Luis Gispert

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

ABOUT THE LECTURE

Symbols of Resistance

Rooted in cultural tradition, objects of ornamentation such as jewelry, fashion, custom automobiles, and home décor signal personal identity and community affiliation. And for artist Luis Gispert, these objects are subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, signifiers of protest employed by minority communities. In his films, sculptures, and photographs Gispert places these objects into fictitious narratives with performative characters. Although fabricated images and objects themselves, the artist’s work offers an authentic exploration of the ways immigrants and people of color use objects as a form of resistance to maintain their genuine identity and oppose police violence, judicial discrimination, and a lack of educational and employment opportunities.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Gispert creates art through a wide range of media, including photographs, film, and sculptures. Touching upon themes of the American popular imagination, class values, status-driven subcultures, art history, and his Cuban American lineage, his sculptures question consumerism’s relationship to the cult of authenticity and the theater of personal narrative. Watch some of his film work on Vimeo, or check out SAIC’s Alumni Profile.

His work has been exhibited internationally at galleries like Mary Boone, and Gagosian, and museums such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Royal Academy in London. Gispert was raised in Miami, Florida and currently works and lives in Brooklyn, NY.