DYLAN A.T. MINER

'In the Name of the Blood Shed: Art, Resistance and Repression in Mexico'

2009-02-25T08:51:00.007-05:00

Alongside historians Jerry García and Benjamin Smith, I have been working on the curation of a small exhibition called 'In the Name of the Blood Shed.' Focusing on photographs, street art, and installation work from Oaxaca, the exhibition includes works by Lapiztola, Zzierra Rrezzia, Edith Morales Sánchez, and Antonio Turok.

If you happen to be in Three Fires Territory any time soon, stop by the show at LookOut! Gallery. Turok and Morales Sánchez will be at the opening, while the members of Lapiztola and Zzierra Rrezzia should be at the closing.

Opening Reception
02 March 2009
6:30-9:00 with a panel at 7:00

Closing Reception
27 March 2009
6:30-9:00 with workshops at 7:00

Download the Postcard!!!

Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo, Protesta 150 Años

2009-01-19T20:41:00.002-05:00

Back in 1998 (alright it's not that long ago), a bunch of us (Brown Berets and Mechistas) traveled from Michigan to Arizona for the 150-yeard protest of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidaldo. The treaty, which cedes more than half of Mexican territory to the United States, guaranteed Xicanas/os and other Native peoples certain legal rights which have never been upheld.

As for the pics, I look like a baby, no?

Bobby Seale y Yo

2009-01-17T19:36:00.003-05:00

Bobby Seale, a man who needs no introduction, was in Mid-Michigan this week. This is the obligatory shot that validates my activism by placing me alongside an important (and once imprisoned) revolutionary.

An equation: Bobby's BBQ Cooking Show + Dead Prez's BBQ tofu = 1 Happy Dylan!

Youngstown Ohio + Worker's History

2009-01-17T19:33:00.002-05:00

A little while back, I went to New York City to visit my brother and scope show shows. On the way back Estrella, the grrls, and I stopped in Youngstown to check out the Labor History Museum. Oddly enough, according to this exhibit, I dress as did a miner in the 1940s. Once a Miner, always a Miner.

Estrella Torrez, PhD

2009-01-17T19:28:00.002-05:00

Although Estrella defended her dissertation this summer, she wasn't officially hooded until this December. 1: Estrella con los papás. 2. Estrella con los suegros. 3: ¡Toda la familia feliz!

Just Seeds Retreat 2008 (November)

2009-01-17T19:22:00.002-05:00

Just Seeds getting things done in the back of a panel van.

Here I am freezing!!

Although it happened a few months back, Just Seeds (the only radical artists' collective that matters) gathered in Milwaukee for our annual retreat. It was an extremely productive weekend, although cold. I somehow arrived in Milwaukee having only worn courier pants and a hoodie. The radiator in the studio where we met only kicked in if it got below 40 degrees inside. Needless to say, I froze my arse off.

What We Want! 2009 | Radical Artists' Retreat

2009-01-14T17:06:00.003-05:00

This past weekend about 80 artists from across North America gathered at Chicago's Co-Prosperity Sphere for the What We Want! retreat. Among those in attendance, were about six Just Seedsters and tons of allies.

Over the course of three day, we discussed the state of anti-capitalist cultural work and how we can collectively move forward. Coming form a variety of institutional positions and working in a variety of 'genre,' the retreat served as an exciting site of dialogue and action. Although the outcomes of the retreat are still uncertain, the possibilities are endless.

If nothing else, I met some rad folks and spent a couple of nights in a sleeping bag on the floor of the Co-Prosperity Sphere.

Comadre Favianna Rodríguez is Gonna Change the World

2008-11-02T08:46:00.002-05:00

Homegrrl and fellow artist Favianna Rodríguez, who was out here in Michigan doing a two-week residency last Spring, has been selected by Utne Reader as one of the '50 Visionaries Who Are Going to Change the World.' Not only is she included in a stellar group of radical and activist folk, but she is the first person on the list.

¡Felicidades, mujer! Keep busting out radical images for la causa.

Read the story online or scope the newest issue at your public library.

Speak Out: Art, Design + Politics

2008-10-28T22:50:00.004-04:00

Abby Goldstein, professor at Fordham University in NYC, curated this dope exhibition which includes my work alongside the Guerrilla Girls, Laurie Anderson, Bread and Puppet Theatre, Sue Coe, Milton Glaser, and countless other rad artists. Scope it out if in Burque.

Download the postcard in PDF format.

Chido per Jodido 1

2008-10-27T09:08:00.002-04:00

This is the first image from a series entitled 'Chido pero Jodido.' This series pairs objects that are fresh, yet not sustainable, with like images that are. Lowrider Cars v. Lowrider Bikes? I'll take the bike any day. This image is hanging in an exhibition [Sustainable–Visions for a Living Planet] at AS220 in Providence, RI.

2008 North American Labor History Conference

2008-10-27T08:29:00.002-04:00

Dionicio Valdés, Jerry García, D-Money (that's me), and José Moreno presenting at the 2008 North American Labor History Conference. Our panel addressed Labor Studies from a uniquely Chicano/Latino Studies position. My paper was provocatively titled 'Class v. Nation: Revisiting Chicana/o Cultural Studies.' In the polemical style in which I have been recently working, I discussed how the class/nation/ethnicity framework affects how we understand Chicana/o cultural history. It was a fun day in DEEEEEEEEE-TROIT.

SEIU 2009 Calendar Image

2008-10-24T17:51:00.003-04:00

Here is a sample of the calendar image I made for the 2009 SEIU calendar. We'll see what suggested changes they have. That weird-lookin' dude is a portrait of Paolo Freire as a lumberjack. No, really it is! The quote comes from Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

“Human existence cannot be silent, nor can it be nourished by falsewords, but only by true words, with which men transform the world. To exist humanly, is to name the world, to change it. Once named, the world in its turn reappears to the names as a problem and requires of them a new naming. Humans are not built in silence, but in word, in work, in action-reflection.”

Review of Otepemisiwak

2008-10-08T16:44:00.002-04:00

This is what people are saying about my recent show.
Download the review as a PDF.

Opening Reception

2008-09-13T22:30:00.002-04:00

A few flics from the opening last weekend.

Otepemisiwak | The People Without Bosses

2008-09-02T22:31:00.004-04:00

Sneak Peak at some of the work hanging in 'Otepemisiwak.' Opens this Friday at the Nokomis Center in Okemos, MI.

Finally Fixed

2008-08-28T11:27:00.002-04:00

After two years of work and planning, I finally got my fixed gear bike complete. Here is a run down of what I've got:

My dad 'borrowed' me his old frame. It is an Assenmacher handmade that he picked up used in Mt. Pleasant before I was born. It is fresh with Campy drops and British styling (which is how Assenmacher roles). I am rocking a retro Campy crank, some rusty low-end French pedals, and an 80s leather Sprint saddle (despite its name, its from France). I just got some bright orange Deep Vs. I'll still wondering if I'm gonna hook it up with some other bars.

Sadly, I got a pinch flat already!

Back from Oaxac(a)

2008-08-07T21:19:00.004-04:00

After two weeks in Oaxaca, I am back in Michigan attempting to get things ready for the arrival of fall [not to mention an opening at the Nokomis Center on Labor Day]. Nonetheless, Oaxaca was great and I met some super rad artists. Hopefully, I will continue working with these folks and get Just Seeds down that way. Here are a couple flics from the trips.

This is me showing off my body at Monte Albán. Actually, I set up the camera for a timed shot and missed my head. I thought it looked kinda dope, though.

Being touristy at El Ex-Convento de Santo Domingo in Oaxaca de Juárez.

The entrance to the Tianguis Cultural Libertad y Resistencia. There was a graffiti 'tournament' when I was there.

Some beautiful vegan tacos with agua de jamaica! Mmmmmm.

In San Bartolo Coyotepec with Don Valente (the famous Doña Rosa's son) demonstrating his technique to get barro negro.

Renowned alebrijero Jacobo Angeles showing us how to get an animal spirit from a piece of wood. San Martín Tilcajete, Oaxaca.

Outside La Curtiduría, the artist residency + gallery I worked with in Ciudad Oaxaca.

Outside La Curtiduría, a mural for a show currently hanging about corn and food politics.

One of the cats from Lapiztola giving a demo at La Ex-Galería Azomalli.

Lapiztola work outside La Curtiduría.

Come on, that's a dope name for a band! Los Mexican Powers.

Chillin' on the beach in Bahías de Huatulco during a rain storm. The fresh fished smelled good (does this signal the end of fifteen years of vegandom?).

Tras Barrikadazz Exhibition

2008-07-25T18:02:00.001-04:00

I am in Oaxaca teaching a course about art + social justice. Some of the folks I am working with have an opening tonight for a show called 'Tras Barrikadazz.' The arts community is super rad here, although it reminds of Santa Fe in many ways. Once I get back, I'll upload some of the flicks of street art here in Oaxaca.

TRAS BARRIKADAZZ/ BEHIND BARRICADES
July 25th, 8pm,at the former “Azomalli” Gallery (A. Gurrion #110, next to Sto. Domingo)
Oaxaca de Juárez, Oaxaca.
This project has been created by three artistic destruction troops: LA PIZTOLA, ZZIERRARREZZIA, and ZAPE. These three agitators will release their most recent visual strategy, consisting in the use of conventional media, and also developing the concept of ¨STRUGGLE¨ on different materials and substrates. (screen-printing)
Traces of the confrontation with this gallery will be shown, ¨Keeping a cool mind and an overflown heart¨/ ¨Manteniendo la mente fría y el corazón desbordado. (Intervention art and graffiti in the three rooms).
For more information visit the following links :

http://trasbarrikadazz.blogspot.com
http://lapiztola.blogspot.com
http://colectivozape.blogspot.com
http://zzrrzz.blogspot.com

Self Help Graphics Sold!!!!

2008-07-19T10:36:00.004-04:00

The building that has housed Self-Help Graphics, the renowned community art center in East LA, was sold earlier this week. The future of Self-Help, which has worked with many of the most prominent and progressive Chicana/o and activist artists in LA, is in question.

Stop Gentrification! Support Self-Help Graphics!

KABC television coverage of the sale.

Self Help Website

Dressed in Pink (Paper)

2008-07-15T23:34:00.006-04:00

Favianna Rodriguez and Ray Hernández putting up images from Reproduce and Revolt at Crewest Gallery in Los Angeles. Mine is circled, yeahhh! This images is stolen without permission from Favi's website. Thanks Favi.

Fresh image, huh?

Anarcho-Syndicalist Developers?

2008-07-15T22:52:00.003-04:00

I guess developers are even stoopider than I thought. This is a photo of a new development in the Los Altos neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Any anarchists wanna squat in this site? It's already sportin' the red + black.

Vicente Fernández y la Doctora Torrez

2008-07-15T22:35:00.005-04:00

This past Friday, Estrella successfully defended her dissertation (the reasons we were chillin' in Burque). From now on, y'all must call her either La Profe or Doctora. To celebrate, we went with some friends to see el mero mero of ranchera, Vicente Fernández. It was amazing!!! Chente sang most of my favorites, although he didn't sing 'El Hijo del Pueblo.' My favorite, as always, was 'El Rey.' Chente and Junior sand 'Amor de los Dos,' which was fresh, although a bit cheesy.

Throughout the entire concert, there was this vaquero in front of us that was totally pedo and kept beating his ten-gallon hat against his leg whenever Chente would sing. It was actually quite humorous.

The morning after the show, Estrella, the grrls, and I drove straight back to Michoacan del Norte (yeah, I mean Michigan). It was a crazy two days of fifteen hours worth of driving. Now that were back, I'm chillin' here for about a week and then I'm off to Oaxaca to teach and give some lectures (maybe even make a print at La Curtiduría).

¡Ahh, que chulas! Don't they look happy to be on a family trip?

Declaration of Immigration

2008-06-28T04:07:00.003-04:00

My work will be included in the exhibition Declaration of Immigration at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

A Declaration of Immigration is an exhibition that depicts many of the experiences and viewpoints within U.S. immigrant communities. The works of over 70 artists will help visitors increase their understanding of this complex issue by providing immigrant perspectives that are seldom included in the national debate. As a vital part of the democratic process, artists and community-based institutions play a critical role in any civic dialogue and struggle for social justice. Immigration is indisputably the foundation upon which this country was built. The National Museum of Mexican Art has a responsibility to take a proactive stance, and provide a platform from which many immigrants can speak out – especially at a time in our history, when once again, countless immigrants are being scapegoated and blamed for many of the nation’s problems. This exhibition will launch the Museum’s three-year commitment to immigrant centered programs.

Opening on
The 4th of July, 2008
10am – 5pm.

Curated by
Cesáreo Moreno

Research Assistance by
Silvia Rivera

Exhibition continues through
September 7th

ARTISTS:
Jaishri Abichandani
Jesus Barraza
David Avalos
Margarita Cabrera
Alma Carrillo
Charlie Carrillo
Victor Cartagena
Melanie Cervantes
Juan Angel Chavez
Javier Chavira
Juan & Ricardo Compean
Carlos Cortez (1923-2005)
Miguel Cortinas
Ana Laura de la Garza
Jamex & Einar de la Torre
Eduardo de Soignie
Alejandro Diaz
Fidencio Duran
Jose Esquivel
Ana Teresa Fernandez
Carlos Fresquez
Eric J. García
Edgar Heap of Birds
Patric “Pato” Hebert
Esther Hernández
Nicholas Herrera
Anni Holm
Benito Huerta
Luis Jimenez Jr. (1940-2006)
Nicario Jimenez
Hee Jin Kang
Betty Lee
Samella Lewis
Yolanda Lopez
Juan Carlos Macías
Noelle Mason
Dylan Miner
Diana Molina
Delilah Montoya
Malaquías Montoya
Dominique Moody
Julio Cesar Morales
Oscar Moya
Adrian Paci
Josue Pellot
Tony Perez
Dulce Pinzón
Salvador Pizarro
Alfred Quiroz
Fanny Rabel
Favianna Rodriguez
Roberto Rosique
Marianne Sadowski
Hector Silva
Khoua Thao
Consuelo J. Underwood
Vincent Valdez
Carmilla Valdivia
Kathy Vargas
Rachel Weaver Rivera &
Ingrida Sljuvienne
Mario Ybarra Jr.

VIDEOS:
Sergio de la Torre
Orlando Lara
Dolissa Medina
Diana Molina
Camilo Ontiveros
Luz María Sanchez
Lee Serrie

Return to Aztlán

2008-06-25T09:56:00.002-04:00

After a year at Michigan State, we are back in Burque for a month.

Reproduce y Rebélate Review

2008-06-23T01:50:00.005-04:00

Paul Buhle, an amazing radical historian, recently wrote the following about Favianna and Josh's Reproduce and Revolt.

Josh MacPhee and Favianna Rodriguez, eds., Reproduce & Revolt/Reproduce Y Rebelate. Brooklyn: Soft Skull Press, 192pp, oversized, $19.95.

Reproduce & Revolt is a totally unique work of radical images, designed for hands-on use by artists who can adapt them for current work. As the authors say, "Don't just flip through these pages; throw them on the photocopier or scanner, crack the spine. If there's one book in your collection where the pages should be falling out, this is it!" And they mean it. That the text is simultaneously English and Spanish, side by side, goes to the point of the emerging society around us. That the images date from the 1960s (a handful from earlier dates) to the present, remind us of the continuity of struggle but also of the artistic breakthroughs forty years ago that remain alive today.

MacPhee is himself a phenomenon, seemingly always on the road, organizing poster projects and a political arts collective (see his website www.justseeds.org), all in the spirit of public arts and mass participation. His collaborator, Rodriguez, is a Bay Area arts activist and radio personality, one of those bilingual visionaries whose work is now needed more than ever. Together, they seem to have trolled every radical arts-image book that I know, including the leading underground newspapers now long gone, and the wall designs from the Lower East Side to Oakland, where stencilers are most active. Many readers will recognize some of their favorites. Mine include Icky A, the Beehive Collective Design people, Eric Drooker, Cliff Harper, Ricardo Levins Morales, Dylan Miner, Nicole Schulman and Seth Tobocman.

I confess that I would like to have seen more humor, although stencil art lends itself to single, unambiguous messages. But there are hundreds here to choose from, and I especially appreciate the images of nature and hope amid our reality of eco-horror and endless war. MacPhee and Rodriguez have done every young artist a favor; it's up to the artists to return the gesture with interest, in every sense.

Paul Buhle, a Senior Lecturer at Brown University, was editor of the SDS magazine RADICAL AMERICA, and is author or editor of many books on the Left and popular culture.

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1338/1/