As an artist born in Los Angeles, and as a member of the Gabrielino Tongva Indians of California (whose land extended from the Los Angeles Basin to the Southern Channel Islands), Mercedes Dorame feels deeply connected to the landscape of California. She explores the problematics of living in a place that once belonged to her
Zackary Drucker, in collaboration with Rhys Ernst, created a series of photographs titled Relationship that lasted from 2008 until 2014 that focused on not only their evolving stages in their respective transitions, but also their attachment to one another. Gaze, energy, and intimacy are all important themes in this series. The representation of transgender bodies
Have you ever heard the phrase “male gaze”? It was first coined in 1975 by film critic Laura Mulvey to describe how women are represented in visual arts and literature. She noticed that in movies, advertisements, literature, art, etc., women were often presented as objects of pleasure for heterosexual male viewers. This pattern reinforces a
Millie Wilson’s light box photos are a series of haunting and humorous works that poke at stereotypes, gendered situations, and the mundanity of everyday life. The Escalette Collection of Art has two works of Wilson’s on display in Smith Hall: Untitled (boys in desert) from her 2013 exhibition Some People, and an earlier 2011 work,
At first glance, the photographs created by Ken Gonzalez-Day appear to be mere re-presentations of ancient sculpture, similar to that you might see on a museum wall; however, when displayed in massive, bill-board-sized installations throughout Los Angeles, these large photographic compositions take on new meaning. Shown against the context of the diversity of Los Angeles,
Paul Mpagi Sepuya is an American photographer whose works deconstruct viewers’ expectations of the nude and self-portrait in art, and meditate on the fragmentation of queer and photographed bodies. His goal is for “queer, black photographs to exist within historic and contemporary conversations about photography as a whole, affirming the medium and my personal investment
In honor of LGBTQIA+ Pride Month, the Escalette Permanent Collection of Art would like to feature the work and life of Rotimi Fani-Kayode, a Nigerian-British photographer who used his art to capture the black queer experience, to reject homophobia, and to fight for equal political representation during the AIDS crisis. Fani-Kayode was born in 1955
In honor of Woman’s History Month, we are highlighting some of the work acquired by the Escalette Collection of Art this year as part of the Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race Initiative. Carla Jay Harris is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes photography, installation, collage, and drawing. Harris’s work has been
A couple weeks ago, Chapman students, faculty, staff and communities had the opportunity to hear Hakeem Adewumi, a Texas-based Nigerian artist, photographer and creative director, in conversation with Assistant Professor of Africana Studies Angelica Allen during a lecture for Wilkinson College’s Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Race series. Several of Adewumi’s striking portraits
The Escalette Collection is excited to announce two new acquisitions from artist and Chapman professor, Lia Halloran. Friendship Launch, After Katherine Johnson was named as an homage to Katherine Johnson, a human computer who worked for NASA in the 1960s. In this photographic print, Halloran merges art and science to capture America’s enthusiasm about space