Save the Date: Sept 21, “Dark Progressivism” Panel
Dark Progressivism is the most exciting art movement to come out of Los Angeles since the trifecta of Kustom Kulture/Low Brow/Pop Surrealism. Dark Progressivism is a rupture from the colorful candy-coated, tangerine-fleck dream machines of the last two decades (though one could argue that those so-very SoCal art forms have their foundation in same urban dystopia as Dark Progressivism–as well as drawing on Dark Progressivism’s roots in the Cholo arts of tattooing, graffiti, and customizing).
Dark Progressivism flows from the underground river of social distortion, disaffection and disconnection inherent in Southern California, a land conquered and reconquered, sold and bartered, raped and pillaged, where palm trees sway above some of the deadliest neighborhoods in the country; a city where the weekly suicides and hardcore gang activity are overlooked by the media because they could bring down property values; an area known as much for its police brutality as its celebrities and swimming pools.
Dark Progressivism–the art and the artists, its causes and effects–are all the subject of a documentary, Dark Progressivism: On Rupture and Rebellion, and also the subjects of a panel discussion on September 21 as part of the Barrio Roots Street Art Festival, presented by the Consulate General of Mexico, Mexico’s Secretary of External Relations, Institutos del Mexicanos en el Exterior, State Senator Ricardo Lara and the 33rd Senate District, the City of Bell, and HABITAJES Centro de Estudios y Acciones sobre el Espacio Público. Cartwheel Art is the the documentary’s media sponsor and is providing media support for the Barrio Roots Street Art Festival; and our editor, Lisa Derrick is an associate producer for the documentary.
The panel includes the film’s writer/director, Rodrigo Ribera d’Ebre; artists Roberto Gutierrez, Jason Hernandez, Juan Carlos Muñoz Hernandez and Daniel Gonzalez; and Professor Jose Orozco, PhD.
The panel is Sunday, September 21, from 1pm to 2pm. The festival itself, which runs from September 19th to 21st features art,music, mural painting and special Chaz Bojorquez retrospective. The Barrio Roots Street Art Festival takes place at the Bell Community Center, 6250 Pine Avenue, Bell, CA 90201, USA.
Top image: Daniel Gonzalez and Sergio Sánchez Santamaría