Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape

Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape
Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD)
July 18, 2010 – January 2, 2011
he Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) will present Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape, a multifaceted exhibition that explores the dialogue between artists and the urban landscape, opening July 18, 2010 at MCASD’s downtown Jacobs Building location. The exhibition, which will feature works both in the Museum’s galleries as well as at public sites throughout downtown San Diego, will be on view through January 2, 2011.

For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population lives in urban communities. The urban setting and its corresponding lifestyle are major sources of inspiration in contemporary culture. This is an historic revolution in visual culture, in which the codes and icons of the everyday — found on the streets in graffiti, signage, waste, tattoos advertising, and graphic design — have been appropriated and used as an integral part of contemporary art-making. The urban landscape inspires and serves as both a platform for innovation and a vehicle for expression for many artists. The city itself, its buildings, vehicles, people, and advertisements, are not only the surface where the art is applied. The city fuels the practice.

Viva la Revolución: A Dialogue with the Urban Landscape includes a diverse range of 20 artists from 8 countries that are linked together by how their work addresses urban issues:

Akayism (Sweden)
Banksy (U.K.)
Blu (Italy)
Mark Bradford (U.S.)
William Cordova (U.S.)
Date Farmers (U.S.)
Stephan Doitschinoff [CALMA] (Brazil)
Dr. Lakra (Mexico)
Dzine (U.S.)
David Ellis (U.S.)
FAILE (U.S.)
Shepard Fairey (U.S.)
Invader (France)
JR (France)
Barry McGee (U.S.)
Ryan McGinness (U.S.)
Moris (Mexico)
Os Gemeos (Brazil)
Swoon (U.S.)
Vhils (Portugal)

The exhibition is curated by guest curator Pedro Alonzo and MCASD Associate Curator Lucía Sanromán. Alonzo is a freelance curator who has worked extensively in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most recently he curated the Shepard Fairey survey, Supply and Demand, at the ICA/Boston; as well as the major street art exhibition, Spank the Monkey, at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead, England; and Generations UsA at the Pinchuk Arte Centre in Kiev, Ukraine.

Viva la Revolución will be comprised of four parts: work inside MCASD’s galleries, public commissions, interventions, and a collaborative site.

Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego