The Academy Museum Screens Films by Harry Gamboa Jr.

On Monday, May 15, the Academy Museum in Los Angeles presents a program of early video works directed by artist, writer, and longtime School of Art faculty Harry Gamboa Jr. The short videos from the 1980s focus on Gamboa’s collaborative works with the other members of the East Los Angeles-based Chicano performance group ASCO (Willie Herrón, Glugio “Gronk” Nicandro, Patssi Valdez).

From the museum:

Captivating, dynamic, daring, and humorous, these videos are a series of mesmerizing creative forces, generated by the invigorating investigations of artists who stay inquisitive and consistently search for new artistic language and perspective.

With a total running time of 74 minutes, the program also includes a post-screening conversation with Gamboa.

• Blanx: 1984. 8 min. USA. B&W. English. Digital.
• Vaporz: 1984. 8 min. USA. Color. English. Digital.
• Insultan: 1983. 24 min. USA. Color. English. Digital.
• Baby Kake: 1984. 6 min. USA. Color. English. Digital.
• No Supper: 1987. 28 min. USA. Color. English. Digital.

Co-founded by Gamboa, ASCO lasted from 1972 to 1987, but its legacy and influence are still discernable today. A recent Hyperallergic story featured ASCO and the Next Gen, a pop-up weekend show that drew through lines between ASCO and contemporary Latino/a/x artists. The exhibition was coordinated in conjunction with the upcoming documentary, ASCO: Without Permission.

Executive produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, and directed by Travis Gutiérrez Senger, the feature-length documentary focuses on the art and activism of ASCO, who often challenged societal norms with confrontational, radical work—and often imbued with a keen sense of fun.