User:CoughSneezeBurp/sandbox

No Movies[edit]
No Movies addresses the exclusion of Chicanos within both mainstream Hollywood and the avant-garde cinemas of Los Angeles. With the taunting view of the Hollywood sign seen from the barrios of East Los Angeles, the members of Asco were constantly reminded that they were unwelcome in creative media and other culturally segregated artistic spaces. No Movies consisted of conceptual performance art which usually involved elaborate scenarios and utilizing the landscape of Los Angeles as a set. No-Movies were commonly conceptualized and planned in advance by Harry Gamboa Jr. and “Gronk”. The scenarios were recorded on 35 mm slides, with one chosen for projection as the official record. The final film still functioned as a poster, summarizing and advertising a movie that was non-existent. No Movies occupy a liminal space between the mural movement and the Super-8 films. Asco utilized the limited material resources available to them to allegorize their political situation. The creative format, described by Chon Noriega, was said to be an “intermedia synesthesia”, which acknowledged Asco’s use of inexpensive photographic equipment in place of more expensive materials. Asco wished to destabilize the power of the media’s oversaturated, exaggerated perceptions of life in the barrio with this project. This project aimed to expose the unsettling fascination popular media had for showcasing racial behavioral stereotypes. No-Movies allowed Asco to express their disdain and critique all while utilizing techniques of eccentric cinematic discourse. Conversely, this artistic installation displayed both their rejection of Hollywood as well as their desires of inclusion and control.

The stills were later disseminated throughout the community through their use in presentations in schools, colleges, and public libraries, and eventually into the art world and media.

Additionally the group invented the Asco Awards, also known as the Aztlán or No Movies Awards, in order to parody similar ceremonies held by Hollywood.