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  • Instant Mural (1974)

    Asco

    Asco cannibalized the mediums of graffiti, muralism, and later film to stage movement in exchange for static, iconic, and mythical representations. In Walking Mural (1974) Asco performed as characters in a mural who had become so bored with the solemn subject matter that they extricated themselves from the wall and took off down the street. Gronk, who had previously established himself alongside Herrón as a noteworthy muralist, performed as auteur in Instant Mural, taping Patssi Valdez and frequent collaborator Humberto Sandoval to a wall in 1974. As traffic sped past on Whittier Boulevard, Gronk used thick white paper tape to temporarily enshrine Valdez’s body, transforming her into an icon. She then burst forth from the tape, the embodiment of self-awareness as a mutable and transgressive image in the urban landscape. In addition to enacting the role of iconic figure bound by the visually menacing yet fragile yards of tape for Instant Mural, Valdez also experimented with forms of spray paint muralism and graffiti installations.


    Photograph 16 x 20 in
    Courtesy of Harry Gamboa, Jr

  • No Tip (1978)

    Asco


    Photograph 16 x 20 in
    Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries

  • Asco Days of the Dead Performance, Termites y Guerrero (1975)

    Ricardo Valverde


    Photograph 14 x 11 in
    Collection of Esperanza Valverde, Los Angeles, California

  • X's Party (fotonovela) (1983)

    Harry Gamboa Jr


    35 mm slides and audio cassette (transferred to digital format)
    Department of Special Collections, Stanford University

  • Untitled (1978)

    Gronk


    Mixed media 20 1/4 x 24 1/4 in
    Courtesy of Bibbe Hansen and Sean Carrillo

  • La Opinion Announcement Flyer (1980)

    Asco and Harry Gamboa Jr


    Black-and-white xerox collage with stickers and stamp 11 x 8 1/2 in
    Special Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Asco Goes to the Universe (1975)

    Asco


    Photograph 16 x 20 in
    Department of Special Collections, Stanford University

  • Scissors (Patssi Valdez cover image for Regeneracion) (1974)

    Asco


    Photograph 8 1/2 x 11 in
    Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)

Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1987

This exhibition will be the first retrospective to present the wide-ranging work of the Chicano performance and conceptual art group Asco (1971-1987), which began as a tight-knit core group of artists from East Los Angeles composed of Gronk, Harry Gamboa, Jr., Willie Herron, and Patssi Valdez. Taking their name from the forceful word for disgust and nausea in Spanish, Asco set about through public performance art and multimedia to respond to turbulent socio-political developments in Los Angeles and within the larger international context.
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hi there 12345
09/04/2011 – 12/04/2011
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
5905 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036