina downstairs and a Vietnamese ballroom danceing club upstairs, and is a rare example of a location in San Jose where the two minority cultures directly interact.[10] The club has also become the epicenter of a growing Latin transgender community in San Jose. In their drawings and installation, Muro & Luna-Avin explore and celebrate the unexpected subcultures present in San Jose.[8]
Career
[edit]- Served as Gallery Coordinator for WORKS San José for five years
- Educational Programmer for Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA, San José, California) for three years
- Principal and co-founder of Public Space/Chinatown and the director of the Visual and Public Art Gallery @CSUMB.[11][12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b angelicamuroinfo. "Angelica Muro (VPA website)". angelicamuroinfo.tumblr.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Angelica Muro – Whirligig". 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ Bay, California State University Monterey. "Angelica Muro talks equity, ethnicity, career and culture". csumb.edu. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ Danh, B.; Muro, A. (2005). "Intersections : reflections of home and migration : artwork by Hector Dio Mendoza : exhibition, November 11-December 31, 2005". MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ "MFA 2005". Mills College. Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ a b c "Angelica Muro". Whirligig. 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ Smith, David (10 April 2024). "'It's Our Job to Change It for the Better': Can Artists Influence the US Election?". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d e f "PROJECTS - Angelica Muro". www.angelicamuro.net. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Transitory Art". Xpress Magazine. Spring 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ Tani, Ellen Y. (June 2012). "From San Jose: 'Chico & Chang' at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art". Art Practical. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "angelicamuro.com - CV". www.angelicamuro.info. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ "Angelica Muro". Monterey County Weekly. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.