ok bye, the blog

mapping another l.a.

Mapping Another LA is still going strong and has a little over a month to go (the show closes Feb 26th). Below are some installation views of my commissioned piece. Be sure to check it out before its gone!

the houston folk art tour

During my latest trip to Houston I made sure to visit a few folk art landmarks.

First, The Beer Can House

The marbles imbedded in the cement was a nice surprise, and the sound of all those beer cans was also delightful.

beer can house from ana on Vimeo.

Next, The Orange Show! a theme park, carnival, maze type thingy built by Jeff McKissack.

And Lastly, The Flower Man, who happened to be outside eating dinner. He invited us in and entertained us with his delightul stories.

urban perspectives

Last Thursday I traveled back to Houston to be part of a panel discussion titled "Urban Perspectives on Salon of Beauty" organized by the Kinder Institute for Urban Research & Rice Gallery. The event gathered sociologists and community leaders to discuss how their own practice relates to my installation. One of the panel members was Sergio Chavez, he is an assistant professor of sociology at Rice University and is currently completing a book titled, "TIJUANA: Migrants and the Making of a Border Socitety."  Salon of Beauty reminded him of the work he had done in Guanajuato, Mexico, where he provided kids with cameras to photograph their surroundings. Through these images, Chavez noticed that many homes were also used to run small businesses, selling tortillas, clothes, and even practicing medicine. While visitors can't enter any of the buildings in my installation, this is what Sergio imagines are behind those closed doors. 

the first week

Want to quickly share with you a time lapse video taken during the the first week of building inside Rice Gallery, here you'll see the wooden frames and cardboard walls go up. Stay tuned for more behind the scenes images later this week!

Ana Serrano: "Salon of Beauty" Time Lapse from Rice Gallery on Vimeo.

happy 2nd b-day ona!

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Mark & Angela Walley from Walley Films were commissioned by Rice Gallery to create a short film about my installation, Salon of Beauty. They did an amazing job at capturing the details and process of the installation. 

Salon of Beauty from Mark & Angela Walley on Vimeo.

Be sure to check out more of Mark & Angela's amazing videos on their vimeo!

hand painted dreams flow

For everyone in Dallas TX, the opening for hand painted dreams flow is today at Conduit Gallery. I have a few new pieces in their Project Room. I, unfortunately, can't attend the opening tonight but hope to get some installation images to share soon.

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i've updated my website with images photographer nash baker shot of salon of beauty. click here to view.

salon of beauty!

For those of you not able to view the installation in person, here are a few images of the final installation. Salon of Beauty will be on display until Dec. 11th. 

Day 30!!!

finished putting the last details today and it's all ready for the opening this thursday, let's eat cake!

Day 29

Day 28

Day 27

Day 26

this morning i visited st. john's school to give a brief presentation about my art and the upcoming installation to middle school students, the experience was truly great and i was also very excited to visit the campus because it's where rushmore was filmed! 

Day 25

the decal went up yesterday!

Day 24

Day 23

Day 22

Day 21

Day 20

Today was museum district day in Houston and because the installation hasn't opened yet the Rice Gallery staff entertained visitors with free ice cream, a photobooth and a slideshow...

Aren't these ladies the sweetest things ever? To see more photos, check out Rice Gallery's Facebook page here.

Also, lots of children visit the gallery during this day, so the slideshow was simplified so they could learn about me, my art, and the installation. My favorite slide was "Ana likes decorations, costumes and birthday cakes."