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Guillermo Gómez-Peña

ギレルモ・ゴメス＝ペーニャ

Guillermo Gómez-Peña

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1955-09-23 （Mexico City）
Nationality
Mexican, Chicano
Languages
Spanish, English, Spanglish
Residence History
Mexico City → San Diego/Tijuana border region → Los Angeles → New York

Career

Occupations
performance artist, writer, activist, educator
Active Years
1978-
Affiliations
La Pocha Nostra (artistic director), Border Arts Workshop/Taller de Arte Fronterizo (founding member), Hemispheric Institute (Senior Fellow), Live Art Development Agency (patron)
Memberships
Hemispheric Institute (member/fellow), Live Art Development Agency (patron/supporter)
Influenced By
Chicano movement and border culture, Performance artists (e.g., collaboration with Coco Fusco)
Influenced
Later generations of radical performance artists, Latinx art and interdisciplinary practice networks (through La Pocha Nostra)

Education

National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
Linguistics & Latin American Literature
Period: 1974–1978
Year of Graduation: 1978
Country: Mexico
Studied linguistics and Latin American literature from 1974–1978
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Arts / Performance
Degree: B.F.A., M.F.A.
Period: 1978–1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Earned a B.F.A. (1981) and an M.F.A. (1983)

Awards

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship
1991
Organization: MacArthur Fellows Program
Result: 受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
2019
Organization: John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result: 受賞
Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship
2016
Organization: Fleishhacker Foundation
Result: 受賞
United States Artists Fellow
2012
Organization: United States Artists
Result: 受賞
Free Culture Award
2012
Organization: Free Culture Award
Result: 受賞
Cineaste Lifetime Achievement Award
2000
Organization: Cineaste
Result: 受賞
American Book Award (for New World Border)
1997
Work: The New World Border: Prophecies, Poems & Loqueras for the End of the world
Organization: Before Columbus Foundation
Result: 受賞
Viva Los Artistas Award
1993
Organization: Viva Los Artistas
Result: 受賞
Prix de la Parole
1989
Organization: Prix de la Parole
Result: 受賞
The Bessie Award
1989
Organization: The Bessie Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Border Brujo

1988 Performance art

A seminal solo performance addressing the corporeality and cultural tensions of the border region; includes ritualistic and participatory elements.

borderidentityritual

Couple in The Cage: Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West

1992 Performance art / performance installation

A collaboration with Coco Fusco in which the artists presented themselves as 'undiscovered' Amerindians exhibited in a cage, satirizing Western practices of displaying human beings.

exhibitionracesatire
Adaptations
  • [documentary film] The Couple in the Cage: Guatianaui Odyssey (documentary) / Paula Heredia (1994)

Temple of Confessions

1995 Performance art / book

A visual and literary project revolving around Mexican 'beasts' and living santos, exploring confession and spectacle.

religionfolklorevisual culture

The Mexterminator Project

1997 Performance art

A provocative project that allegorically addresses immigration and logics of exclusion.

immigrationexclusionpolitical satire

We Are All Aliens (border opera)

2018 Opera / performance

A recent large-scale stage work themed on the border; reconfigures border issues with operatic elements.

bordermovementalienhood

Bibliography

  • Warrior for Gringostroika (Graywolf Press, 1993)
  • The New World Border: Prophecies, Poems & Loqueras for the End of the world (City Lights, 1996)
  • Temple of Confessions: Mexican Beasts and Living Santos (powerHouse Books, 1997)
  • Dangerous Border Crossers (Routledge, 2000)
  • Codex Espangliensis (City Lights, 2000)
  • Ethno-Techno: Writings on Performance, Activism and Pedagogy (Routledge, 2005)
  • Doc/Undoc (City Lights, 2017)
  • Numerous other works (essays, experimental poetry, photo books, performance scripts)

Adaptations

  • Border Clasicos (video anthology, Video Data Bank, 2008)
  • Homo Fronterizus (video collection, 2008)
  • The Couple in the Cage: Guatianaui Odyssey (documentary, 1994)

Translations of Works

  • El Mexterminator (Spanish edition)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
experimental and interdisciplinarypolitical and activistuse of Spanglish and humor
Recurring Motifs
borderlandshybrid identitiespolitics of the brown bodymeta-critique of exhibition and consumption

Legacy

Gómez-Peña is a key figure in border culture, Chicano expression, and interdisciplinary performance. His politically charged and humorous performances have had international influence; he is recognized for erasing boundaries between art and politics and has received numerous awards and fellowships.

Museums

  • Daros Foundation (holds photo performances in permanent collection) Zurich
  • Galeria Artificios (Gran Canaria) Gran Canaria

Academic Societies

  • Hemispheric Institute
  • Live Art Development Agency

Archives

  • Video Data Bank (video archive)
  • Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library
  • Official website and photo blog archives

In Popular Culture

  • Frequently referenced in performance art and Latinx cultural studies
  • Performances at international museums and biennials raised public recognition

Quotes

  • His award-winning solo performances mix experimental aesthetics, activist politics, Spanglish humor and audience participation to create a 'total experience' for the audience member/reader/viewer.
    Source: Critical and academic descriptions (see: Wikipedia / TDR) (2009)

Trivia

  • In 1991 he received a MacArthur Fellowship and was the first Chicano artist to do so.
  • Spouse: Balitronica Gómez.
  • Official website: guillermogomezpena.com