2017 Events

Join us as Los Angeles-based performance and installation artist Artemisa Clark reinterprets Ema Villanueva's provocative Mexico City street actions from the early 21st century.

La clase de dibujo libre/Free Drawing Class was a series of life drawing classes in public plazas. During these performances, Villanueva posed as the nude model while simultaneously engaging in discussions with attendees about contemporary issues such as feminism and social justice—using the objectification of her own body as a means to bring attention to pressing topics of the day.

Artemisa Clark's reperformance will consider Villanueva's prior actions and offer another interpretation of the traditional role of "the model." This Armory exhibitions event is free, open to the public, and will take place in the Armory's main studio in conjunction with our regularly scheduled adult life drawing class, instructed by Andrew K. Currey. Visitors are encouraged to bring their own drawing supplies.

     • Press Release

     • See Performance on Flickr

Documentation from Villanueva's original La clase de dibujo libre/Free Drawing Class can be seen in our current exhibition Below the Underground: Renegade Art and Action in 1990s Mexico, part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA.

Immediately following Clark’s performance, join us for a reception celebrating the release of Double Issue, edited by Armory Chief Curator Irene Tsatsos.

Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles, taking place from September 2017 through January 2018 at more than 70 cultural institutions across Southern California. Pacific Standard Time is an initiative of the Getty. The presenting sponsor is Bank of America.

Major support for Below the Underground: Renegade Art and Action in 1990s Mexico is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the Jumex Foundation, the Mexican Chamber of Commerce, and the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles.



Image: Ema Villanueva, Clase de dibujo libre (2000-2002), image courtesy Cuatro oscuro