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by Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Roberto Sifuentes
Art / Artist’s Book / Conceptual
Hardcover, 8.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches, 144 pages
ISBN: 978-1-57687-004-4
A performance-and-installation piece that has appeared in museums across the country, Temple of Confessions features artists Gómez-Peña (The New World Border, LJ 8/15/96) and Sifuentes and their collaborators acting in such personae as Tex-Mex shaman and pregnant nun. Within an environment of humorous and provocative objects that serve “to open a Pandora box and let loose the colonial demons,” visitors are invited to confess their secret desires either by kneeling and recording into a microphone, writing a postcard, or calling a phone number.
The confessions are often emotional and reveal racism, tenderness, solidarity, or sexuality as visitors react to the Latino “other.” This is art as serious social exploration and should prove a challenging addition to public, academic, or special collections. The book documents the exhibit in text and photographs, along with a selection of visitors’ confessions and essays by commentators. It comes with a CD containing confessions, performance art, and commentary in the NAFTA languages. For all contemporary art collections. Kathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
