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When filmmaker Travis Gutiérrez Senger reflects on Ascos legacy, he quickly notes they were more than an art group; they created a movement, one with remarkable influence on Chicano art history. That movement continues today, and its very expansive, he says. Theres a lot of books, films and things that will be written about Asco over a period of time. And this was our contribution in some ways. He’s referring to Asco: Without Permission, a documentary that chronicles the story of the 1970s art group founded by multidisciplinary artist Patssi Valdez, muralist Willie Herrón III, painter and performance artist Gronk and writer and photographer Harry Gamboa Jr. They met as teens, formed as young adults, and called their group asconausea or disgust in Spanishafter one of their early DIY exhibits. Their conceptual work and performance art spoke to the exclusion of Chicanos from the mainstream art world and the systemic police brutality endured by the Mexican American community in East Los Angeles. All four founding members of Asco became some of the most notable Chicano artists, later exhibiting works in revered museums around the United States. But in their early days, the group was denied access to the notable galleries and museums. They created their own avenues in the form of public performances, murals, and more to exhibit their work, their way. To behave badly is the most ethical thing you can do, said executive producer Gael García Bernal at the films South by Southwest film festival premiere earlier this month. Youre building identity and questioning and unmasking the facade and the farce that exists. Bernal and Diego Luna executive produced the film under their production company El Corriente del Golfo. The film has yet to find distribution. Speaking with the Associated Press, Gamboa and Valdez praised Gutiérrez Sengers approach to their history. Both members, who appear in the documentary, saw the film for the first time with a crowd of fans and a group of young Chicano artists whose art was inspired by Ascos early rebellion. I felt the film really kind of captured the essence of all of us working together, said Gamboa. Valdez says it was a special moment for her, as the only woman in the founding group, to be given equal time and understanding. For the first time, I was given an equal voice in the group that hadnt happened before, she said, citing how previous stories of the group only highlighted her male collaborators. Without permission Asco emerged at the height of the Chicano civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s. It was a time of heightened political and racial tension amid the East LA walkouts, protesting education inequality, and the Chicano Moratorium, an anti-Vietnam War movement during which many Mexican Americans were victims of police brutality. Muralists and collectives popped up as Latino artists sought to process the systemic injustice taking place in their communities. The response to such violence was to create art, said Gamboa Jr. He wanted to alter the mainstream perception of Chicanos and present the possibilities and avenues someone can create despite societal constraints. For Valdez, being the only woman meant she was no stranger to a double dose of both racism in society and the sexism weaved within conservative Latino households, where young women were expected to keep quiet. I couldnt stand it. So I was able to act out these forms of censorship through the performance work in Asco, said Valdez, who once taped herself to a public wall in a piece titled Instant Mural, a metaphor on feeling captive. One of Ascos most known works is Spray Paint LACMA. Gamboa, Gronk and Herrón spray painted their names on the side of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art after Gamboa says he was told by a curator, Chicanos are in gangs, they dont make art. There was another era when people said, Latinx art, you know, doesnt exist. Its not a thing. It doesnt belong. Its not part of American art, said Pilar Tompkins-Rivas, the chief curator and deputy director of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Ascos neighborhood performance art would often draw stares, and even crowds. In Station of the Cross, the group carried a large cross to the local military recruiting office to protest the Vietnam War. In 1974, Gamboa took a photo of Gronk posed as the victim of gang violence to bring attention to the medias sensationalist coverage of crime in East Los Angeles. In the documentary, Gamboa claims that a local news station ran the piece as an actual story. Ascos work as a group remained in obscurity from the mainstream. It was not until 2011 when LACMA mounted Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972-1887, the first retrospective to present the groups performance and conceptual art. On display was an image of Valdez, taken by Gamboa, standing above the graffiti art. Life had presented Asco with its full-circle moment. Latino history has always been erased, said Gutiérrez Senger. Asco: Without Permission is a story of winning a battle, not a war. No Movies and Latino representation A 1974 photograph of Valdez shows the artist glammed up in a gold top, holding a golden statue of a cobra. She had won best actress at the Aztlan No Movie Awardsa fictional award show Asco created as commentary on the lack of Latino representation in Hollywood. The group was inspired by Hollywood cinema and popular culture, but knew the likelihood of starring in studio films was limited, unless they wanted to play a maid, cartel leader or gang member. Hollywood movies, rock n roll. Thats what I was about, said Valdez. And thats why I responded in the way I did with my artmaking. Gamboa photographed Herrón, Gronk, and Valdez using cinema stock to capture the essence of their favorite films. The series was called No Movies and later inspired their satirical award show. Gutiérrez Senger was drawn to it and pays homage throughout the documentary by featuring a group of young Chicano artistsincluding local Los Angeles artists like Fabi Reyna and San Chain short films inspired by Ascos signature DIY style. I think its a necessary obligation as a Latino if youre making films to fight very, very hard to put brown people on screen and behind the camera and to try to create films about our history, said Gutiérrez Senger. We have rich stories, and we have a rich history. Asco: Without Permission includes testimonials from respected Latino artists, including actor Michael Pea and comedian Arturo Castro, who have broken into the mainstream but know the importance of preserving hstory. Our history as Latinos is not in the history books. The movements that we’ve had are not in the history books, Pea says in the documentary. Although it often feels like progression is slow, Valdez says artists need to continue to voice their opinions and misbehave and not ask for permission. You do not need permission to be yourself. You do not need permission to be creative. You do not need permission to be intellectual, said Gamboa. And the thing is, you cannot allow yourself to be repressed or silenced and or visually curtailed from presenting works. By Leslie Ambriz, Associated Press
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Many schools and colleges are underperforming when it comes to sex education. Going beyond the classroom condoms-and-bananas approach, a group of students have taken it upon themselves to deliver sex ed, TikTok-style. The TikTok account @sexedforguys, which has more than 117,000 followers, started as a school project by four students at Colby College, a private liberal arts school in Maine. Launched in 2022, the account features skits tackling consent, toxic masculinity, and homophobiaessential lessons in a time when manosphere content is flooding For You Pages and Gen Z boys and men are more likely than baby boomers to believe that feminism has done more harm than good. @sexedforguys The channel began as part of a study on privilege at elite all-boys schools, led by professor Adam Howard, chair of Colbys education department. His research highlights how these institutions often fall shortespecially when it comes to sex education. While working with student researchers, Howard asked how they could best share their findings. Their answer? TikTok. Howard told Rolling Stone that TikTok was the perfect platform for sharing his research for two reasons: First, thats where young people are (55% of TikTok users are younger than 30). Second, it provides a much-needed counternarrative to some of the worst content on the app. Guys could be scrolling through their TikTok and Andrew Tate will pop up, but as they scroll maybe Sex Ed for Guys will pop up and itll start having them think a little bit differently, Christopher Maichin, a 20-year-old junior at Colby, told Rolling Stone. I think the greatest part of it is that they are getting education without even knowing it. Theyre watching a funny video but theyre learning about consent. Several of the TikTok accounts videos have gone viral, including Respecting Women Workout (which has 11 million-plus views) and the game Thats Whats Up!/Whats Up With That? (which has more than 3 million views). @sexedforguys Thats whats up. #fyp #trending #trend #foryoupage original sound – Sex Ed for Guys Setting boundaries with your partner: That’s what’s up! Backflips: That’s what’s up! Using racial and homophobic slurs: What’s up with that?” the boys say to the camera. Their video goes on to praise the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast March of Madness run, night-vision goggles, and “asking your partner about their day.” This is unironically how we defeat the alt-right pipeline, one user commented under the video. Another wrote: this could actually save america.”
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This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here. Hundreds of AI tools emerge every week. Ive picked five new ones worth exploring. Theyre free to try, easy to use, and signal new directions for useful AI. 1. Sesame: Talk with a surprisingly lifelike AI Of all the AI bots Ive communicated with, this one sounds the most lifelike. Pick either Maya or Miles to talk with for free in Sesames conversational demo. Try one of these topics. You can download your conversation afterwards. Its deleted from the companys servers within 30 days to protect your privacy. Ill keep an eye on this company: Sesame aims to build an ever-present brilliant friend and conversationalist, keeping you informed and organized, helping you be a better version of yourself. Another intriguing new AI conversationalist: Im also intrigued by my experiments with Natura Umanas AI people. Rather than one AI bot that covers everything, the NatureOS ecosystem hosts multiple conversational bots, each with a different focus. Ive talked with Hector about well-being and Athena about fitness. The NatureOS interestingly includes hardware, so you can summon these lifelike AI characters with a quick tap of special earbuds. (See a video demo.) 2. Convergence: Assign tasks to an AI agent Ask Convergences AI agent to buy groceries for you, find a gift on Amazon, get you a restaurant reservation, research what people say about your company, or do any number of other tasks. This is just one of many new AI agents trained to use a Web browser for you, and none are yet fully reliable. When I tasked Convergence with making a list of LinkedIn profiles of speakers at the upcoming Perugia International Journalism festival, it got some right and many wrong. With simpler tasks your odds of success are higher. You can request up to five tasks for free per day, or pay $20/month for an unlimited number of tasks. 3. Scribe: Transcribe super accurately Until April 9, Scribea remarkably accurate new transcription model from ElevenLabsis completely free. In my tests it got the names of websites right, whereas most transcription tools get those wrong. It also captured tiny speech nuances so well that Id recommend this over other tools for anything requiring top accuracy. It works in 99 languages. 4. Google Career Dreamer: Imagine a new job Dream up potential new directions for your career with this simple, well-designed free site. You dont have to log in, enter your name, or share any personal info. Just type in the kind of work you do and confirm whether you have certain skills and interests. Add your education if you want. The AI immediately gives you a career identity statement and shows you a map of jobs that might interest you. Hover over any to learn more about them. You can even open up nearby job openings in that field. You can then jump to Gemini, Googles alternative to ChatGPT, to work on a cover letter or continue your career ideation. Gems are now free You can now create a free Gemini Gem, which is an AI tool customized with your specific instructions and up to 10 documents you upload. Its Googles answer to ChatGPTs Custom GPTs. Try this: Create a new Career Gem by uploading your resume, past cover letters, career planning docs, and any other relevant materials. Provide instructions if you have a particular style, language, or approach in mind. This new trained AI assistant youve customized can then help you anytime you return to it to refine a cover letter, update your resume, practice for an interview, or even brainstorm career ideas. Alternative: You can use Googles default Career Guide gem without uploading anything, but its not personalized. 5. Adobe Enhance Speech: Improve audio Adobe recently upgraded its audio cleanup tool. Upload any audio recording with background noise and immediately get a clean version to download. There are new sliders for adjusting the enhancement and background noise. You can then use Adobe Podcast to edit the cleaned audio by trimming the transcript just as you would in a Google Doc. It now works for recordings in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English. If youre making a podcast, you can choose from royalty-free sound collections with intros, outros, transition sounds, and background music. Its free to try for a month and included with existing Adobe subscriptions. This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here.
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