MOLAA visit.

Hello. This is Sokchenda. On Sunday June 1st, I visited the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA). Every Sunday the place is free of entry, but on this day there was an exceptional 2 hour long line I had to wait in because it was the last week where Frida Khalo's Photos were exhibited. While waiting in line, I over heard people that they came from different counties to see the Photos.

But I'm not going to talk about Frida, I'm going to talk about an artist born in 1961 in Tijuana, Mexico and still resides there. He is acknowledged as one of the most significant figures in history of borderland cultural practices. He goes by the name of Marcos Ramírez or known as "ERRE". His work shows his political and social consciousness and he would describe his works as "constructions that accommodate ideas".

A GAME OF DECEPTION - OF OIL, SOCCER AND OTHER BETS, 2014

INSTALLATION VIEW MUSEUM OF LATIN AMERICAN ART, LONG BEACH, CA

IMAGE COURTESY OF MIGUEL ANGEL MEJIA, MOLAA
Source: http://www.luisdejesus.com/

Marcos Ramírez ERRE (Mexico, b. 1961)
Petrochinga, 2014. Riot shield made of a recycled oil barrel, 
24 x 34 in. Image courtesy of the artist

One of his work in the MOLAA gallery that intrigued me were the 24 x 34 in.  Riot shields that were made of recycled oil barrels and had mocks of major Oil /Gas Company logos. In person it was very glossy and polished with car vinyl and had a clean look. It was also accompanied by wooden batons. Composition wise everything was centered and orderly position on the wall. I liked the juxtaposition of the idea of Riots shields and how the shields were presented.

So his exhibition got me thinking, "What's going on in Mexico?" Apparently the government choose a path that regressed towards a system that benefited foreign investors (like the Oil companies, Exxon, Chevron, BP, and Shell) more than Mexican people. So in short there is political corruption in the country of Mexico. I believed Ramírez did this job at trying to invoke ideas and the insentive of knowledge of the corruption that was going on in the country.