(drama - [Presenter] Welcome everyone to the Penny Stamps - Welcome to the Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series.

My name's Chrisstina Hamilton, the series director, and today we present a self-taught artist and designer, Gabriela Ruiz.

And I wanna thank our longtime partner, the Institute for the Humanities, for collaborating on this event.

Institute for the Humanities is truly a key series foundational partne who has been there from the beginning.

So big thanks to IH and fr om the Arts and Resistance LSA and a Theme Semester NUM Arts Initiative on our series Partners, Detroit Public Television and Michigan Radio 91.7 FM.

Gabriela's appearance here today happens in tandem with an exhibition of new work that she's created here on campus at the Institute for the Humanities and which will open this very evening directly following the talk here on stage.

So it's a great moment for you to get a deeper dive and to fully experience the work and meet the ar You can join us directly following the talk here at the Institute for the Humanities on Thayer, which is just around the corner.

If you go outta the theater, go ta ke a left again on state an The Institute for the Humanities is on the corner of Thayer in Washington.

So join us there.

There'll be ev You can see the art and we'll have the Q and instead of here.

One announcement for the Stamps School tomorrow.

Join us for the opening reception of Respond an Exhibition of Student Art for Change.

That's tomorrow evening, P.M at the Stamp So reminder to silence your cell phones.

Remember no A and A here, Q and A at Institute for Humanities And now to introduce our speaker, please welcome dear of the series and an imitable curator of the Institute for the Humanities.

Amanda Krugliak.

(audience applauds) - Hi.

Thank you Chrisstina.

And I wanna thank Tom Bray too.

I don't know if he's here, but he's my hero and also the fab lab who helped us with the fabrication of Gabriela's project.

It's always a privilege for me to get up here and introduce these amazing artists that I lov Over the years we've worked with so many wonderful people and among them there are these artists that are so authentic and so talented and inventive that they remind us what matters.

Gabriela Ruiz is an artist who creates rooms of her own.

She refuses the signs that say, do not enter restricted dress code.

Her rooms of saturated blue, yellow, green and red are a refusal of dismal forecasts, beige worlds and colorless hallways because she owns the corner and we are just lucky to get a view.

Gabriela Ruiz was born in Los Angeles, California in 1991 and in addition to her work as a performer and fashion designer, she has had solo exhibitions at t the Vincent Price Museum in Monterey, California.

She has exhibited at Jeffrey Dich Gallery in LA and Miami, the Chicago Art Expo, The Museum of Art, Guadalajara, Mexico among others.

Most recently, her work was acquired by the LA County Museum of Art.

Ruiz's Practice reflects the DIY work ethic that she was raised under and the vibrancy of Mexican cultur and artistic traditions of making.

Her installations often explore the intersection of technology, the body and demotion.

In the site-specific installation Digital ingrams opening today at the Institute for the Humanities Gallery, Ruiz contemplates units of memory or ingrams as portals through which we time travel.

In an era of iPhones, MacBooks, Instagram and Facebook.

Everything that happens to us in recent With this constant 24/7 access to the movies of our own lives.

Are we losing our innate ability to remember what matters in the process?

Ruiz sources video from her cell phone in combination with Mind-bending color, sound and sculpture to consider how memories, real and curated, are at the crux of personal and cultural identity.

Surprisingly, the installation conjures up nostalgia, even longing.

Who do we think we are in this life or the eternal life on the internet hereafter?

And if our phones become artifacts found among the rubble, what stories will they tell?

Please join me in welcoming Gabriela Ruiz.

(audience applauds) - Hello, thanks for being here.

Hello.

So nervous.

So before I start, I wanna give a big thanks to Amanda and Chrisstina and the Penny Stamps series for having me here.

I'm really excited to be here and share my journey of creativity and share a little bit of myself, a little bit of myself.

So I'll start by saying I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley.

For those who aren't familiar, the San Fernando Val is a suburb in LA.

It's a predominantly brown neighborhood and it's kind of like been like the backdrop to so many like movie sets and TV series.

One thing I remember growing up is that my high school was kind of like the high school that was used in a lot of the movie sets and backdrops for like all the teenage movies.

And it was kind of interesting because it's also like it was really big in like the porn industry until they like changed a couple of laws which they don't really shoot there.

They moved to Florida.

And I was born and raised to immigrant parents from M My mom is from Michan and my dad is from Mexico City.

I come from a family of laborers.

So I was really raised under the DIY work ethic and having really strong like working values.

So that's reflects a lot within my work.

Here are my parents and their wedding and that's me on the right and my sister on the lef And so it's really interesting to think about like, going to work with my parents when I was younger and like going to these like job sites.

I remember, just watching them build an d realizing like, oh these people are like An d my dad would come home covered in paint and every time I see someone covered in paint, it just automatically brings me back and it reminds me of my dad.

It's very nostalgia.

And so like they weren't artists in the traditional sense but to me they were, they where they really got to be like the backbone to like so many things that I saw around me.

Like my house was constantly in the middle projects because that's what Here is my stepdad.

He actually helped me, him, my mom and my siblings helped me build the structure for my museum exhibition at Palm Springs.

And it was really great to be able to like work with them on this project because I've, throughout this pro I've also learned so much from them and it's been really great to kind of like watch them, like give me advice on directions on where to go with like creative stuff.

And it's kind of, it's bee of beautiful for me to kind of watch my parents be more creative in that way.

And then like through my to be more expressive and to really like show themselves and they've always been really supportive of what I wanted to do.

It's been kind of challenging fo consider that taking this like creative journey would be something that they always worried that would I be able to make enough money or sustain myself.

And when I was in high school, like I excelled in anything creative.

I remember taking art classes and I was always passing and I was in the drama classes and I don't know why I am so nervous if I took some drama I have to remember what they taught me.

But in high school, like I guess like the one thing I really wanted to pursue was fashion design.

And I remember thinking fashion design was rea that kind of like separated me from so many people.

I also feel like I use fashion in a sense of this like shield, it was a way for me to express myself but to also kind of like kind of dodge the bullies when they tried it.

'Cause I would be wearing like the coolest stuff at the time.

And so they were always just like, "Oh And I was like, "Oh thank you."

I also was just like kind of like I would fight, like clap back.

So it wa And so it was like right after high school it was k what I wanted to do because there was no one in my life that was creative and so I kind of had to take some general ed classes and I didn't really want to.

And then I took some fashion classes so there was like a lot of back and forth between fashion and art and that was kind of like, it took me a couple years to really kind of really know what I wanted to do.

But during that whole time that I was just like going back and forth, I started going to these parties.

Like I started doing like nightlife and a friend at the time asked me if I would be willing to do like a performance for the release of like this club that she was starting club clicked, it was a lesbian bar and she wanted some performers and I've never done anything like performative in that way.

And so she's like, "Oh what do I have to do?"

And she's like, "Oh you just have to like dress and drag and lip sync something."

And I was like, oh.

She's like, "I And at that time $100 was like, okay, I'll take it.

And so I started doing these nights, right?

And so I started going out and it was also a time where I utilized Insta and the internet to kind of like create this persona.

And through that is kind of like where I met like a mentor and a really good friend Nacho Nava.

And he started a mustache Mondays, it was like a queer night in Los Angeles.

And so I kind of like, before he passed away, I was doing the door for him for like three years.

So that kind of like got me in through like all the night scene in L So I was kind of like the girl you would hit up for all the parties or if I was like if I liked you I would just like let you So it was a really good, great way to kind of like kind of like navigate nightlife and that through Nacho and th And then during that time I was still like in limbo with what I wanted to do.

So I kind of thought like, okay, what could I do next?

And at the time I was renting like a really tiny studio space in like an art studio space in downtown.

And looking back it was like $300 but I remember I was like, I need to get a job that's gonna help me pay this.

'Cause I could And so I started this clothing brand, Leather Po And so this clothing brand was inspired by like the kind of like queer fetish scene in LA.

And also at the time I was doing like some dumb work, so I was doing like a little bit of everything and so it was kind of like creating like these like li ke these prints and I was making everything myself.

So there was like a lot of misprints that I had to give out for free 'cause it was really bad.

And so I started this and it was kind of like this a also lik that people like know me as now.

Like I'll just say my name but they're like, oh your other puppy.

And I was like, oh yea And these are like friends who are modeling my stuff.

And so through that brand I was able to kind of explore like so many aspects, creativity, like not only just like making the garments but like thinking of like sets, photo shoots, picking the models.

But it also taught me li And I think that was really important because art at the end of the day is like and the way you run it.

And so this is kind of like that I did this in the beginning 'cause it's kind of kind of like help me with like navigating the bu And so I started creating these like sets and props for my ins for my photo shoots.

And so then I started kind of like experimenting with like found objects and kind of like adding this like ins and kind of like creating this like other life for the pieces.

And so at that time when I had that studio space, my manager had mentioned to the tenants and she was like, oh we're gonna have a space available, like a small gallery space where you guys are gonna be able to kind of show your work for art week.

And I was the second artist who was gonna take the opportunity.

And so when I'm given like an opportunity take up space, I will take it up and I did.

And so like, I guess like my... At the time I was just like doing like these performances and being like this like and I was like, okay, but I wanna have this like solo show.

And I've never at the time had like a solo show or I never even really showed work.

And at the time a lot of my frie and they were doing like presentations, like fashion presentations.

So I thought, oh w of my work, like this could go well, right?

And so I thought about making this like five room installation in the gallery space.

It was gonna be, it was all monochromatic and they were all covered with insulating foam and these were all furniture pieces that I gathered from friends, from family and things I found on the side of the road.

I would even go to like thrift stores and kind of like take my little pickup truck and threw a bunch of stuff in there.

Technically it was free.

And so yeah, so then this kind of came about right?

And so during the process of this, because I've never done anything l I didn't realize how much money it involved to create something like this.

And so during that time I was just kind of l that I would get like money from a job or something but and just like, I'm pretty lucky and so I got actually got hit by this car and so- (audience laughs) It's great.

No really it's So like the guy just like hit me and he just like destroyed my trunk.

And I remember like thinking, I was like, oh, now I have to fix this.

And so the guy didn't have insu I'm willing to just like give you the money to fix the trunk."

And I said, "Really?

How much?

And he's like, "1500."

And I said I'll take it.

And so, I was thinking, I was like, okay, what do I do with this money?

And so I was like, okay, I'll take it.

I can fix a trunk or I can keep it and use it for the show.

And so I used it for the show, it's okay 'cause the car got totaled so I mean it got towed.

I mean like it got repoed, my bad.

So it's like, it was kind of like I was good that I used it for An d so now that I had th to like pay rent and like, do all this stuff.

And so I created this like solo show and I hyped it up.

'Cause at the time I was also throwing parties and no one really knew that I was making art.

And so I also was going through like a really bad breakup.

So I was like oh I need to get, be busy and do all And so that's like I did I remember my house, like the front of it being covered with like just furniture pieces and my mom's like, "What are you go And I was like, "Just plea I'll like take them out."

And it was just like these things t So I had the show and it was a success.

I remember we had like 500 people showing up.

The manager was like, "I didn't expect as many people."

And I was like, "What were you expecting?"

'Cause I also promoted it like a party.

I had my friends who were DJs and so I was like, it was really fun.

So then this is like details of like the installation.

So I had the red room and I had like a dungeon, it was like a little yellow dungeon.

I was thinking about complimenting like, 'cause dungeons are normally like and very just like not appealing sometimes, but what about a yellow dungeon?

And a lot of my sex toys got donated to this installation.

So a lot of them got broken into And then like I said, a lot of my sex toys got donated to thi And then I had like a bedroom set where I created this bed.

Some like furniture pieces and I had like a little dining area with the fridge.

These are like details.

So all of it was covered an d all of these things were just items that I just found on the street or just like got donated.

And so with that kind of like led me to thinking about like what was next?

'Cause that was kind of like the first thing I've done.

So I was just like kind of again in like this limbo thing I'm like okay, I have to get back to Leather Poppy.

And then I'm like, no, but I wanna make work.

So I was going back and forth a lot with going back to Mexico and I remember thinking I really wanna show work in Mexico, but there really wasn't like a gallery I knew or like really people.

So I was just like visiting family.

And so when I think about like for my immigrant parents to understand art, the first thing they think about is like artists like Fri Carlo and Diego Rivera and (indistinct) to them is like top they think that.

They're like, okay, so like when are y And so I've always just thou obviously it'd be great but like I'm not in that status wh ere I can be like (indistinct).

And so it kind of felt like I needed to show there at that time.

So during my visit to Mexico City, I was staying with my aunt and I had like met a couple of fri and I remember asking them, "Hey do you guys know of anyone who would be like renting or like have a like an apartment space that I can like come and make some stuff?"

And they mentioned, they're like, oh, one of my friends just moved a couple blocks aw from (indistinct) and I wa So I paid for like a week's worth and I went to the mercados and I found these objects and I found this piece and then I found a couple of chairs.

And so I took over the empty apartment, I brought in these pieces and I just started working with And so the idea was to kind of drop the pieces off in front of (indistinct).

I didn't know what I was gonna do yet.

So like my idea was to just get like an and take it there and they didn't fit in the Uber.

Yeah, it was bad.

So I had to kind of ask the guy downstairs who was running a little mercado if he was like, Hey, can I borrow your dolly?

And he was really nice and he like, let me borrow the dolly.

And so I took the pieces in like two miles and I was just like walking with 'em, right?

And so I remember at the time being terrified 'cause I was like what am I gonna tell them?

And so I was walking through and like people wo they're like, I'm like like I don't know, I was just, I thought it was whatever.

And then so I remember some cops and they were like, Hey, where are you going?

And I was like, oh I'm dropping these pieces ( And they were like, you're like an artist.

And I was like, yeah.

And so the And I was like, yeah.

And I wa and I'm like, yeah.

And so once I get to (indistinct) I'm like thinking how am I gonna do this?

It was like a busy Saturday.

And so I took the pieces and put and I kind of just like rolled them in front of the space.

The security guard came and he was like, " What are you doing?"

And I sa And I made up a name and I w oh I'm talking, I'm meeting And she's like, okay, I because you can't be doing this.

And I was like, get access to the back.

And they were like, ok He was gone for 20 minutes and I was like perfect.

So he was gone and I like just dropped him off there and this is kind of like where we just like took our little photos and we l and apparently the pieces were still there till like the next day and they got p and I guess they were possibly just like thrown away or something.

Kind of like what my mom So there goes that and so yeah and it was really exciting to kind of like do this type of thing.

'cause I thought about like I really wante but like how do I do this?

And then I'm like, this is I'm the best thing to do right now for me.

And I thought about like the same audience that are gonna go through my pieces have to go inside of the museum and it's more like accessible to people.

So I was like yeah this An d then I started really getting after this kind of stuff that I was doing.

I would get asked to do shows and so I showed this piece at LTD gallery and this is a piece I made thinking about the way labor is sump in women is sometimes like not seen and it's kind of undervalued and coming from like a Mexican background, sometimes that was like always like kind of instilled in me that it's like you have to be a proper woman, you have to be like find the husband, you have to do all these things that you're just kind of So I learned how to cook and clean at a very young age.

And I think about the way these products are kind of like consumed by these women and like the way they're targeted, like the color, like things like the fonts and even the advertisements th and it's just kind of like becoming this like proper woman.

And so for this piece I thought about kind of like this, 'cause these pieces, like these soaps, they're so specific.

Like when you see them, the color and the smell are so, like you can tell 'em apart And I thought what would happen if I create like a piece just made out of these?

It took the gallery, like it overpowered the gallery with the smell.

You could not walk into the space.

Like I remember like people walking in and they were just like, oh my go But I mean that was part of it, right?

It was just kind of like how does this smaller with the smell?

And so along with this piece I deci and I did this performance in Antwerp really where there wasn't any like Latinos.

So there wasn't any like people really There was like one I think Mexican who was visiting who understood it.

And so for this performance I made this bed and I bathed myself for a duration of 30 minutes.

And while I was bathing myself, I played really sped up like gambia, salsas, just like mixes you listen to while you're cleaning.

And so this is me bathing myself in this bed of saute.

I could not see for 30 minutes.

I was just blindly doing this.

I was slipping, I was just falling eve But it was really interesting to think about the way we use these products on a daily basis.

But like what could they do to you if you use them in excess, right?

And so I got really sick after this performance, really, really sick.

But I'm really glad that I was going to London for freeze like the following day because London has incredible healthcare.

So I just came in and just like, "Hey And so thank God it took me like, I didn't go out a lot at all.

So when people ask me, "How' I'm like, the healthcare is An d so, I was still exploring the domesticity in my work and with this piece that was shown at Jeffrey Dodge Gallery, it was part of this group exhibition Shattered Glass, which featured nothing but brown and black artist.

And so at that time making this, lemme move over here, at the time making this piece, I didn't really have a studio and so I was building this outside of my house and when I was building this, I didn't even really think of the size right?

I was just like making t and I was actually making two and then they kind of were like, hey, we can only accept one piece.

And I was like, well I gue both of the pieces together.

So this is kind of what I ended It was really interesting 'cause this is kin to like my favorite laundromats.

I still don't have like a laundry in my house.

So I still have to go to laundromats.

And so I'm thinking of inspirations behind the colors of my clothing and the process of doing laundry and kind of like when I would do laundry with my mom as a kid, it was just like me and her 'cause it was just like us kind of doing e And so it was kind of like the time that me and her got to spend together and kind of like the way she how to do all these things for myself.

And this is one of the pieces where I started including the surveillance camera.

And I was inspired by that when I was doing my laundry and just like folding my clothes and my underwear and thinking some people are not granted the privilege of just like being in a space to just like being an intimate moment and just like do the most Like you have to be constantly wa and it's like these spaces, right?

And so I feel like always being like like not granted that time and like space of like just being alone with your intimate stuff is kind of like crazy to me.

Like why do there needs to be so much surveillance?

Because I mean this laundromat had like excess amount of surveillance.

It wasn't just like And I thought about also kind of like adding these like foam elements to it, which is like thinking of suds and I have like molds of the soda soap And so this is kind of like the finished piece that was shown at (indistinct).

The crazy thing is that I'm now friends with the collector who bought this, but he had to like break a And so now he told me, he's like, this piece is like forever gonna li Like if I sell the house, it's just gonna probably I'm probably gonna have to 'cause I can't, it's like you can' And so again, thinking about like this technology, I started exploring a lot of that and then with technology.

And so from my museum solo show, like my first museum solo show at Vincent Price Art Museum, I created this piece where, well it was an entire installation.

And so I was thinking about the mechanics of emotion and technology and how that kind of plays, like how techn makes you kind of feel some type of way like through the An d so I included like a video projection.

And again, this piece was made from what I found in my mom's house.

These stores I found at the hardware store.

But the mesh that we use is just m that you could get at a fabric store is nothing fancy.

And this piece was this like window where I kind of, this was the first time I used the videos in my phone and it was like a collection of so many things.

It was kind of like a lot of like the issues that I was having with my family at time and these like moments I was collecting and this like important video that I included in it was the first YouTube video ever uploaded.

It was in 2005 and it was of this And so I think of like how important YouTube was for me because I did go to like YouTube university, like I learned so much through there like everything I needed, I just like Googled it or YouTube it and I found it.

And so with this I was also exploring surveillance and kind of like the way that surveillance kind of like hides itself.

And so the surveillance, you would assume that it's in these two pieces and these two surveillances, but they're actually like in the mouth of the body.

And so these two pieces were together and this is a body cast th with plaster cloth and insulating foam and I added some tattoos to myself.

And so this piece has been acquired by lacma and so it's really fantastic to know that this is going to like outlive me and it's kind of like the beginn what a lot of my work is about now.

And through that I had like another museum in Palm Springs this was stream.

And with this I created a life-size maze.

And I was really thinking of with this piece, I was really thinking about taking the viewer and kind of like taking them through a journey of this like chaotic like head space.

And I was able to kind of create that by the sounds that was happening, the video projections and the surveillance, but also the plexi that was in there.

So you would kind of like think you would fi but you were just like slamming yourself into this piece of plexi.

And so with this, I had the...

I also worked with my parents on this.

We spent like a couple weeks building it I learned so much in the process.

I learned how to do flooring, I've never done that.

So I learned it with this.

And so you can tell here that it's like a pretty la There was a body cast of myself made out of 3D filaments and I worked with my friend Derek and Andrew on visuals and sound and I work with my boyfriend to make these like, to create the entire like immersive experience.

And so this is a small video that I wanna show you all, it's like a small clip.

(upbeat music) (audience applauds) Thank you.

And so, I mean towards the end you probably see m a snake and kind of creating the (indistinct).

I think you'll probably see, you'll see it in the An d so I think with the use of technology, I started exploring a lot more.

And so like with that, I'm gonna talk about the digital engrams, the piece that I made here for the humanities gallery.

So with digital ingrams, the term ingrams comes from the sci where it talks about where the memory is stored.

So just think of it as these little boxes, right?

And when the body is like triggered or it's like reminded of something, these like memories like appear.

And so I'm thinking about the way my memories appear on my phone and how we were constantly remind like our Instagram, on our memories or like Snapchat reels, right?

Things that just pop up.

And with this piece, this is a 3D, like a AI 3D rendering.

So this is not the real thing.

Working remotely with this was kind of challenging because I'm normally so hands-on with a lot of my work.

And working across country was kind of difficult 'cause I knew I wanted it to look a certain way, but I wasn't present to ev So I was just kind of like relying on Amanda and to kind of like I trusted them and I wanted to create these like sort of like these monolithic panels where they would have these like memories embedded in them.

So I use TV monitors to kind of like...

They were embedded in the plexi and then I used these aluminum pieces that would be on top of them.

And so I went with these three desi the ones on the right here and in the center, this is the design of a Samsung chip, like the motherboard.

And then this one in the center is the design of an apple motherboard chip.

And you can tell like the difference, like my favorite one was a Samsun and you can see like the monitors like the squares would be the monitors.

And so this one is gonna have a and it's gonna have video down here.

And so I chose the other shape to be this spiral.

And I'm thinking about the way like spirals throughout history have been in throughout the world and they have been in every civilization.

And no one really understands how all this shape is like so common and without like, there was no connections between the civilizations.

And so I think about like this shape kind of being like connected to the past and the present and the future.

And it's like if these pieces were found, what like they would be like, oh yeah, like the spiral.

Like they were still m And so I think about like the way that was, like that could be artifact.

And so a lot of things that I learned through this process was using the materials and kind of exploring that.

But it was kind of like my first time ever working with The Fab Lab.

Shout out to them.

They're incredible.

I am so happy that I got the opportunity to be able to work with them and be able to kind of learn the whole process of it.

And I know that this will defini kind of help me in my journey, in my creative journey.

And so I hope that you guys can all come after this to the opening.

I mean, not all of it, obviously we're not go but if you guys are more than happy, I will be answering like doing And yeah.

So I just wanna give you gu I really appreciate it.

(audience applauds) I'll see you.

Okay, thank you.

(audience chattering)