Press Release: Artpace Announces Spanglish Exhibition In The Hudson (Show)Room
Oct 26, 2005 – Jan 22, 2006

10.18.05

Media Contact: Libby D. Tilley
t 210 212 4900 x122
f 210 212 4990
ltilley@artpace.org
www.artpace.org

SAN ANTONIO, TX – In arguing for sensitivity to hybrid meanings and structures, postcolonial theorist Homi Bhabha recognizes that language plays an integral role in asserting the presence of cultural difference and in resisting normative, binary modes of representation. According to Bhabha and other socio-linguistic theorists, language can write culture, allowing a marginalized group to challenge a dominant one’s attempts at definition. His texts indicate that through hybrid language, cultures define themselves from within.

Bahba’s thoughts suggest the urgency for critical reflection upon the role of hybrid tongues formed along borders. His thoughts inform a discussion of Spanglish, a language spoken on either side of the US/Mexico divide and by many in South Texas. With Spanglish, speakers define their culture as Mexican and American, not a reduction of one or the other. The Hudson (Show)Room exhibition Spanglish gathers recent pieces by San Antonio artists Ricky Armendariz, Cruz Ortiz, Daniel Guerrero, Ann-Michèle Morales, Rae Culbert, Beto Gonzales, Luz María Sanchez, and Gary Sweeney who each offer their own perspective on the issue. Taken together, the included works reflect and explore realities of the language and culture of Spanglish.

The exhibition Spanglish features San Antonio artists whose recent paintings, photographs, installations, and sound works offer divergent perspectives on the hybrid culture and language of South Texas. Literally and metaphorically, the works explore Spanglish as a choice and necessity.

About Artpace
Artpace San Antonio serves as an advocate for contemporary art and as a catalyst for the creation of significant art projects. We seek to nurture emerging and established artists and to provide opportunities for inspiration, experimentation, and education. Our programs support the evolution of new ideas in contemporary art and cultivate diverse audiences while providing a forum for ongoing dialogue.

Artpace is located downtown at 445 North Main Avenue, between Savings and Martin streets, San Antonio, Texas. Free parking is available on the corner of Savings and N. Flores streets. Artpace is open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday, 12-8 PM, and by appointment. Admission is free.

Artpace San Antonio is supported by individual and corporate donors as well as The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, Kronkosky Charitable Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, a grant from the Ruth Lang Charitable Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation, Myra Stafford Pryor Trust, Edouard Foundation, and the Amy Shelton McNutt Charitable Trust.

445 North Main Avenue   San Antonio TX 78205   t 210 212 4900   f 210 212 4990   www.artpace.org

© 2005 Artpace San Antonio