Residency dates: August 24 - September 18
Lecture: September 1 at noon. University Galleries, Center for the Visual Arts
Corey J. Escoto’s work focuses on the well-intentioned desire of the developed world to shape and accelerate slow progress of the developing world in the likeness of its own image. With the proliferation of National Government Organizations (NGOs) the earnest desire to “help” is often ineffective and many times has exacerbated the problems that they set out to solve. The trend to “help,” whether defined in a G.W. Bush Neo-Imperialist way, or a micro loan crunchy Peace Corp way, is a sentiment guiding the development of a new sub genre of “World Saving” themed books, films, magazines, blogs and social networking sites. Escoto’s work examines the phenomena of what he terms “global self help” that has emerged with the intense marketing campaigns by purveyors of such materials.
Escoto received a BFA from Texas Tech University, and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. He has exhibited nationally, internationally, and widely throughout Texas, his home state. He was one of three artists selected to participate in the Great Rivers Biennial at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, and is a recipient of a Gateway Foundation Grant. His work has been included in the traveling exhibition New American Talent 23, the Texas Biennial (2007), and has recently shown internationally in exhibitions entitled Le Souvenir, Weimar, Germany; Seven Days Brunch, Basel, Switzerland; and Decollecting, Dunkerque, France.
For more information:
http://blog.art21.org/2009/07/03/inside-the-artists-studio-corey-j-escoto/
