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MINERVA CUEVAS

The Economy of the Imaginary: Pirates and Heroes

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 26, 6-8:00 p.m.

August 26 −October 14, 2006

Luckman Gallery, Luckman Fine Arts Complex, Cal State L.A.

Co-produced by Outpost for Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, Calif. − For her first U.S. solo exhibition Minerva

Cuevas presents The Economy of the Imaginary: Pirates and Heroes, a

new, 5-channel video installation that uses cinematic projections to

play with the formal conventions of popular comics. Cuevas researched

the history of the Hollywood film industry, particularly its

superheroes, social heroism, piracy dynamics, and the public domain to

create this piece, which features Salvia, Capital, Imperio, Oscar and

Liberdade: five characters who speak about Thomas Alva Edison, the

economy, heroism, defeat and human fantasies.

Actors playing these characters were selected from those who responded

to calls for auditions reading “Se buscan superheroes (Looking for

superheroes)” that were published in newspaper ads and distributed in

fliers throughout various parts of Mexico City. Actors attending the

audition dressed in superhero costumes were interviewed about their

superpowers, and asked to respond hypothetically to the idea of a

Mexican superhero.

Born in 1975 and working in Mexico City, Minerva Cuevas is interested

in informal economies and is known for projects that are based on

context-specific social research and an adept use of a wide array of

media and artistic approaches. As such her work leads the viewer

freely into the social sphere and its surrounding aesthetics. Her past

exhibitions include: Sharjah Biennial 7 (2005); Not Impressed by

Civilization, Walter Phillips Gallery, The Banff Centre (2005);

Populism, Contemporary Art Centre. Vilnius, Frankfurter Kunstverein,

Stedelijk Museum (2005); Biennale of Sydney (2004); Hardcore, Palais

de Tokyo (2003); 8th Istanbul Biennial (2003); MVC-Biotec, Secession

(2001). Many of her projects are documented on her website:

www.minervacuevas.org

Gallery Talk: Wednesday, October 4, 7:00 p.m.

Bull## and Truth: Superhero Mythology and the Manufacturing of

Identity, an illustrated lecture regarding the connections between

comics and contemporary art by Amy Pederson, Ph.D., UCLA and Assoc.

Professor, Woodbury University

Outpost for Contemporary Art is a Los Angeles-based non-profit

organization devoted to international cultural exchange and a social

setting conducive to lively discussion in contemporary art.

Generous support for the exhibition is provided by La Colección Jumex.

Additional support is provided by the Peter Norton Family Foundation;

Epson America, Inc.; Celuloide Films, The Millennium Biltmore Hotel,

Los Angeles, and Villa Sorriso, Pasadena.

For further information contact:

Luckman Gallery

The Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex

California State University, Los Angeles

5151 State University Drive

Los Angeles, CA 90032-8116

Tel. (323) 343-6604 Fax (323) 343-6423

luckmangallery@luckmanarts.org

Outpost for Contemporary Art

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 50780, Los Angeles, CA 90050

Office Address: 6375 North Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90042

Tel. (323) 982.9461

info@outpost-art.org

__________________________________________________

Outpost for Contemporary Art´s Board of Directors are

Julie Deamer (Founding Director), Corrina Peipon (President), Maureen

Branley (Treasurer), Kendra Stanifer (Secretary), Jordan Biren, Gary

Cannone, Kristina Kite, and Corinne Weitzman.