MARIO YBARRA, JR. TAKE ME OUT ... NO MAN IS AN ISLAND

Detail from Take Me Out...No Man Is an Island, 2OO8

MARIO YBARRA, JR., HAS AN anthropolo- draws unexpected parallels between Chicago gist's knack for detecting and synthesizing and the artists hometown of Los Angeles. disparate cultural data. Combined with his The decidedly nonlinear narrative begins with natural curiosity and infectious sense of humor, Chicago businessman William Wrigley, Jr.'s this facility enables him to produce alternately exploits in both cities, imaginatively finding revealing and confounding accounts of history. its way from chewing gum and baseball to He is a visual and performance artist, educa- Catalina Island, the Knights of Avalon, the tor, and activist who deftly interweaves his Brown Berets, and a sunken sea vessel. own experience, street and popular cultures, and fine art into his urban interventions and Ybarra's artistic endeavors are inextricably museum projects. Created especially for this related to his origins as a second generation focus exhibition, the vast, multimedia instal- Mexican American who grew up and still lation Take Me Out...No Man Is an Island lives in the working-class South Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington. Most of his workshop space he opened in 2006 with his projects refer to friends and experiences from wife, writer and performer Karla B. Diaz. his youth, in which drug and gang activity figured prominently. Ybarra believes that he Ybarra's methodology has been linked to narrowly escaped this context largely because two of his mentors at the University of of his interest in art, along with the protective California—Irvine: Daniel J. Martinez, his good graces of slightly older peers, many of former professor, and Ruben Ortiz-Torres, whom did not fare as well. The artist considers for whom Ybarra worked as a studio assistant himself duty-bound to pass on the shared while an MFA student.1 Both artists are well stories of his friends who did not live past known for work that brazenly rejects tradi- their teenage years or are now in prison. tional Chicano art's grounding in nationalistic The Scarface Museum (2008), for example, Mexican themes and instead, through the is Ybarra's homage to Angel Montes, Jr. use of humor and references to American Drawing from Montes's immense collection popular culture, affirms the hybrid nature of of Scarface memorabilia, entrusted to the art- contemporary Mexican-American identity. ist upon Montes's incarceration, Ybarra used Their impact is evident in Ybarra's projects the language of museum display—Plexiglas- such as Brown and Proud (2006), a mural that covered cases, object checklists, and didactic unites Emiliano Zapata, a leading figure in label text—to expose his friend's obsession the Mexican Revolution, with Chewbacca, with the 1983 cult classic film. By extension, the popular character from George Lucas's the installation touches upon the wider phe- Star Wars films.2 Other artists of significant nomenon of young Latino males' common importance to Ybarra, although they have identification with the film's lead character not been cited in relation to him, include as a representation of the American Dream. Richard Hawkins, Martin Kersels, and Paul Ybarra has also given back to the communi- McCarthy.3 Ybarra was an impressionable 18 ties that were instrumental to his development years old when he saw the groundbreaking as an artist in projects such as Slanguage, 1992 exhibition Helter Skelter: L.A. Art in the an art center for young adults he ran with a 1990s at the Los Angeles Museum of Contem- colleague from 2002 to 2005, and the New porary Art. Chock full of elaborate, extreme Chinatown Barbershop, an alternative gallery/ installations by southern Californian artists,

Details from Brown and Proud, 2OO6 Peppermint, 2OO8 including McCarthy, the show compelled nection to kerSels's signature use of his own Ybarra to move beyond the confines of pen imposing body in his work. Hawkins and and paper or spray can and wall and imagine Ybarra's shared enthusiasm for pop culture is forms of art whose ambitious scale and mate- also visible in each of their practices.4 rial diversity could suggest the expansiveness of the ideas that produced them. Kersels and These and countless other stimuli amalgamate Hawkins were both mentors to Ybarra during to inform Ybarra's art, which is fundamentally his undergraduate studies at Otis College an exercise in deconstructing and recasting of Art and Design. Projects such as Go Tell history. If history is understood as a self- It... #1 (2001), a series of photographs in censoring enterprise—with those ideas con- which Ybarra is depicted alone on a rooftop sidered most important consistently repeated or a seaside cliff shouting words of protest and less significant details cast aside—Ybarra into a bullhorn, demonstrate a clear con- exposes and updates this process by integrating seemingly unrelated facts and challenging Ybarra's research on Wrigley revealed that his audience to view them in new ways. he once also owned Santa Catalina Island, Take Me Out...No Man Is an Island stems located some 20 miles off the coast of Los from an apparent hodge-podge of sources, Angeles. It was here that the magnate held beginning with William Wrigley, Jr., who Chicago Cubs spring training and hosted first made his fortune in chewing gum hunting expeditions and weekend parties for before expanding his business ventures to Hollywood friends and acquaintances.6 include the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise Catalina's main city and bay are dubbed and their home park, Wrigley Field. There Avalon; coincidentally, the street where both was also a second, lesser-known Wrigley Field, the Los Angeles Wrigley Field once stood and which stood in South Central Los Angeles where Ybarra's studio is currently located is from 1925 to 1966 and was the home of the Avalon Boulevard. Issuing from home plate— Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs top farm team which appears like an island in the center at the time.5 Inspired by this connection of Ybarra's wood model—is an elaborately and by paper fold-out models of the Chicago designed toy sword, a cheeky reference to Wrigley stadium available on the Cubs web the Arthurian Knights of Avalon. By invok- site, Ybarra designed a wood replica of the ing the legend, Ybarra reveals his interest in California ballpark, which serves as the both mythic and actual displays of strength centerpiece of the installation. In doing so, and power, including the conceit of one the artist played with the formal and concep- man owning an entire island; baseball itself tual problem of representing a supposedly as a contest of might played out at several permanent structure, such as a ballpark, in levels of antagonism between players, teams, an inherently more ephemeral material, a cities, and regions; and the varied political process that is further complicated by the histories of Catalina. In a further reference to fact that Ybarra based his wood reproduc- the island's turbulent past, Ybarra's installa- tion on a paper model rather than the actual tion also includes a display case containing a stadium. An acrylic on canvas banner of baseball glove and found materials pertaining the midwestern Wrigley Field's Scoreboard, to the Chicano militant group the Brown positioned on an adjacent wall, makes a nod Berets, who in 1972 unsuccessfully attempted back to Chicago. to reclaim Catalina for Mexico.7

Go Tell It... #1, 2001 Greetings, 2OO8

Catalina is of particular interest to Ybarra Mexico. For the installation, Ybarra's model because, having grown up near Los Angeles boat is shown submerged in a sea sculpted Harbor, he remembers the islands distant out of masticated Wrigley's Winterfresh gum. silhouette as a constant fixture in the land- The remaining wrappers were used to create scape. For the exhibition, he re-created the the shimmering silver background in a four- scene at sunset on a second mural-size banner. panel painting on canvas that depicts the ship Ybarra also produced a small wood replica in its former glory. In the same display case, of the 5.5. Catalina, a luxury steamship built he installed two handmade portrait busts: and launched by Wrigley in 1924 to transport one depicting William Wrigley, Jr.; the other visitors back and forth across the channel. portraying Pio Pico, the last Mexican Gover- Eventually made a California State Histori- nor of Los Angeles, who served a short term cal Landmark, the now-abandoned ship is (1845-46) just prior to the Mexican-American presently sinking into the Port of Ensenada, War. Ybarra juxtaposed these seemingly incongruous elements: the S.S. Catalina, a And, hopefully, by exporting a bit of southern symbol of a once-grand past, now, literally, California history to Chicago, Ybarra gives sinking into oblivion; Wrigley, the Chicago Chicagoans an opportunity contemplate their capitalist with an urge for westward expansion locale and its past in new and necessarily whose contributions to southern California expansive ways. In his words, Ybarra is "sit- culture are now distant memories; and Pico, ing" identity—whether it be that of himself, the historic but largely forgotten figure who Wrigley, Chicago, or Los Angeles—in mul- dedicated his life to the betterment of Los tiple places. It is through this dislocation that Angeles. Viewed together, these resurrected, he is able to activate the hidden, unexpected or as Ybarra calls them, "bootlegged" histories memories that are the signature ingredients of take on new meaning in a shared framework. his unique production.

LISA DORIN Unifying the installation is an atmospheric ASSISTANT CURATOR soundtrack of five popular songs that refer DEPARTMENT OF CONTEMPORARY ART to islands, both real and metaphorical. In a boundary-crossing show of civic pride, a series NOTES 1. Jens Hoffman, "Brown and Proud," in Mario Ybarra Jr. of flags representing California, Chicago, (California College of the Arts, 2007), p. 6. 2. While this juxtaposition is certainly intended to be humorous, Illinois, Los Angeles, Mexico, and the United it is less incongruous than it may seem. Chewbacca is also States is installed on two walls, one painted arguably a revolutionary figure, working with the "force" against "the dark side." And like the soldiers of the Mexican Revolution, "American Flag blue," the other "Mexican the furry brown character habitually wears a bandolier of bullets Flag green." Finally, 60 original, unframed across his chest. 3. While Hawkins was never officially Ybarra's teacher, they drawings are pinned directly to a bright red shared hours of conversation about books, films, and most often, wall at the back of the gallery. Inspired by the popular video game Tomb Raider. Curator's conversation with the artist, Mar. 18, 2008. decorative postcards of a bygone Catalina, 4. Disembodied Zombies is Hawkins's late-1990s series of ink- jet prints in which he transformed the faces of male fashion black-and-white photographs of Wrigley and models into monstrous floating heads. In 2001 Ybarra created his stadiums, and the graphic style of Chicano the video trilogy Walking Wounded, in which generic Mexican Rights protest posters, Ybarra created his types, such as the cholo and the norteno (a cowboy from northern Mexico), become B-movie zombies. Hawkins is also known own hybrid designs that recombine all of for collages and artist's books featuring figures such as rock guitarist Slash and former teen idol Matt Dillon, while Ybarra the various components of the exhibition to joined the fictional Hollywood characters of Tony Montana and complete the installation. These elements add Chewbacca with the likes of Tito Puente and vernacular cultural production including graffiti, stylized haircuts, and rave posters. to his experimental, expansive approach, in 5. The stadium was modeled in shape and size after its Chicago which a vast array of connections between predecessor yet with its white exterior walls, red-tiled roof, and churchlikc steeples, it reflected the Spanish-style architecture of concepts and objects is suggested in the faith the surrounding neighborhood. 6. While he developed the tourism industry there, Wrigley that the context will make visible their affini- also advanced the protection of its natural resources. There is a ties. Ybarra's apparent lack of discipline is in Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Gardens and conservancy in honor of his efforts. fact a conceptual stance. The associations are 7. That same year, the Brown Berets also opened the Benito tenuous in the same way that the histories he Juarez Medical Clinic in Chicago to provide free medical services. excavates are subject to erasure in a global- izing culture that forgets as quickly as it produces. With Chicago as his starting point, Ybarra inevitably returns to Los Angeles, the environment that most significantly impacts his worldview. The lens of Chicago and Wrig- ley counterintuitively allows Ybarra to reveal cultural idiosyncrasies specific to Los Angeles. MARIO YBARRA, JR. 2007 2005 Capp Street Project: Mario For All I Know He Had My Born Los Angeles, California 1973 Ybarra Jr., CCA Wattis Friend Angel Killed, Art Institute for Contemporary Perform, Art Basel Miami BFA Otis College of Art and Arts, San Francisco (cat. with Beach Design, Los Angeles, 1996; studied essay by Jens Hoffman) 2002 at Art Center College of Art, Cowboys on Broadway, The Be Good. . . If You Can't Be Pasadena, California, 1996; MFA Project, Los Angeles Good Be Careful. . . , Maze University of California-Irvine, Gallery, Turin, Italy 2001 SELECTED GROUP Bring Me the Head of..., Anna EXHIBITIONS Lives and works in Los Angeles Helwing Gallery, Los Angeles 2008 2006 Phantom Sightings: Art after SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS Tea Time for Tito, An Positions, the Chicano Movement, AND PERFORMANCES Art Basel Miami Beach Los Angeles County Museum 2008 The Peacock Doesn't See its of Art (cat.) Coleccion Privada, Gallery Own Ass/Let's Twitch Again: Whitney Biennial, Whitney Bob van Orsouw, Zurich Operation Bird Watching, Museum of American Art, Serpentine Gallery, London Lehmann Maupin, New York New York (cat.)

The World as a Stage, Tate Modern, London (cat.)

Avalon Allstars 1972, 2OO8 2007 Tijuana Biennial, Centro London; Reykjavik Art PRAGUEBIENNALE 3: Cultural Tijuana, Mexico Museum, Iceland (cat.) Glocal Outsiders: Connecting 2004\ Grey Flags, SculptureCenter, Cultures in Central Europe, Dreamscape: Recent Work Long Island City, New York Karlin Hall, Czech Republic by UCI Alumni, University (cat. with interviews by (cat.) Art Gallery, University of Mario Ybarra, Jr., and Karla California-Irvine Alien Nation, Institute of Diaz) Contemporary Arts, London; 100 Artists See God, Home of the Free, Hyde Park Manchester Art Gallery, Contemporary Jewish Art Center, Chicago England; Salisbury Centre Museum, San Francisco; People for a Better Tomorrow, for Visual Arts, Norwich, Laguna Art Museum, Sweeney Art Gallery, England (cat. with essays by California; Contemporary University of California- Gilane Tawadros and John Art Center of Virginia, Riverside Gill and Jens Hoffman) Virginia Beach (cat.) 2005 Consider This..., Los Angeles C_Scape: Sites of Cultural (Ex) Uncertain States of America: Change, Galena de la Raza, County Museum of Art, American Art in the 3rd LACMALab San Francisco Millennium, Astrup Fearnley 2006 Museum of Modern Art, I Am the Remix, The Western California Biennial, Orange Oslo; Center for Curatorial Front, Vancouver, British County Museum of Art, Studies, Bard College, Columbia Newport Beach, California Annandale-on-Hudson, New (cat.) York; Serpentine Gallery,

Take Me Out, 2008 2003 Whacked, The Practice Space, 2001 l am a Curator, Chisenhale Los Angeles Capital Art: A Group Show on the Culture of Punishment, Gallery, London A Show that Will Show a Show Track 16 Gallery, Santa Slangthis, 4-F Gallery, Is Not Only a Show, Monica, California Los Angeles The Project 2000 Rethinking Drawing, Raid Gimme Shelter: Nuevos America foto latina: fotografia Projects, Los Angeles videos sobre incomodidad en Arte Contemporaneo, urbana, Museo Tamayo Arte Street Show, Contemporary Museo de las Artes, Contemporaneo, Mexico City Performance Videos, Williams Guadalajara, Mexico Democracy When?/Activist College Museum of Art, Senales de resitencia, Museo Williamstown, Massachusetts Strategizing in Los Angeles, de la Ciudad de Mexico, 2002 Los Angeles Contemporary Mexico City Better Look Twice, Pasadena Exhibitions

City College Art Gallery, StorefrontLIVE: Korean California American Small Business Mixed Feelings: Art and Exhibition, Korean American Culture in the Postborder Museum, Los Angeles

Metropolis, Fisher Museum of Odd Drawings, Fine Arts Art, University of Southern Gallery, Cypress College, California California

Team '72, 2OO8 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Morgan, Jessica et. al. "It's All True." OPENING EVENTS Armstrong, Elizabeth. "California Tate Etc. 11 (Autumn 2007), THURSDAY 29 MAY Above All." ArtReview 4, 5 PP- 70-75- 5:30-8:00 p.m. (May/June 2006), p. 83. . "Best of 2006: Jessica Exhibition Preview Berardini, Andrew. "Mario Ybarra, Morgan." Artforum 45, 4 Gallery 139 Jr.: Bring Me the Head of...." (Dec. 2006), p. 278. • ArtReview 9 (Mar. 2007), p. 149. Oilman, Leah. "On the Walls and In 6:00 p.m. Capuzzo, Mariangela. "Mario Your Face." Los Angeles Times, Artist Talk Ybarra Jr." ArtNexus 6, 65 June 7, 2006, p. E5. Price Auditorium (June/Aug. 2007), pp. 136-37. Ozuna, Tony. "Inside and Out: 7:00 p.m. Chin, Jit Fong. "Venturing Out, The Third Prague Biennale Opening Reception -but Always Close to Home: The Takes a Global View." Prague McKinlock Court Landscape and Street Culture Post, June 6, 2007. of His Los Angeles Childhood Zonkel, Phillip. "Vivid Impressions: GALLERY TALKS Infuse Artist Mario Ybarra Jr.'s Museums Display Wilmington Artist's View of Los Angeles." Diverse Work.''SqueezeOC.com, TUESDAY 10 JUNE Oct. 1, 2006. Long Beach Press Telegram, 11:00 p.m. Oct. 19, 2006, p. U6. Conversations-.Karl Haendel and Assistant curator Lisa Dorin Mario Ybarra Jr. Anna Helwing Gallery 100 Gallery, 2006. WORK IN THE EXHIBITION Frascina, Francis. "We Dissent: Fout Take Me Out... No Man Is an TUESDAY 15 JULY Decades of Politics and Art in Island, 2008 12:00 p.m. Los Angeles." Modern Painters Mixed media Exhibition coordinator Jenny Gheith Gallery 100 (Nov. 2006), p. 82. Dimensions variable Hart, Hugh. "Reflecting the Street: Courtesy of the artist and Even as His Work Takes Flight, Anna Helwing Gallery Mario Ybarra Jr. Keeps His Feet Planted in the Neighbothoods THANKS He Knows." Los Angeles Times, Nick Barron, Kristin Brockman, Sept. 3, 2006, p. E28. C. Ondine Chavoya, Curt and Jennifer Hoffman, Jens. "First Take: Mario Conklin, James Cuno, Christine Conniff- Ybarra Jr." Artforum 45, 5 (Jan. O'Shea, Steve De La Torre, Karla Diaz, 2007), pp. 212-13. Darby English, Jenny Gheith, Rita . "Mario Ybarra Jr." Work: Gonzalez, Sarah Guernsey, Barbara An In Progress (Winter 2006-07), Hall, Carolyn Heidrich, Anna Helwing, p. 36. Erin Hogan, Kelt, Dawn Kosrer, Kate . "Mario Ybarra, Jr." Kotan, Jeanne Ladd, Chai Lee, Kaycee Contemporary 89 (2006), Olsen, Betty Marin, Eric Marquez, pp. 88-91. Joseph Mohan, Angie Morrow, Alfred L. Joselit, David. "Public Image Ltd." McDougal and Nancy Lauter McDougal, Artforum 45, 1 (Sept. 2006), James Rondeau, Chris Reynolds, p. 114. Brent Riley, Dorothy Schroeder, Maria Jury, Louise. "Barber Shop Tate-a Simon, Larry Smallwood, Jason Stec, Tate: Show Influenced by Elizabeth Stepina, Harriet Stratis, and Jeff Sweeney Todd." The Evening Wonderland. Special thanks to the artist. Standard, Oct. 22, 2007, p. A25. LD Kun, Josh. "The New Chicano Movement." Los Angeles Times COVER: Detail of Take Me Out... No Man Is an Island, 2008 Magazine, Jan. 9, 2005, pp. 12-13. Leopold, Shelley. "The Expressionist: Matio Ybarra Jr." LA Weekly, Apr. 19, 2006, p. 34. McQuaid, Cate. "Spectacle of Theater Plays Out in Exhibit." The Boston Globe, Feb. 6, 2008, p. F1. Mixed Sources Product group from well-managed forests and other controlled sources www.fsc.org Cert no. SGSC0C-003317 01996 forest Stewardihip Council