New Traditions From Latino Photos

Robert J. Phelan balked when he was asked to curate a Latino photography show.

Ethnic art exhibits tend to perpetuate ethnic stereotypes, he told the officials at the New York State Museum in Albany who had offered him the job.

“But needing to make a living, I said, ‘Lemme think about it,’ ” said Phelan, an independent curator who finally took on the exhibit as an “experiment.” The result: “New Traditions: Thirteen Hispanic Photographers,” an eclectic show with works that range from experimental to documentary at the Southwest Museum through July 2.

Phelan found plenty of material. One-hundred-and-ten images, most by emerging artists, are on view. But finding a common theme or sensibility connecting the artworks proved nearly impossible, he said.

Deep into the process of gathering photographs, “I started to get more and more agitated because the images I found didn’t have a unifying factor or connecting thread that I sort of expected them to have. You know you have to have that to give coherence to an exhibit.

“But this actually turned out to be the best thing about the show--that it doesn’t necessarily support or deny any sort of ethnic stereotype.”

Some similarities did crop up as he looked at the works over and over, Phelan said. Among them were “an inclination to examine things in terms of religious context and the reference to history or the idea of fable or myth or tradition.” Magic realism emerged as a commonality too.

“But the Hispanic heritage of these artists is an element of greater or lesser importance,” he said. “It’s not necessarily the controlling factor and in some cases it’s not there at all. Of the work I saw, I ultimately found 13 different approaches.”

ROAD SIGNS: Proposals for ArtBulletin, the program that reproduces original artworks for display on billboards, are being sought. A panel of Los Angeles art professionals will choose three artists whose work will be displayed throughout the Los Angeles area for at least four months starting in December. During that time, each artist’s billboard will be moved to several sites. Each artist will also receive a $750 honorarium. All professional artists who are residents of Los Angeles County are eligible for the program, co-sponsored by Patrick Media Group, Inc. and Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions. Deadline for ArtBulletin proposals is June 30. For an entry form and information, call the ArtBulletin Program at (213) 731-5111.

DON’T BE FOOLED: Leading some listeners to expect an advertisement about the L.A. County Museum of Art, a spot that’s been airing on radio station KNX-AM starts off like this: “Welcome to the county art museum.” But the ad was written to sell cars, not pitch art. The blurb for Chevrolet’s new Lumina car goes on to liken the automobile to a great painting. A brochure for the car, describing it as “a work of art,” sparked the idea, said Alan Woods, president of Ad Works, who wrote the ad. A LACMA spokeswoman said she had not heard the cultural car commercial.

AND TOKYO TOO: Japanese and American officials are planning to stage the first Tokyo International Exposition in March, 1990, an event likely to improve worldwide visibility of the emerging Japanese contemporary art scene. The expo (similar to Los Angeles’ International Contemporary Art fair), is being co-produced by the Japan Art Publishing Group, which publishes Japanese art magazines, and the Lakeside Group, producers of Chicago’s venerable art fair. One hundred dealers are expected at the Japanese fair, said Mary Michalik, Chicago Expo director. The Japanese publisher approached Lakeside “then we went to see them last April and a letter of intent (to co-produce the event) was signed,” Michalik said.

HARD TIMES AHEAD: Arts giving is down nationally and will stay that way, according to “The Cost of Culture,” recently published by ACA Books. Edited by Margaret Jane Wyszomirski and Pat Clubb, the new book is composed of four essays on nonprofit arts philanthropy that present such declarations as: Government matching grants do not generate new money for the arts, baby boomers don’t give or go to the arts as much as their parents, and corporations prefer to support arts institutions rather than individual artists or arts projects. The book is available for $9.95 plus $3 shipping and handling from ACA Books, a division of the American Council for the Arts, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019.

GRANTS: Four Southern California art museums have been awarded National Endowment for the Arts grants to improve the conditions in which works of art are exhibited or stored. The museums and their grant amounts are: L.A. County Museum of Art, $50,000; Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, $10,000; Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, $4,900; Museum of Contemporary Art, $4,700.