CCA Capp Street
Project artist in residence
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz
presents the world
premiere of her new film
Flowers of Antimony
November 25, 2008
California College of the Arts
1111 Eighth Street
San Francisco CA 94107
The Puerto Rico–based artist Beatriz Santiago Muñoz will present the world premiere of her new film, Flowers of Antimony, on Tuesday, November 25, at 7 p.m. at California College of the Arts in San Francisco. There will be a reception from 6–7 p.m. Both the reception and the screening are free and open to the public.
This is Santiago’s first-ever solo project on the West Coast. The film was commissioned as part of her fall 2008 Capp Street Project artist residency at the CCA Wattis Institute. To produce it Santiago worked with a number of anarchist and radical-leftist individuals and groups in the Bay Area, including the Long Haul and Free Radio Berkeley. As is typical of her practice, the actors are not professionals, and the narratives are unscripted and improvised.
Flowers of Antimony explores the complex issue of anarchism and how it has evolved from its original incarnation as a group-centered, utopian practice to encompass a variety of strategies, from tree-dwelling protests to veganism to open-source computing, enacted by individuals with diverse motivations who come together for specific activities and moments. Santiago mirrors this within her film, as she investigates alternative forms of protest and different possibilities for the creation of social change.
The film is accompanied by a full-color, 54-page catalog, the first-ever monograph on Santiago’s work. It includes new texts by Julieta González (the Puerto Rico–based curator and writer), Claire Fitzsimmons (deputy director of the CCA Wattis Institute and curator of this project), and the artist.
Beatriz Santiago Muñoz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1972, where she continues to live and work. In 1997 she received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She will be a guest curator of the 2da Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe (April 18-June 28, 2009).
About the CCA Wattis Institute
The Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts was established in 1998 in San Francisco at California College of the Arts. It serves as a forum for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary art and curatorial practice. Through groundbreaking exhibitions, the Capp Street Project residency program, lectures, symposia, and publications, the Wattis Institute has become one of the leading art institutions in the United States and an active site for contemporary culture in the Bay Area.
Lead sponsorship for Capp Street Project: Beatriz Santiago Muñoz is provided by the Nimoy Foundation.
Founding support for CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts programs has been provided by Phyllis C. Wattis and Judy and Bill Timken. Generous support provided by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Grants for the Arts / San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Ann Hatch and Paul Discoe, and the CCA Curator’s Forum.
CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries
California College of the Arts
1111 Eighth Street
San Francisco CA 94107
T: 415.551.9210
www.wattis.org
