June 12, 2007
The art outlaws of East L.A.
Long before flash mobs, Gamboa began perfecting the practice of the spontaneous art action when he and three other East L.A. artists formed the venerated avant-garde performance group known as Asco, named after the Spanish word for “nausea.” Here you had, in the middle of the 1970s, four style-conscious art jesters — three men, one woman — cavorting in outrageous outfits around the streets and empty lots of East L.A., making a scene, actions sprinkled with cutting social commentary, then disappearing. A Dada daydream in Chicanoville, USA.
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An interesting read, having never heard of this "group" before. Also interesting was the point of how Harry Gamboa's sister, Diane, is basically overlooked (or rather, attention to her refocuses to Harry and his work) - even though they are said to be of an even par. Thanks for the post, HW.
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Very interesting read. And a fascinating group. But when I read this: Gamboa, out of the corner of an eye, waves them in, signaling that it’s okay. Then he instructs his troupe to leave their half-eaten doughnuts on the tables and walk past him on their way out of the shop, without looking at the camera. The art piece is done. The shop is left silent and hollow once more. all I could think about (and it was in the back of my mind the whole time I was reading) was the poor minimum-wage donut shop worker who had to clean up their mess after they swanned off. Would it have killed them to come back after the cameras stopped rolling and clear away their own donut scraps? (Oh, and "art outlwas" - "artlaws."