September 21, 2020 • 40 mins
Artist and arts educator Sandy Rodriguez has been a friend of mine since 2008, which is when her artwork first came to my attention. I had previously known of her through her mother Guadalupe Pilar Rodríguez Mondragón who I had met at Plaza de la...
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
This is Melissa Richardson Banks.
This is Mused LATU.
And I am so excited today tohave my friend who's a very
(00:21):
talented artist and just anamazing person all around, Sandy
Rodriguez.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Good morning, Melissa.
So happy to be here with you andto have a chance to chat, catch
up and talk
SPEAKER_00 (00:31):
about the things of the world.
Well, it makes me really happybecause as I said, you're
probably one of the mosttalented person I know in so
many ways.
I mean, there's so many talentedpeople in my life and you're
right up there in the cloud ofthe most talented and beautiful.
Yeah, too kind, Ms.
(00:54):
Melissa.
have a joyous family and ireally really just was so
grateful that you became myfriend and when we first met
again i think there's a coupleof a we kind of i think met in
(01:15):
passing and then eventually wemet more formally i think you
and i were chatting the otherday at lagma with another mutual
friend who we loved armando htorres and i do want to
acknowledge him because He wassuch a special person and we
lost him, as you know, obviouslyseveral years ago.
And he was very close to you.
And I was lucky and privilegedto work with him and also know
(01:36):
him and love him.
And we met at, do you rememberwhere we met?
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
It was 2008.
There was an exhibition atLACMA.
There was one of thosewonderful, hey, let's go to this
event.
And my mom, Armando, and Ihopped in a car and went down to
the L.A.
County Museum of Art.
where there was a stunningexhibition of Cheech's
collection, and it was therethat I was introduced formally
(02:04):
to Melissa.
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
And that was such a special time, because that was
actually like the last venue, ifyou will, of Cheech's very
long-running and blockbustershow, Chicana Visions.
And I remember that.
It was...
One of those things I know forhim, he really wanted to be at
LACMA.
So it was kind of a joyous and abittersweet because it really
should have started in LA, butit ended in LA.
(02:29):
But it started a new chapterbecause that's when I started
working with him when I met you.
And that was such a beautiful,beautiful experience.
And I think what's really coolabout that is that I think at
that event, you gave me and youreminded me that you gave me, I
think, a postcard of some ofyour work.
Because I know that Armando usedto have this great gallery
(02:50):
called the Underground Gallery.
And I think you had a show orthere or somewhere else.
But I remember seeing that andgoing, wow, this girl's really
great in terms of artworks.
Funny story is
SPEAKER_01 (03:02):
LACMA had the first retrospective or the
retrospective of one of theyoungest artists here in L.A.
or one of the youngest artistshave a retrospective at LACMA
was Gronk.
And when I found out he was inhis 30s when he had his first
retrospective, I said, well,damn, I want my retrospective.
(03:23):
So in joking with Armando, itbecame, well, let's do a little
one.
Let's do a little one at theUnderground Gallery.
And it was 2008.
And again, this is happeningsimultaneously to the Chicano
Painters of LA selections fromthe Cheech Marin Collection
Exhibition.
So my card for the exhibitionwas a self-portrait I had done
(03:43):
in 1998.
And I had been out of art schoolfor a year.
And having attended CalArts,There's a lot of adjusting to
life in the world.
And so I didn't paint for thefirst year out of art school.
But the first painting I did wasa self-portrait.
(04:04):
And Melissa, you know the storybehind the self-portrait, that
it was a nudie self-portrait.
And it was on a little piece ofwood.
I want to say it was maybelike...
15 by 15 inches that my mom hadprimed because my mom and I had
always, you know, worked in thesame studio when we lived in the
(04:28):
same house.
And so she had a piece of primedcanvas or panel that she wasn't
going to be using.
I would work on it.
And so it was beautifullypainted in the background with
this wonderful kind ofturquoise-ish blue, very loose
(04:49):
strokes.
Anyway, I'd made this painting.
I could not live with a nakedself-portrait, so I put a clown
face on it and a bathing suit.
But when that goes toconservation and gets x-rayed,
you will see two differentpaintings.
I didn't even know that.
Yeah.
Well, long story short is I lovethe expression in that picture.
(05:13):
Oh, yeah.
And so that was the detail forthe postcard for my exhibition
at Armando Torres's space,Retrospectivita, which had its
own blurb catalog, if youremember, a little square.
Yeah.
And so it was when I met you, Ihanded you a postcard.
When I met Cheech, I handed hima postcard.
(05:34):
And that's how the conversationstarted with a phone call from
you.
not too long after.
SPEAKER_00 (05:41):
Yeah, actually, because at that time, we were
looking at what to do next,because Cheech had, before my
time, and shortly after he hadlaunched the Chicano Visions
national tour, I met him throughRichard Duardo and started
working with him on a legacyproject, if you will.
And later on, I just startedpartnering with other things.
(06:01):
And I thought when he mentionedto me that he wanted to start
doing other shows, I said, well,I can do that.
You know, I manage and organizeand market shows.
I can do this.
So he said, well, I really wantto do a show of small paintings.
And can you help me figure out,you know, what from our
existing?
I said, well, let's see if wecan kind of broaden it too.
And we had met you and you wereon my radar and of course his as
(06:25):
well.
And I remember touching baseswith you and you sent me that
and another piece, but thatpiece in particular was, really
resonated with him.
And I love what you just shared,the story, because I don't
remember this.
I don't know that backgroundabout the story.
I'm sure he doesn't either.
But I love the fact thatunderneath, you know, it's about
revealing oneself and exposingyou are naked.
(06:46):
And I love it.
Aren't we all really underneathall of these clothings and these
trappings that we have?
That show went on to be in 16different venues across about a
decade.
And I love that piece.
But, you know, really, I thinkat that time, what I recall
about your work is, is that youwere doing a lot of work that I
remember reading that you wouldjust, I think Armando had in the
catalog about how you capturedmoments of transformation in
(07:09):
this social and kind of culturallandscape of Los Angeles.
And I remember fire.
SPEAKER_01 (07:13):
Fire paintings have been part of my body of work
since I started painting.
So while I'm raised in threegenerations of Mexican and
Chicano painters, I I really hitpanel or as it was illustration
board in my first paintings withpaint acrylic during the 1992
(07:35):
riots.
And so in looking at the frontpage of the LA Times and in
looking at a number of photoessays that were published in
1992, I was really drawn to thesubject of these moments of
rupture, not being able toarticulate it at the time, but
(07:56):
really understanding that it'sin these moments of uprisings
and in these moments of socialunrest and in these moments of
transformations of communitiesby both human and natural
disaster that some of the mostpotent compositions on canvas
have been created in the studio,wherever my studio has been.
So if those were some of thefirst fire pictures at Armando's
(08:19):
gallery, there was an exhibitioncalled Burn Hollywood Burn.
And it was in 2007, so a yearbefore the retrospective ITA.
And it was during a time periodwhen Griffith Park had burned so
many acres of one of the largestpark in the city of Los Angeles.
(08:40):
And so I had, I want to say like20 different pictures of LA on
fire from that series burned.
along with the audio ofhelicopters coming in and out.
And then I captured audio fromYouTube videos.
So there's people screaming, thefire is coming over the ledge,
the fire is coming over theledge.
(09:02):
And the helicopter sounds andthe siren sounds.
So it was an immersiveinstallation.
More recently in 2018, so jump afull 10 years, Melissa, you'll
remember when you came down toVernon to Fine Arts Solutions to
see The John Valadez exhibitionI did, Rodriguez Valadez, in
(09:23):
that exhibition, you saw reallya transitional moment between
large canvas depicting fires,our seasonal fall wildfires in
Los Angeles, but reallycontextualizing them as omens of
the coming disasters and humanrights abuses at the border and
throughout the communities inCalifornia.
(09:45):
really thinking about how do Ialign these omens with these
natural disasters as kind of theopening for the exhibition was
something that I really put alot of thought into.
And it's really supported by abit of research in some colonial
primary sources known as theFlorentine Codex.
(10:06):
So there's this text that I'vebeen studying for four years,
but book 12 of this 12-volumebook compendium of Mexico, like
in the 16th century, book 12outlines the conquest and it
opens with 10 omens saying theSpaniards are going to arrive,
the end of your world, as weknow it is happening and a new
(10:26):
world will emerge.
But in those 10 omens, a numberwere fire.
And so it was a perfect momentto really look back to this 500
year old text and situate thethese massive blazes in the
context of this world that we'reliving in.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
And I'm so privileged that I was able to
see that show because I rememberthat visual journey that you had
in there.
I was struck immediately when Iwalked into the gallery.
I was expecting what you wereknown for, at least for me, the
ones I had seen with theexception of El Paiso.
I was really going, wow, this iswhere the fire, the fire
(11:04):
paintings were there, but therewas this journey.
I remember being fascinatedfeeling that emotion because it
was coming and being conveyedbecause you also had kind of an
immersive experience and Iremember going around the corner
and going whoa and then seeingthe works that you were starting
to reveal from the codex it wasa deepening and an expansion for
(11:26):
me the progression of your workover the years it kind of took
you From the literal fire, as Imentioned, and what's really
relevant to what's happeningtoday in so many ways across not
only California, but our nation.
And Melissa, I'll just, to
SPEAKER_01 (11:40):
add to that moment of transition, I think it's
important to note that you hadbeen used to seeing so many of
my Los Angeles landscapes, oilon canvas.
I'm three generations oilpainter, right?
And it was during my 2014-2016residency with Art and Practice,
(12:02):
the foundation in Leimert Parkthat was founded by Mark
Bradford, Eileen Harris Norton,and Alan DiCastro, that having
14 months in a residency allowedme to really spend time with my
materials and the content in away I hadn't had previously.
(12:22):
When you live work in your ownspace, It's a little bit
different than having adedicated space to get in.
Know that you have three hoursto work because you just worked
eight hours during the daybefore you have to go home, eat
something and collapse.
So you have this very focusedkind of energy when you're
working in residency.
(12:43):
And it was then that I wasworking on oils on canvas.
And I had planned for thatresidency, a bunch of views of
South LA and moments oftransformation.
But we had taken a trip theprior fall to Oaxaca with my
mom, my dad, my sister, hergirlfriend.
(13:03):
And in a little bookstore, I hadpicked up a bottle of
cochinilla, which is that redpigment that comes from the
scale insect that feeds oncactus.
But this red, Melissa, is themost gorgeous red you've seen in
any support fabric, inwatercolor, in oil paint.
(13:25):
So I had been painting thesefire pictures of the Ayotzinapa
protests at Art and Practice.
And so this is 2014.
And these are just bigabstractions of fire with little
details of the doors of theNational Palace.
So it's this moment of uprisingover 43 disappeared and murdered
(13:49):
college students.
And so here was the moment whenthat light came on, that
transformational transitionpoint, where the material
itself, this red that came fromOaxaca, that was an incredibly
potent colorant that transformedthe global art markets, can
stand in for Latinidad andMexicanidad.
(14:11):
So the content, the form, andthe material collapsed
completely.
for me and came together in thisreally beautiful and potent way.
And that was the moment when Irealized that every choice of
material can inform in a veryconceptual and material way the
idea, which is when I made theshift from working completely on
(14:33):
canvas and fabricated pre-madeoil paint to really thinking
about how do I tell thesestories of transformation and
resistance through materialsthat are specific to this region
and specific to the history ofpainting in the Americas and
specifically Mexican culturalheritage.
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
I love that you've talked about the visual of the
red because you're talking abouta medium that, you know, it's
red is also red oil paint, butit's also, again, that's the red
that you use now with thisartistic medium that you're
creating that is primarilywater-based, if I recall.
Yeah.
But that's about the time thatyou really impacted me.
So about in late 2013, anexhibition that was releasing my
(15:18):
photography of downtown LosAngeles in the Arts District.
And a lot of my work, as youknow, has been described as very
painterly.
And friends like you who arebeautiful painters, and I was
privileged that you could seesomething in there as well, too,
that was...
I guess not valid, but somethingabout it that might inspire you
to have your own interpretationof some things that I was
(15:40):
seeing.
I think I mentioned to you thatI had been approached to do a
book of my work.
And as I was getting close tothe release of the book, you
said to me to do a show.
And you really made that happenby planting that idea and being
such a great creative partnerthat ultimately you and I 40
(16:03):
other artists came on board andselected works that resonated
with them.
And we had really, I think itwas a blockbuster show that
hasn't been seen yet since then,but we had about a thousand
people at the opening.
And I wanted to buy yourpainting.
I think they were already flownoff the wall and gone at that
point.
So that was so wonderful.
(16:24):
And I'll just say that where wealso went from that was also, we
had a show at Pershing Squareand your work was selected as
part of that called Amused.
paintings of the Arts Districtand they were blown up to eight
feet.
And how was that experience?
So maybe touch on that and thenwe can go on from that point of
time.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
It's been such a joy to know you and grow with you
over the years and really seeingyour photographic talents and
energies grow.
transform from your Instagramkind of persona and life into
print and then into physicalexhibitions was really a joy.
And I'm really looking forwardto seeing what more Melissa
(17:06):
Richardson Banks has to offerbecause every time I turn
around, you're just reinventingyour approach to the world that
we're living in and reallysharing your gifts and your
vision of communities.
I
SPEAKER_00 (17:19):
think I've told you over and over, but you really...
have made a tremendousdifference in my life and
watching you journey.
I
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
think that the past six months has been interesting
in so many ways, devastating inso many ways.
But in terms of my business, Ileft my career in museum
education in 2016.
(17:49):
I am four years into running myown business full time, running
my own schedules and mypublications, programs, talks,
you name it.
So it's been a real interestingmoment to take everything that I
(18:10):
do, which is so analog andtransfer it to online.
It's so in person and totransfer it.
to this realm.
One of the things that is reallyexciting at the moment is
curating.
And I don't curate, but every 10years.
(18:31):
And it's usually at theinvitation of a cultural arts
organization.
And the last time it was for Dayof the Dead, this time it's for
Day of the Dead.
I just mocked up the exhibitionplan for the 47th annual
Self-Help Graphics Dia de losMuertos festivity.
And self-help is one of theoldest Latino cultural arts
(18:54):
organizations in the nation.
Thousands of our community cometogether in celebration of our
ancestors in physical space, ina giant procession and at a
cultural organization for a realin-person event.
community event to celebrate ourloved ones.
(19:16):
So what we're having to do, likeeveryone else, is really think
about what does that look likewhen we're trying to keep our
elders in our community safe?
When the Latino populations havebeen so dramatically hit by the
coronavirus, how do we maintainkind of our traditions and
(19:39):
articulate the importance ofeach element of this
celebration, but do it online.
So it's been a wonderfulexperience working with a
stellar group over at Self HelpGraphics and three generations
of LA artists.
So it's an incredible lineup andI will forward links to all of
(20:03):
our information for you, butI'll tell you that we are
changing the procession to aprocession of lowriders.
and that we are going to bedoing a virtual exhibition.
We'll also have someinterpretive media for
explaining each element of someof the altars, but really
(20:27):
working with 17 of my favoriteLA-based artists of three
different generations has been areal joy and to see how the idea
of an ofrenda or an offering foryour loved ones, ancestors, and
community, the overlap in themesand approaches.
And some of these artists,Melissa, as you know, I might
(20:51):
not have spoken to for 15 years.
SPEAKER_00 (20:55):
Yeah, I get it.
That's amazing that you havethis...
you're taking this journeybecause when you said the three
generations, I mean, you areactually the product of three
generations of artists.
It's probably more generations.
I don't know about your greatgrandparents.
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
Right.
And so like it, it was anobvious choice to really think
about the artists who paved theway, who I adore, who I love
working with and the artiststhat are coming up right now and
to place my 45 year old self inthe center of in terms of the
branch that goes up and down.
(21:30):
I'm the connective tissuepulling this together.
And so I'd like to invite you totake a look at that exhibition
when it is available, butthere's a lot of really
beautiful and poeticinterpretations of the idea of
ofrenda, of altar worship, ofthe elements while understanding
(21:55):
where they came from and howartists are conceptually playing
with what that looks like.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
Before we segue over to Moody, you did And I don't
know if it was your first soloshow with this, which was at the
Riverside Art Museum, which ofcourse is building or creating
the Cheech Marin Center forChicano Art and Culture.
And that is where this beautifulcatalog, which I'm so, see, I
got one of the last ones.
(22:22):
I know it's sold out.
The Sandy Rodriguez CodexRodriguez Mondragon.
I think I said it right.
Yay.
And then I think you had a soloshow after that as well.
And so let's talk about thisbecause I have a personal
interest, obviously, because ofRiverside Art Museum and the
work that we've been doing withthem as we move forward to
opening the Cheech in fall of2021.
(22:42):
And I think also then we'll thenwe'll go to the Moody and
because actually maybe we canreference here in the book where
because I think there's a piecethat's in here that's going to
be on view here in Houston,which makes me super excited.
Absolutely.
And
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
I'll say that.
So in 2018, well, you were atthe show that I had with John
Valadez, Rodriguez Valadez inVernon.
It was at that show that thecurator from the Riverside Art
Museum had done a walkthroughand had asked John for my
(23:19):
contact information.
And then I got a phone call andI got an email from Todd
Wingate, who is just amazing.
a wonderful, wonderful curator,absolutely great vision and just
a joy to work with.
So he invited me to show theentire series because we had a
nice selection at the RodriguezValadez exhibition, but it
(23:41):
wasn't the whole series.
The whole series begun in, hadbegun in, 2017 and was part of
the PST Pacific standard time,LA LA exhibition that Isabel
Rojas Williams, a dear friend ofours, uh, curated at the loft at
Liz.
And it's so funny how thingscome full circle and
(24:04):
intersections between this verysmall, but very large art
community in the Western U S.
So fast forward to 2017, Toddsays, hey, Sandy, do you want to
do a full museum exhibition ofthe Codex at Rodriguez-Montague?
And I say, did you hesitate?
Oh, hell no.
(24:25):
I said, what I?
You do well.
Like, heck yeah, I'm in.
Which is why I called youimmediately.
I was like, Melissa, oh my God,we're doing a full solo show of
the series.
It's only in its second year.
I really want to do a catalog.
(24:46):
You do such wonderful work andyou've done such great catalogs.
Help me, help me.
And you were so generous withyour time and really calmed me
down, helped me out with thestructure, really gave me all
the support, sent me a fewsample documents, held my hand.
And it was from that dayforward, I was like, I can do
(25:09):
this.
I can do a solo show with eachsolo show.
I can do my publication, get myISBN number and get that into
major research libraries so thatit is part of the assets of
those libraries.
When I was at Art in Practice,the artist who was right next
(25:29):
door to me was an artist, butwas also a gallerist.
And he took his 14 monthsarchiving work and exhibitions
from his gallery from the 80s tolike, it was like 20 years of
his gallery.
And he said, Sandy, whatever youdo, and this is Dale Brockman
(25:50):
Davis, Sandy, whatever you do,don't do what I did.
And be sure you have a catalogfor each show because facts,
information, emails, all thesethings kind of float away.
And unless you have theephemera, available for
researchers, it kind of fallsapart.
(26:13):
So yeah, I mean that, that showwith Riverside art museum was
really fantastic.
I mean, that was the show thatCarolina Miranda came over and
did a four page show.
feature in the LA Times.
It was the front page of theSunday calendar section, above
and below the fold, full color.
(26:33):
I was ricocheting off the wallswhen I saw that.
And it was really a moment thatallowed me to see that people
were very excited about thesematerials and these
conversations and these ways ofpresenting a contemporary and
not so distant past of of thisregion.
(26:54):
And it was in that show that yousaw the Mapa de Los Angeles for
the 35 Angelenos killed by lawenforcement, which was actually
a piece that was commissioned bythe Los Angeles Municipal Art
Gallery.
So there was a curator therenamed Steven Wong who approached
(27:17):
me at an art event and said,hey, I'm doing a show about L.A.
I love what you've been doingabout California and these
larger maps of, uh, you know,the Western part of the U S and,
and California.
But I'm, I'm wondering what itmight look like if you focus it
in and investigate this place wecall home, you know?
(27:38):
And so it was for that show thatI created this map of Los
Angeles.
And with each map throughout theseries, as you go through the
catalog, you'll see my handlingof landscape and my handling of
land and really changes frompiece to piece.
(27:58):
So the way I'm investigatinglandscape changes.
So that is the piece that isopening very shortly.
I guess it is September 16th,isn't it?
It opens September 19th.
And I just got the install shotssent over.
Yeah.
You know, there were littlecheater shots.
(28:19):
They're going to have realinstallation shots.
They were just like, oh my God,it looks so good.
Here's a cell phone picture,which of course had me jumping
up and down like WoodyWoodpecker.
SPEAKER_00 (28:27):
Because it's going to be my first show to go see
during COVID.
Yeah.
So I almost like bookending myyear because the last show that
I saw in a gallery was your showin Los Angeles, James Gallery.
And the fact is that thisweekend, I'll be able to go to
the Moody Center for the Arts atRice University to see your
(28:51):
piece, which is featured as partof States of Mind Art in
American Democracy.
And I think this is a great timeto, and by the way, it is open.
It opens, I think, September18th to the public.
And then it goes on throughDecember 19th of this year.
But I'd like to have you talk alittle bit about, again, here we
go.
We found, we, this is a journey.
(29:12):
And here, you know, you're atthis place.
And again, this also for me,this literal journey, this Los
Angeles to Houston.
And here you are.
And I get to see this.
And there's so many people.
So many wonderful, I guess,topics that come to mind because
of what your map means intoday's world and what this show
will be about.
(29:33):
So can you talk a little bitabout the show and again, a
little bit more about that?
Oh, and by the way, I think youshould also mention you're going
to be talking, doing someconversations with the museum,
with the Moody Center, I thinkalso through the duration of the
show too.
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (29:51):
We just did some...
AV tests for some of ourupcoming programs.
So I'm going to be doing aluncheon and a talk with a
number of constituents from themuseum, and I'll be able to
forward that information just assoon as I have those links.
(30:12):
Also, speaking of Texas, which Ilove and I can't wait to get
back there when it's safe for meto travel, I'm also going to be
doing some conversations withthe Amon Carter Museum of
American Art in Fort Worth.
So these are all coming up inthe next few weeks.
So I'll post this content ontomy website.
You can just click a link andadd it to your calendars.
(30:36):
But I'll tell you that myconversation with Jalenka Baroto
over at the Moody Center startedin April.
And we had a number of reallywonderful Zoom conversations,
which For the first time in mylife, it wasn't, let me fly out
and meet you at the studio andtake a look at things in person.
It was, let's look at aslideshow together and share a
(30:59):
screen, which is so differentbecause as you've seen with this
work, it's all about material.
There's a power, a tactility tothis hand-processed paper.
The intensity of the colors isunlike what our eyes used to
seeing with modern syntheticThere is just a very strong
(31:25):
impression when you see theobjects in person.
But our conversation started inApril.
We had gone through a number ofobjects and she had really
wanted this one other piece.
And so it became a number ofdifferent check-ins and
conversations to reallyunderstand within the themes of
(31:47):
what she's working on for theshow.
which piece would mostbeautifully impact kind of the
overall feel of the room that mywork was going to be in.
That said, we finalized aftermuch conversation on the map of
(32:07):
Los Angeles.
And that particular map thatyou'll see, and there'll also be
a YouTube video that they'redoing for interpretive media.
So I recorded an entire artisttalk for them.
Real short, but essentially it'sfor the 35 Angelenos that were
killed by law enforcement in2018.
So it's interesting to know thatwhile I was working on that
(32:32):
piece, which was the entiresummer, and I'm actually putting
together a PowerPoint, a behindthe scenes, a making of, because
we're the generation of themaking of Thriller.
And so I love these making ofvideos.
SPEAKER_00 (32:47):
I love that.
Oh my God, that's awesome.
I can't wait to see
SPEAKER_01 (32:54):
this.
So because I have a 17-yearbackground in museum education,
I'm used to creating objectfiles.
I'm used to creatingpresentations on objects where
you kind of get the behind thescenes and related documents and
process things and relateddrawings and really kind of
(33:15):
filling out a more robust storyof the object.
And so now when people ask me todo a focus talk on a piece
that's on a show, I go throughmy photos and I'm like, oh, this
was created between this monthand this month of this year.
And I drop a folder called themaking of, and it's like 75
pictures.
And then for my slideshow, I'vegot like what, six and 15
(33:37):
minutes to talk about it.
So- It's a blast, and I'mactually going to be doing it
this week, so I'll send you thelink.
But that particular map ispainted in Maya blue, which is a
blue that was synthesized in thethird century by a group of
(33:58):
artists that understoodchemistry, foraging, and
alchemy.
Indigo, which is a potent bluecolorant, was made permanent by
fusing it with clay.
at a specific temperature in thethird century.
So whenever you see thosegorgeous vessels with that
(34:18):
beautiful, light, clear bluethat looks like the clearest
ocean water, that Maya blue goesback to, again...
And so you have this color thatstands in for Mesoamerican
civilization, that stands in forcontemporary Central American
(34:40):
communities, that is really justa wonderful blue and unlike any
other blue.
So that is the dominant color inthe sky.
The little yellow stars andconstellations in that piece are
done in pomegranate.
foraged here in Koreatown in LosAngeles.
And when you think of, oh, I'mgoing to get color from a
(35:02):
pomegranate, you might picturered, right?
Well, it's actually the tanninsin the skin.
So you have to let thesepomegranates putrefy, completely
dry out till they're rock hard,wrap it in a towel.
I had a summer intern that year.
So she's in the driveway with ahammer and a towel, cracking a
(35:25):
dried pomegranate just to getthe shells, just to get the
skin.
So the chemical compound is inthe skin.
And so we boiled it and you dida heat extraction and we didn't
test the pH level on the water,but it yielded the most bright,
amazing, almost, almost cadmiumyellow, really, really shocking,
(35:48):
which you can acidify or notacidify, but you can shift the
color by adding mordants.
So that's what the yellow in thestars are.
There's also a comet.
And in the goddesses, the cometappears a number of times,
again, as an omen of the loss oflife, of tragedy.
(36:14):
And being in the Southwest, youknow that the owl has great
significance for life.
a number of differentcommunities, and it can be seen
as an omen.
So beneath the comet, you'llalso see the owl.
And this again is from theFlorentine Codex.
The comet is from the CodexDuran.
But what you're looking at inthis piece that you'll see at
(36:35):
the Moody is a panorama of LosAngeles, including the
transverse range.
What gives Los Angeles afloristic diversity punch as we
have is that the mountains goeast-west.
They don't go north-south, whichare most ranges.
So you end up with thisincredible landscape and
(36:58):
inhabitants.
So you have the transverserange.
You have all these elements.
And then you have littlesnippets of...
Details of cycles ofstate-sanctioned violence,
including lynchings from theearly 20th century in downtown,
and then little red dots thatsignify where each resident and
(37:21):
neighbor was shot down by lawenforcement.
It's important to note that Ihad finished the production of
the map before it had to go tothe exhibition by the fall.
So not all 35 people are plottedon the map.
By the time I did the publicprogram talk at Barnstall in
(37:42):
January, I was able to go backto the LA Times Homicide Report
and fill in the rest of thenames.
So in the video that you'll beable to access on the Moody's
YouTube channel, I read eachperson's name, their age, and
what part of the city they tooktheir last breath in.
So it is very fitting for thismoment of...
(38:05):
the timing of the election, andthen also the timing of getting
ready to celebrate our lovedones for Day of the Dead,
because the show does runSeptember 19th to December 19th.
So it's an ofrenda of a type.
SPEAKER_00 (38:24):
I love that.
And this is a perfect time forus to talk a little bit again
about, and just first of all,thank you for being here today.
I know you have Other things,we're right on time here.
But I'm super excited that I'mgoing to be able to see this
show and see this work as youjust so eloquently described it
here today.
It's going to be, it's States ofMind, Art in American Democracy
(38:47):
at the Moody Center for the Artsat Rice University.
It opens September 18th, 2020and is on view through December
19th, 2020.
And of course, the wonderfulwork by my friend and talented
artist, Sandy Rodriguez is partof the show.
Sandy, if people wanted to findyou on Instagram or on, as my
(39:08):
mother would say, the interwebs,where would they find you today?
So
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
you can follow me on Instagram at
studio.sandyrodriguez and StudioSandy Rodriguez on Facebook.
But I am far more on Instagramthan I am on Facebook.
But certainly I would say tocheck out upcoming exhibitions,
program talks.
please seestudiosandyrodriguez.com.
(39:37):
I will also be making availablecatalogs from my last exhibition
that you saw probably nextquarter, just because there's so
many wonderful things to do.
SPEAKER_00 (39:52):
Well, I appreciate it so much.
It's so great to hear your voiceand especially during these
times where we haven't seen eachother in person.
And it's just nice to see yourface as well as we're taping
this.
We're also looking at each otheron Zoom.
So the podcast is audio, butit's just so nice.
If you could see Sandy, I willtell you that she has this
brilliance.
She shines, she glows.
And again, I'm honored to be herfriend of someone with such
(40:14):
talent.
And I encourage you to look ather work and to, if you're here
in Houston, please see the show.
This is Melissa RichardsonBanks.
This is Mused, LA to you.
And please join us on anothertime.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (40:29):
you, Melissa, so much for
SPEAKER_00 (40:31):
having me.
Such a joy to see you.
This is Melissa Richardson Banks.
This is Mused LATU.
And I am so excited today tohave my friend who's a very
(00:21):
talented artist and just anamazing person all around, Sandy
Rodriguez.
SPEAKER_01 (00:26):
Good morning, Melissa.
So happy to be here with you andto have a chance to chat, catch
up and talk
SPEAKER_00 (00:31):
about the things of the world.
Well, it makes me really happybecause as I said, you're
probably one of the mosttalented person I know in so
many ways.
I mean, there's so many talentedpeople in my life and you're
right up there in the cloud ofthe most talented and beautiful.
Yeah, too kind, Ms.
(00:54):
Melissa.
have a joyous family and ireally really just was so
grateful that you became myfriend and when we first met
again i think there's a coupleof a we kind of i think met in
(01:15):
passing and then eventually wemet more formally i think you
and i were chatting the otherday at lagma with another mutual
friend who we loved armando htorres and i do want to
acknowledge him because He wassuch a special person and we
lost him, as you know, obviouslyseveral years ago.
And he was very close to you.
And I was lucky and privilegedto work with him and also know
(01:36):
him and love him.
And we met at, do you rememberwhere we met?
SPEAKER_01 (01:41):
It was 2008.
There was an exhibition atLACMA.
There was one of thosewonderful, hey, let's go to this
event.
And my mom, Armando, and Ihopped in a car and went down to
the L.A.
County Museum of Art.
where there was a stunningexhibition of Cheech's
collection, and it was therethat I was introduced formally
(02:04):
to Melissa.
SPEAKER_00 (02:08):
And that was such a special time, because that was
actually like the last venue, ifyou will, of Cheech's very
long-running and blockbustershow, Chicana Visions.
And I remember that.
It was...
One of those things I know forhim, he really wanted to be at
LACMA.
So it was kind of a joyous and abittersweet because it really
should have started in LA, butit ended in LA.
(02:29):
But it started a new chapterbecause that's when I started
working with him when I met you.
And that was such a beautiful,beautiful experience.
And I think what's really coolabout that is that I think at
that event, you gave me and youreminded me that you gave me, I
think, a postcard of some ofyour work.
Because I know that Armando usedto have this great gallery
(02:50):
called the Underground Gallery.
And I think you had a show orthere or somewhere else.
But I remember seeing that andgoing, wow, this girl's really
great in terms of artworks.
Funny story is
SPEAKER_01 (03:02):
LACMA had the first retrospective or the
retrospective of one of theyoungest artists here in L.A.
or one of the youngest artistshave a retrospective at LACMA
was Gronk.
And when I found out he was inhis 30s when he had his first
retrospective, I said, well,damn, I want my retrospective.
(03:23):
So in joking with Armando, itbecame, well, let's do a little
one.
Let's do a little one at theUnderground Gallery.
And it was 2008.
And again, this is happeningsimultaneously to the Chicano
Painters of LA selections fromthe Cheech Marin Collection
Exhibition.
So my card for the exhibitionwas a self-portrait I had done
(03:43):
in 1998.
And I had been out of art schoolfor a year.
And having attended CalArts,There's a lot of adjusting to
life in the world.
And so I didn't paint for thefirst year out of art school.
But the first painting I did wasa self-portrait.
(04:04):
And Melissa, you know the storybehind the self-portrait, that
it was a nudie self-portrait.
And it was on a little piece ofwood.
I want to say it was maybelike...
15 by 15 inches that my mom hadprimed because my mom and I had
always, you know, worked in thesame studio when we lived in the
(04:28):
same house.
And so she had a piece of primedcanvas or panel that she wasn't
going to be using.
I would work on it.
And so it was beautifullypainted in the background with
this wonderful kind ofturquoise-ish blue, very loose
(04:49):
strokes.
Anyway, I'd made this painting.
I could not live with a nakedself-portrait, so I put a clown
face on it and a bathing suit.
But when that goes toconservation and gets x-rayed,
you will see two differentpaintings.
I didn't even know that.
Yeah.
Well, long story short is I lovethe expression in that picture.
(05:13):
Oh, yeah.
And so that was the detail forthe postcard for my exhibition
at Armando Torres's space,Retrospectivita, which had its
own blurb catalog, if youremember, a little square.
Yeah.
And so it was when I met you, Ihanded you a postcard.
When I met Cheech, I handed hima postcard.
(05:34):
And that's how the conversationstarted with a phone call from
you.
not too long after.
SPEAKER_00 (05:41):
Yeah, actually, because at that time, we were
looking at what to do next,because Cheech had, before my
time, and shortly after he hadlaunched the Chicano Visions
national tour, I met him throughRichard Duardo and started
working with him on a legacyproject, if you will.
And later on, I just startedpartnering with other things.
(06:01):
And I thought when he mentionedto me that he wanted to start
doing other shows, I said, well,I can do that.
You know, I manage and organizeand market shows.
I can do this.
So he said, well, I really wantto do a show of small paintings.
And can you help me figure out,you know, what from our
existing?
I said, well, let's see if wecan kind of broaden it too.
And we had met you and you wereon my radar and of course his as
(06:25):
well.
And I remember touching baseswith you and you sent me that
and another piece, but thatpiece in particular was, really
resonated with him.
And I love what you just shared,the story, because I don't
remember this.
I don't know that backgroundabout the story.
I'm sure he doesn't either.
But I love the fact thatunderneath, you know, it's about
revealing oneself and exposingyou are naked.
(06:46):
And I love it.
Aren't we all really underneathall of these clothings and these
trappings that we have?
That show went on to be in 16different venues across about a
decade.
And I love that piece.
But, you know, really, I thinkat that time, what I recall
about your work is, is that youwere doing a lot of work that I
remember reading that you wouldjust, I think Armando had in the
catalog about how you capturedmoments of transformation in
(07:09):
this social and kind of culturallandscape of Los Angeles.
And I remember fire.
SPEAKER_01 (07:13):
Fire paintings have been part of my body of work
since I started painting.
So while I'm raised in threegenerations of Mexican and
Chicano painters, I I really hitpanel or as it was illustration
board in my first paintings withpaint acrylic during the 1992
(07:35):
riots.
And so in looking at the frontpage of the LA Times and in
looking at a number of photoessays that were published in
1992, I was really drawn to thesubject of these moments of
rupture, not being able toarticulate it at the time, but
(07:56):
really understanding that it'sin these moments of uprisings
and in these moments of socialunrest and in these moments of
transformations of communitiesby both human and natural
disaster that some of the mostpotent compositions on canvas
have been created in the studio,wherever my studio has been.
So if those were some of thefirst fire pictures at Armando's
(08:19):
gallery, there was an exhibitioncalled Burn Hollywood Burn.
And it was in 2007, so a yearbefore the retrospective ITA.
And it was during a time periodwhen Griffith Park had burned so
many acres of one of the largestpark in the city of Los Angeles.
(08:40):
And so I had, I want to say like20 different pictures of LA on
fire from that series burned.
along with the audio ofhelicopters coming in and out.
And then I captured audio fromYouTube videos.
So there's people screaming, thefire is coming over the ledge,
the fire is coming over theledge.
(09:02):
And the helicopter sounds andthe siren sounds.
So it was an immersiveinstallation.
More recently in 2018, so jump afull 10 years, Melissa, you'll
remember when you came down toVernon to Fine Arts Solutions to
see The John Valadez exhibitionI did, Rodriguez Valadez, in
(09:23):
that exhibition, you saw reallya transitional moment between
large canvas depicting fires,our seasonal fall wildfires in
Los Angeles, but reallycontextualizing them as omens of
the coming disasters and humanrights abuses at the border and
throughout the communities inCalifornia.
(09:45):
really thinking about how do Ialign these omens with these
natural disasters as kind of theopening for the exhibition was
something that I really put alot of thought into.
And it's really supported by abit of research in some colonial
primary sources known as theFlorentine Codex.
(10:06):
So there's this text that I'vebeen studying for four years,
but book 12 of this 12-volumebook compendium of Mexico, like
in the 16th century, book 12outlines the conquest and it
opens with 10 omens saying theSpaniards are going to arrive,
the end of your world, as weknow it is happening and a new
(10:26):
world will emerge.
But in those 10 omens, a numberwere fire.
And so it was a perfect momentto really look back to this 500
year old text and situate thethese massive blazes in the
context of this world that we'reliving in.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (10:43):
And I'm so privileged that I was able to
see that show because I rememberthat visual journey that you had
in there.
I was struck immediately when Iwalked into the gallery.
I was expecting what you wereknown for, at least for me, the
ones I had seen with theexception of El Paiso.
I was really going, wow, this iswhere the fire, the fire
(11:04):
paintings were there, but therewas this journey.
I remember being fascinatedfeeling that emotion because it
was coming and being conveyedbecause you also had kind of an
immersive experience and Iremember going around the corner
and going whoa and then seeingthe works that you were starting
to reveal from the codex it wasa deepening and an expansion for
(11:26):
me the progression of your workover the years it kind of took
you From the literal fire, as Imentioned, and what's really
relevant to what's happeningtoday in so many ways across not
only California, but our nation.
And Melissa, I'll just, to
SPEAKER_01 (11:40):
add to that moment of transition, I think it's
important to note that you hadbeen used to seeing so many of
my Los Angeles landscapes, oilon canvas.
I'm three generations oilpainter, right?
And it was during my 2014-2016residency with Art and Practice,
(12:02):
the foundation in Leimert Parkthat was founded by Mark
Bradford, Eileen Harris Norton,and Alan DiCastro, that having
14 months in a residency allowedme to really spend time with my
materials and the content in away I hadn't had previously.
(12:22):
When you live work in your ownspace, It's a little bit
different than having adedicated space to get in.
Know that you have three hoursto work because you just worked
eight hours during the daybefore you have to go home, eat
something and collapse.
So you have this very focusedkind of energy when you're
working in residency.
(12:43):
And it was then that I wasworking on oils on canvas.
And I had planned for thatresidency, a bunch of views of
South LA and moments oftransformation.
But we had taken a trip theprior fall to Oaxaca with my
mom, my dad, my sister, hergirlfriend.
(13:03):
And in a little bookstore, I hadpicked up a bottle of
cochinilla, which is that redpigment that comes from the
scale insect that feeds oncactus.
But this red, Melissa, is themost gorgeous red you've seen in
any support fabric, inwatercolor, in oil paint.
(13:25):
So I had been painting thesefire pictures of the Ayotzinapa
protests at Art and Practice.
And so this is 2014.
And these are just bigabstractions of fire with little
details of the doors of theNational Palace.
So it's this moment of uprisingover 43 disappeared and murdered
(13:49):
college students.
And so here was the moment whenthat light came on, that
transformational transitionpoint, where the material
itself, this red that came fromOaxaca, that was an incredibly
potent colorant that transformedthe global art markets, can
stand in for Latinidad andMexicanidad.
(14:11):
So the content, the form, andthe material collapsed
completely.
for me and came together in thisreally beautiful and potent way.
And that was the moment when Irealized that every choice of
material can inform in a veryconceptual and material way the
idea, which is when I made theshift from working completely on
(14:33):
canvas and fabricated pre-madeoil paint to really thinking
about how do I tell thesestories of transformation and
resistance through materialsthat are specific to this region
and specific to the history ofpainting in the Americas and
specifically Mexican culturalheritage.
SPEAKER_00 (14:55):
I love that you've talked about the visual of the
red because you're talking abouta medium that, you know, it's
red is also red oil paint, butit's also, again, that's the red
that you use now with thisartistic medium that you're
creating that is primarilywater-based, if I recall.
Yeah.
But that's about the time thatyou really impacted me.
So about in late 2013, anexhibition that was releasing my
(15:18):
photography of downtown LosAngeles in the Arts District.
And a lot of my work, as youknow, has been described as very
painterly.
And friends like you who arebeautiful painters, and I was
privileged that you could seesomething in there as well, too,
that was...
I guess not valid, but somethingabout it that might inspire you
to have your own interpretationof some things that I was
(15:40):
seeing.
I think I mentioned to you thatI had been approached to do a
book of my work.
And as I was getting close tothe release of the book, you
said to me to do a show.
And you really made that happenby planting that idea and being
such a great creative partnerthat ultimately you and I 40
(16:03):
other artists came on board andselected works that resonated
with them.
And we had really, I think itwas a blockbuster show that
hasn't been seen yet since then,but we had about a thousand
people at the opening.
And I wanted to buy yourpainting.
I think they were already flownoff the wall and gone at that
point.
So that was so wonderful.
(16:24):
And I'll just say that where wealso went from that was also, we
had a show at Pershing Squareand your work was selected as
part of that called Amused.
paintings of the Arts Districtand they were blown up to eight
feet.
And how was that experience?
So maybe touch on that and thenwe can go on from that point of
time.
SPEAKER_01 (16:43):
It's been such a joy to know you and grow with you
over the years and really seeingyour photographic talents and
energies grow.
transform from your Instagramkind of persona and life into
print and then into physicalexhibitions was really a joy.
And I'm really looking forwardto seeing what more Melissa
(17:06):
Richardson Banks has to offerbecause every time I turn
around, you're just reinventingyour approach to the world that
we're living in and reallysharing your gifts and your
vision of communities.
I
SPEAKER_00 (17:19):
think I've told you over and over, but you really...
have made a tremendousdifference in my life and
watching you journey.
I
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
think that the past six months has been interesting
in so many ways, devastating inso many ways.
But in terms of my business, Ileft my career in museum
education in 2016.
(17:49):
I am four years into running myown business full time, running
my own schedules and mypublications, programs, talks,
you name it.
So it's been a real interestingmoment to take everything that I
(18:10):
do, which is so analog andtransfer it to online.
It's so in person and totransfer it.
to this realm.
One of the things that is reallyexciting at the moment is
curating.
And I don't curate, but every 10years.
(18:31):
And it's usually at theinvitation of a cultural arts
organization.
And the last time it was for Dayof the Dead, this time it's for
Day of the Dead.
I just mocked up the exhibitionplan for the 47th annual
Self-Help Graphics Dia de losMuertos festivity.
And self-help is one of theoldest Latino cultural arts
(18:54):
organizations in the nation.
Thousands of our community cometogether in celebration of our
ancestors in physical space, ina giant procession and at a
cultural organization for a realin-person event.
community event to celebrate ourloved ones.
(19:16):
So what we're having to do, likeeveryone else, is really think
about what does that look likewhen we're trying to keep our
elders in our community safe?
When the Latino populations havebeen so dramatically hit by the
coronavirus, how do we maintainkind of our traditions and
(19:39):
articulate the importance ofeach element of this
celebration, but do it online.
So it's been a wonderfulexperience working with a
stellar group over at Self HelpGraphics and three generations
of LA artists.
So it's an incredible lineup andI will forward links to all of
(20:03):
our information for you, butI'll tell you that we are
changing the procession to aprocession of lowriders.
and that we are going to bedoing a virtual exhibition.
We'll also have someinterpretive media for
explaining each element of someof the altars, but really
(20:27):
working with 17 of my favoriteLA-based artists of three
different generations has been areal joy and to see how the idea
of an ofrenda or an offering foryour loved ones, ancestors, and
community, the overlap in themesand approaches.
And some of these artists,Melissa, as you know, I might
(20:51):
not have spoken to for 15 years.
SPEAKER_00 (20:55):
Yeah, I get it.
That's amazing that you havethis...
you're taking this journeybecause when you said the three
generations, I mean, you areactually the product of three
generations of artists.
It's probably more generations.
I don't know about your greatgrandparents.
SPEAKER_01 (21:10):
Right.
And so like it, it was anobvious choice to really think
about the artists who paved theway, who I adore, who I love
working with and the artiststhat are coming up right now and
to place my 45 year old self inthe center of in terms of the
branch that goes up and down.
(21:30):
I'm the connective tissuepulling this together.
And so I'd like to invite you totake a look at that exhibition
when it is available, butthere's a lot of really
beautiful and poeticinterpretations of the idea of
ofrenda, of altar worship, ofthe elements while understanding
(21:55):
where they came from and howartists are conceptually playing
with what that looks like.
SPEAKER_00 (22:01):
Before we segue over to Moody, you did And I don't
know if it was your first soloshow with this, which was at the
Riverside Art Museum, which ofcourse is building or creating
the Cheech Marin Center forChicano Art and Culture.
And that is where this beautifulcatalog, which I'm so, see, I
got one of the last ones.
(22:22):
I know it's sold out.
The Sandy Rodriguez CodexRodriguez Mondragon.
I think I said it right.
Yay.
And then I think you had a soloshow after that as well.
And so let's talk about thisbecause I have a personal
interest, obviously, because ofRiverside Art Museum and the
work that we've been doing withthem as we move forward to
opening the Cheech in fall of2021.
(22:42):
And I think also then we'll thenwe'll go to the Moody and
because actually maybe we canreference here in the book where
because I think there's a piecethat's in here that's going to
be on view here in Houston,which makes me super excited.
Absolutely.
And
SPEAKER_01 (22:57):
I'll say that.
So in 2018, well, you were atthe show that I had with John
Valadez, Rodriguez Valadez inVernon.
It was at that show that thecurator from the Riverside Art
Museum had done a walkthroughand had asked John for my
(23:19):
contact information.
And then I got a phone call andI got an email from Todd
Wingate, who is just amazing.
a wonderful, wonderful curator,absolutely great vision and just
a joy to work with.
So he invited me to show theentire series because we had a
nice selection at the RodriguezValadez exhibition, but it
(23:41):
wasn't the whole series.
The whole series begun in, hadbegun in, 2017 and was part of
the PST Pacific standard time,LA LA exhibition that Isabel
Rojas Williams, a dear friend ofours, uh, curated at the loft at
Liz.
And it's so funny how thingscome full circle and
(24:04):
intersections between this verysmall, but very large art
community in the Western U S.
So fast forward to 2017, Toddsays, hey, Sandy, do you want to
do a full museum exhibition ofthe Codex at Rodriguez-Montague?
And I say, did you hesitate?
Oh, hell no.
(24:25):
I said, what I?
You do well.
Like, heck yeah, I'm in.
Which is why I called youimmediately.
I was like, Melissa, oh my God,we're doing a full solo show of
the series.
It's only in its second year.
I really want to do a catalog.
(24:46):
You do such wonderful work andyou've done such great catalogs.
Help me, help me.
And you were so generous withyour time and really calmed me
down, helped me out with thestructure, really gave me all
the support, sent me a fewsample documents, held my hand.
And it was from that dayforward, I was like, I can do
(25:09):
this.
I can do a solo show with eachsolo show.
I can do my publication, get myISBN number and get that into
major research libraries so thatit is part of the assets of
those libraries.
When I was at Art in Practice,the artist who was right next
(25:29):
door to me was an artist, butwas also a gallerist.
And he took his 14 monthsarchiving work and exhibitions
from his gallery from the 80s tolike, it was like 20 years of
his gallery.
And he said, Sandy, whatever youdo, and this is Dale Brockman
(25:50):
Davis, Sandy, whatever you do,don't do what I did.
And be sure you have a catalogfor each show because facts,
information, emails, all thesethings kind of float away.
And unless you have theephemera, available for
researchers, it kind of fallsapart.
(26:13):
So yeah, I mean that, that showwith Riverside art museum was
really fantastic.
I mean, that was the show thatCarolina Miranda came over and
did a four page show.
feature in the LA Times.
It was the front page of theSunday calendar section, above
and below the fold, full color.
(26:33):
I was ricocheting off the wallswhen I saw that.
And it was really a moment thatallowed me to see that people
were very excited about thesematerials and these
conversations and these ways ofpresenting a contemporary and
not so distant past of of thisregion.
(26:54):
And it was in that show that yousaw the Mapa de Los Angeles for
the 35 Angelenos killed by lawenforcement, which was actually
a piece that was commissioned bythe Los Angeles Municipal Art
Gallery.
So there was a curator therenamed Steven Wong who approached
(27:17):
me at an art event and said,hey, I'm doing a show about L.A.
I love what you've been doingabout California and these
larger maps of, uh, you know,the Western part of the U S and,
and California.
But I'm, I'm wondering what itmight look like if you focus it
in and investigate this place wecall home, you know?
(27:38):
And so it was for that show thatI created this map of Los
Angeles.
And with each map throughout theseries, as you go through the
catalog, you'll see my handlingof landscape and my handling of
land and really changes frompiece to piece.
(27:58):
So the way I'm investigatinglandscape changes.
So that is the piece that isopening very shortly.
I guess it is September 16th,isn't it?
It opens September 19th.
And I just got the install shotssent over.
Yeah.
You know, there were littlecheater shots.
(28:19):
They're going to have realinstallation shots.
They were just like, oh my God,it looks so good.
Here's a cell phone picture,which of course had me jumping
up and down like WoodyWoodpecker.
SPEAKER_00 (28:27):
Because it's going to be my first show to go see
during COVID.
Yeah.
So I almost like bookending myyear because the last show that
I saw in a gallery was your showin Los Angeles, James Gallery.
And the fact is that thisweekend, I'll be able to go to
the Moody Center for the Arts atRice University to see your
(28:51):
piece, which is featured as partof States of Mind Art in
American Democracy.
And I think this is a great timeto, and by the way, it is open.
It opens, I think, September18th to the public.
And then it goes on throughDecember 19th of this year.
But I'd like to have you talk alittle bit about, again, here we
go.
We found, we, this is a journey.
(29:12):
And here, you know, you're atthis place.
And again, this also for me,this literal journey, this Los
Angeles to Houston.
And here you are.
And I get to see this.
And there's so many people.
So many wonderful, I guess,topics that come to mind because
of what your map means intoday's world and what this show
will be about.
(29:33):
So can you talk a little bitabout the show and again, a
little bit more about that?
Oh, and by the way, I think youshould also mention you're going
to be talking, doing someconversations with the museum,
with the Moody Center, I thinkalso through the duration of the
show too.
Oh, yes.
SPEAKER_01 (29:51):
We just did some...
AV tests for some of ourupcoming programs.
So I'm going to be doing aluncheon and a talk with a
number of constituents from themuseum, and I'll be able to
forward that information just assoon as I have those links.
(30:12):
Also, speaking of Texas, which Ilove and I can't wait to get
back there when it's safe for meto travel, I'm also going to be
doing some conversations withthe Amon Carter Museum of
American Art in Fort Worth.
So these are all coming up inthe next few weeks.
So I'll post this content ontomy website.
You can just click a link andadd it to your calendars.
(30:36):
But I'll tell you that myconversation with Jalenka Baroto
over at the Moody Center startedin April.
And we had a number of reallywonderful Zoom conversations,
which For the first time in mylife, it wasn't, let me fly out
and meet you at the studio andtake a look at things in person.
It was, let's look at aslideshow together and share a
(30:59):
screen, which is so differentbecause as you've seen with this
work, it's all about material.
There's a power, a tactility tothis hand-processed paper.
The intensity of the colors isunlike what our eyes used to
seeing with modern syntheticThere is just a very strong
(31:25):
impression when you see theobjects in person.
But our conversation started inApril.
We had gone through a number ofobjects and she had really
wanted this one other piece.
And so it became a number ofdifferent check-ins and
conversations to reallyunderstand within the themes of
(31:47):
what she's working on for theshow.
which piece would mostbeautifully impact kind of the
overall feel of the room that mywork was going to be in.
That said, we finalized aftermuch conversation on the map of
(32:07):
Los Angeles.
And that particular map thatyou'll see, and there'll also be
a YouTube video that they'redoing for interpretive media.
So I recorded an entire artisttalk for them.
Real short, but essentially it'sfor the 35 Angelenos that were
killed by law enforcement in2018.
So it's interesting to know thatwhile I was working on that
(32:32):
piece, which was the entiresummer, and I'm actually putting
together a PowerPoint, a behindthe scenes, a making of, because
we're the generation of themaking of Thriller.
And so I love these making ofvideos.
SPEAKER_00 (32:47):
I love that.
Oh my God, that's awesome.
I can't wait to see
SPEAKER_01 (32:54):
this.
So because I have a 17-yearbackground in museum education,
I'm used to creating objectfiles.
I'm used to creatingpresentations on objects where
you kind of get the behind thescenes and related documents and
process things and relateddrawings and really kind of
(33:15):
filling out a more robust storyof the object.
And so now when people ask me todo a focus talk on a piece
that's on a show, I go throughmy photos and I'm like, oh, this
was created between this monthand this month of this year.
And I drop a folder called themaking of, and it's like 75
pictures.
And then for my slideshow, I'vegot like what, six and 15
(33:37):
minutes to talk about it.
So- It's a blast, and I'mactually going to be doing it
this week, so I'll send you thelink.
But that particular map ispainted in Maya blue, which is a
blue that was synthesized in thethird century by a group of
(33:58):
artists that understoodchemistry, foraging, and
alchemy.
Indigo, which is a potent bluecolorant, was made permanent by
fusing it with clay.
at a specific temperature in thethird century.
So whenever you see thosegorgeous vessels with that
(34:18):
beautiful, light, clear bluethat looks like the clearest
ocean water, that Maya blue goesback to, again...
And so you have this color thatstands in for Mesoamerican
civilization, that stands in forcontemporary Central American
(34:40):
communities, that is really justa wonderful blue and unlike any
other blue.
So that is the dominant color inthe sky.
The little yellow stars andconstellations in that piece are
done in pomegranate.
foraged here in Koreatown in LosAngeles.
And when you think of, oh, I'mgoing to get color from a
(35:02):
pomegranate, you might picturered, right?
Well, it's actually the tanninsin the skin.
So you have to let thesepomegranates putrefy, completely
dry out till they're rock hard,wrap it in a towel.
I had a summer intern that year.
So she's in the driveway with ahammer and a towel, cracking a
(35:25):
dried pomegranate just to getthe shells, just to get the
skin.
So the chemical compound is inthe skin.
And so we boiled it and you dida heat extraction and we didn't
test the pH level on the water,but it yielded the most bright,
amazing, almost, almost cadmiumyellow, really, really shocking,
(35:48):
which you can acidify or notacidify, but you can shift the
color by adding mordants.
So that's what the yellow in thestars are.
There's also a comet.
And in the goddesses, the cometappears a number of times,
again, as an omen of the loss oflife, of tragedy.
(36:14):
And being in the Southwest, youknow that the owl has great
significance for life.
a number of differentcommunities, and it can be seen
as an omen.
So beneath the comet, you'llalso see the owl.
And this again is from theFlorentine Codex.
The comet is from the CodexDuran.
But what you're looking at inthis piece that you'll see at
(36:35):
the Moody is a panorama of LosAngeles, including the
transverse range.
What gives Los Angeles afloristic diversity punch as we
have is that the mountains goeast-west.
They don't go north-south, whichare most ranges.
So you end up with thisincredible landscape and
(36:58):
inhabitants.
So you have the transverserange.
You have all these elements.
And then you have littlesnippets of...
Details of cycles ofstate-sanctioned violence,
including lynchings from theearly 20th century in downtown,
and then little red dots thatsignify where each resident and
(37:21):
neighbor was shot down by lawenforcement.
It's important to note that Ihad finished the production of
the map before it had to go tothe exhibition by the fall.
So not all 35 people are plottedon the map.
By the time I did the publicprogram talk at Barnstall in
(37:42):
January, I was able to go backto the LA Times Homicide Report
and fill in the rest of thenames.
So in the video that you'll beable to access on the Moody's
YouTube channel, I read eachperson's name, their age, and
what part of the city they tooktheir last breath in.
So it is very fitting for thismoment of...
(38:05):
the timing of the election, andthen also the timing of getting
ready to celebrate our lovedones for Day of the Dead,
because the show does runSeptember 19th to December 19th.
So it's an ofrenda of a type.
SPEAKER_00 (38:24):
I love that.
And this is a perfect time forus to talk a little bit again
about, and just first of all,thank you for being here today.
I know you have Other things,we're right on time here.
But I'm super excited that I'mgoing to be able to see this
show and see this work as youjust so eloquently described it
here today.
It's going to be, it's States ofMind, Art in American Democracy
(38:47):
at the Moody Center for the Artsat Rice University.
It opens September 18th, 2020and is on view through December
19th, 2020.
And of course, the wonderfulwork by my friend and talented
artist, Sandy Rodriguez is partof the show.
Sandy, if people wanted to findyou on Instagram or on, as my
(39:08):
mother would say, the interwebs,where would they find you today?
So
SPEAKER_01 (39:13):
you can follow me on Instagram at
studio.sandyrodriguez and StudioSandy Rodriguez on Facebook.
But I am far more on Instagramthan I am on Facebook.
But certainly I would say tocheck out upcoming exhibitions,
program talks.
please seestudiosandyrodriguez.com.
(39:37):
I will also be making availablecatalogs from my last exhibition
that you saw probably nextquarter, just because there's so
many wonderful things to do.
SPEAKER_00 (39:52):
Well, I appreciate it so much.
It's so great to hear your voiceand especially during these
times where we haven't seen eachother in person.
And it's just nice to see yourface as well as we're taping
this.
We're also looking at each otheron Zoom.
So the podcast is audio, butit's just so nice.
If you could see Sandy, I willtell you that she has this
brilliance.
She shines, she glows.
And again, I'm honored to be herfriend of someone with such
(40:14):
talent.
And I encourage you to look ather work and to, if you're here
in Houston, please see the show.
This is Melissa RichardsonBanks.
This is Mused, LA to you.
And please join us on anothertime.
Thank
SPEAKER_01 (40:29):
you, Melissa, so much for
SPEAKER_00 (40:31):
having me.
Such a joy to see you.
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