{"id":10327,"date":"2016-09-13T16:37:54","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T16:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artzealous.com\/?p=10327"},"modified":"2018-01-02T16:05:42","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T16:05:42","slug":"a-touch-of-magic-in-los-angeles-alex-da-corte-paul-pescador","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/a-touch-of-magic-in-los-angeles-alex-da-corte-paul-pescador\/","title":{"rendered":"A Touch of Magic in Los Angeles: Alex Da Corte & Paul Pescador"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you remember Fantasia<\/em>? Chances are if you were born in\u2026 oh, the last half\u2013century you have at least a vague recollection of Disney\u2019s animated film-sical. Or perhaps you can recall that childhood sense of delight as the magician pulled a\u00a0bunny out of his hat, chose the right card, or made his assistant disappear?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a way, humanity\u2019s greatest fears and desires have been rooted in the notion of ‘magic.’ We want the ability to perform things that would make our lives easier and more fantastic, whether it\u2019s teleportation or simply for that pizza to come over to us.\u00a0And though many of us never received our Hogwarts acceptance letters, you must admit that our lives\u00a0must\u00a0seem fairly\u00a0magical to anybody living before the Industrial Revolution. Because magic isn\u2019t just about defying the current laws of time or physics \u2013 ultimately, it\u2019s about the mystery and excitement of something you can\u2019t quite put a finger on, and don\u2019t necessarily want to put into words or proofs. In many ways, there\u2019s only a thin line between technology (or conceivable technology) and magic, or even showmanship and magic. That difference lies in a certain kind of aura and reception as sustained by performer and audience \u2013 a mutual agreement that here, something surprising\u00a0happens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the following two art shows, Art Zealous explores that mix of fascination and mystery reminiscent of a traditional magic show \u2013 underlined by an unsettling aimlessness and violence very much not in the magician\u2019s oeuvre. Both in Los Angeles, A Season in He\u2019ll<\/em> <\/a>and CRUSHES<\/em><\/a> are full-blown, multimedia installations by artists Alex Da Corte and Paul Pescador exploring the strangeness of the ultra-familiar. Their cast of\u00a0quotidian objects\u00a0evoke narratives of consumption and disruption, of love and tragedy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Set<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to immerse\u00a0their audiences, both Da Corte and Pescador take full control of the space. Da Corte\u2019s casts hyper-contrasting neon lights of green, red, and purple, while Pescador turns to a more carefree\u00a0application of yellow sticker-dots.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Opening
“Alex Da Corte: A Season in He’ll.” Art + Practice, Los Angeles. Photo by Natalie Hon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"dacorte_3\"
“Alex Da Corte: A Season in He’ll.” Art + Practice, Los Angeles. Photo by Natalie Hon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

These markers of space are then reiterated in the video works so that\u00a0viewers\u00a0feel as if the taped acts have been put on especially for them,\u00a0live in front of their eyes. It cleverly upsets our sense of time and space,\u00a0donning the space itself a sense of ceremonial importance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ppescador_1\"
“CRUSHES” Vacancy, Los Angeles.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Objects<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence that both the work\u00a0of Alex da Corte and Paul Pescador has been described as \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d Whether playing or performing, the objects in their works are imbued with an\u00a0off-kilter sanctity as they interact with human hands or with each other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In Da Corte’s installation, the items\u00a0around the room act like\u00a0relics of the performance. From a giant black hat to hamburger chairs, to miscellaneous items arranged in a puzzling yet deliberate tableau, Da Corte’s\u00a0objects\u00a0all seem to\u00a0originate from a previous act. Though\u00a0commanding, they seem a part of something larger, more majestic, more frightening.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Opening
“Alex Da Corte: A Season in He’ll.” Art + Practice, Los Angeles. Photo by Natalie Hon<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the other hand, Paul Pescador’s prints and\u00a0tiny sculpture (also plastered in little yellow dots) seem to be actively involved in their own story. They\u00a0are performative, yes, but also feel slightly less targeted as a coherent show than as awkward moments accidentally frozen and displayed.\u00a0They evoke more direct\u00a0imagination and emotion, especially because one is not sure whether they are speaking to each other or the audience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ppescador_2\"\u00a0 \u00a0\"ppescador10\"<\/p>\n

\"ppescador_11\"\u00a0 \u00a0\"ppescador_3\"<\/p>\n

Paul Pescador, (clockwise from top left)\u00a0“Crushes – Section J 05” “Crushes – Section J 07” “Crushes – Section J 12” and “Crushes – Section J 01”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

These differences are\u00a0even more pronounced in the two artists’ video works, where the threads\u00a0of each series are\u00a0further established.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Performance<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Alex Da Corte\u2019s videos, the role of magician is fully embraced \u2013\u00a0the actor looks directly towards us, taunting us to follow\u00a0his act. A sense of coherence\u00a0is maintained, with each video featuring mostly continuous shots.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"dacorte_7\"
Alex Da Corte, video still taken from “The Impossible”<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"dacorte_6\"
Alex Da Corte, video still taken from “Bad Blood”<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul Pescador, on the other hand, toys with the audience in a manner reminiscent of Da Corte\u2019s earlier\u00a0video piece,\u00a0Chelsea Hotel No. 2<\/em>. Pescador’s\u00a020-minute video is composed of spliced-up mini-narratives featuring recurring objects, textures, and actions. It is both easier and harder to look away, and the objects take dominance. Occasionally one catches a glimpse of the artist\u2019s full body, but only in a removed manner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ppescador_6\"
Paul Pescador, video still of “crushes”<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Though the two artists both seem enchanted with and in enchantment of pop consumerism, the ‘magic’ which Alex Da Corte and Paul Pescador put on are of two distinct varieties and intents.\u00a0Alex Da Corte is concerned with the consumptive psychology and absorption of contemporary products \u2013 an archaeological\u00a0practice\u00a0half-crying, half-laughing at the absurdity and pleasure of mass consumerism today.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"dacorte_8\"
Alex Da Corte, video still taken from “A Night in Hell (Part II)”<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paul Pescador, on the other hand, is interested in “the boundaries between his inner life and his physical apprehension of the world” (Ivan Ramos,\u00a0Everything Becomes Form<\/em>). His objects\u00a0seem even more\u00a0capable of expressing emotions than human subjects can; their very lack of inner life allows them to strike deep and resonant chords as the separation between our technology and ourselves become blurrier.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Season in He\u2019ll\u00a0<\/em>is on view at Art + Practice<\/a>, 4399 Leimert Boulevard, Los Angeles, until September 17th, 2016<\/p>\n

CRUSHES<\/em> is on view at VACANCY<\/a>,\u00a02524 1\/2 James M Wood Blvd , Los Angeles, until October 8th, 2016.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you remember Fantasia? Chances are<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":10353,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,24,23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artzealous.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}