| Back

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Marc Valesella & Lena Herzog
“2 Years After…”

Opening on November 4, 2010, 6 – 9 pM
Exhibition November 5 - 20, 2010

Curated by Yann Perreau

“I was frequently asked where I was from. My accent and the lack of any Republican or Tea Party insignia gave me away. This was the only time I could not fess up to the truth that I am a Russian who lived in America half of her life. Instinctually I lied: South Africa. “Tough times there now, eh? I heard back”
Lena Herzog

“Later that day, a protest was organized on the lawn of the city hall. One protestor who stood apart from the rest of the shouting crowds quietly displayed a poignant message that moved me because my father was part of the French Resistance– “Stop the Rise of the 4th Reich”
Marc Valesella

Two fascinating and complementary portraits of the same phenomenon, “Two years after…” is a disturbing trip into the dark sides of the American Dream. Last summer, Angelino photographers Marc Valesella and Lena Herzog took the road towards opposite directions: Herzog went to Washington DC to document the Restore Honor Rally, while Valesella captured Arizona’s SB 1070 protests. They both had the same idea in mind: to document political rallies, as a symptom of the peculiar social and political climate that defines our present, two years after the historic election.

Lena Herzog is the author of five books of photography (Tauromaquia, Flamenco and Pilgrims among them). Her portfolios appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Paris Review, and Harper’s among other publications and have been exhibited in Europe and in the United States. Her new monograph Lost Souls is published in conjunction with the exhibition at the International Center of Photography. www.lenaherzog.com

Marc Valesella believes it is the artist’s responsibility to expose social and political issues due to the diminishing unbiased media coverage. His recent show of “Not Negotiable” documented the devastation of Southern California wildfires due to climate change. He is also completing a project that addresses childhood obesity and the industrial food complex called “Overfed:Undernourished”. www.marcvalesella.com

Wine provided by Wine Intelligentsia, Inc, Hors d'oeuvres provided by Baked It Myself