Moammar Gadhafi killed in Libya. Orange County journalists’ roundtable. AirTalk’s Chicano ArtTalk & Pacific Standard Time exhibit.
Self-declared 'King of Kings' Moammar Gadhafi killed
Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi was killed today as his hometown of Sirte fell to opposition forces. The city was the last bastion of resistance held by the 69-year-old autocrat who ruled for more than four decades.
His own people, with the support of NATO forces, mounted a revolt against him that has lasted eight months, longer than was predicted.
The news of Gadhafi’s death couldn’t have come at a better time for Cal State Long Beach student Maryam Ibrahim. Her cousin was killed Wednesday night in Sirte — just a day before Gadhafi.
He had been fighting Gadhafi forces for eight months.
"That was really sad," Ibrahim told Larry Mantle, "but this morning we woke up and got this amazing news. It’s such sweet justice for my family because they’re burying him today knowing that it wasn’t in vain.”
Ibrahim said she regrets Gadhafi wasn’t captured alive to face his crimes, but said his death might make it easier for the country to move forward.
Mahmoud Jabril, a leader of the National Transitional Council, the interim Libyan government, did not have details of Gadhafi's death, though Jabril told a news conference that he was confident a NATO strike was not responsible. In a statement from NATO's Libya operations headquarters, a spokesman confirmed that an airstrike had attacked Libyan military vehicles, but did not know who may have been in them.
Another Libyan transitional leader, Mohamed Benrasali, had a different account of Gadhafi's death – that he had been captured by fighters, but was badly injured and died soon after. His death is the latest in a series of incidents that have transformed the Middle East and North Africa, including the overthrow of dictatorships in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt. The deposed leader refused to give up even after his government was overthrown, vowing to hunt down rebels “alley by alley.”
WEIGH IN:
What is the reaction in Libya and around the world? Is the fight over Libya over? How stable is the leadership? What’s next?
Guests:
Borzou Daragahi, Middle East correspondent for the Financial Times
Lawrence J. Korb, Senior Fellow at Center for American Progress and to the Center for Defense Information; adjunct professor at Georgetown University; former Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Reagan administration (1981-1985)
Maryam Ibrahim, graduate assistant at Cal State Long Beach, daughter of opposition leader Ibrahim Jabreel
Orange County journalists’ roundtable
Larry and our talented trio of Orange County journalists riff on the latest news from the O.C. including the latest on the aftermath of the Seal Beach shooting, the investigation of the Fullerton police department following the beating death of Kelly Thomas, the battle over Laura’s Law – a California statute aimed at providing treatment for severely mentally ill adults, the impact of prison realignment – possible bankruptcy for the city of Santa Ana, #OccupyOC and more.
Guests:
Gustavo Arellano, managing editor of the OC Weekly
Norberto Santana, editor-in-chief of the Voice of OC, a non-profit investigative news agency that covers Orange County government and politics online
Teri Sforza, staff writer for the Orange County Register
AirTalk’s Chicano ArtTalk & 'Pacific Standard Time' exhibit
This month, as part of the ambitious celebration of SoCal art that is "Pacific Standard Time," KPCC and AirTalk divined our inner curator. On Wednesday, KPCC’s Larry Mantle hosted a one-night Chicano art exhibit with the artists themselves and their works in the Crawford Family Forum.
The early days of the modern American art movement were once described as "racist, aloof, pretentious and elitist" by Armando Vazquez. In his essay, "Reflection on the Chicano Art Movimiento," Vazquez said it wouldn't be until the 1950s and 60s that Chicanos, Jews, Blacks, Native Americans and women would penetrate the monolith known as "American art and culture." Los Angeles was a focal point of that fundamental shift. The birth of Chicano art coincided with the birth of L.A. as a center for contemporary art and artistic innovation distinct to Southern California.
Trailblazers of this Chicano art movement, Patssi Valdez and the artist known as "Gronk" joined Larry to reveal the roots of the vibrant and distinct school, starting with their involvement in an four-person art collective called “ASCO,” the word for nausea and disgust in Spanish.
The group brought their art to the streets, in one instance spray painting their names on a wall of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to protest the lack of Chicano artists in the space.
ASCO created numerous performance pieces such as the “Instant Mural,” where Gronk taped Valdez to a wall to poke fun at the numerous political murals being painted at the time, what Valdez called “eyesores.” She eventually removes herself from the wall, getting rid of the “eyesore.”
Gronk said that though much of ASCO’s work projects a humorous flair, they contain many layers of meaning.
“It’s about oppression; it’s about taping someone to a wall. But, again, it’s somebody who is able to break free of the bonds,” he said. “It’s like different communities in many ways, also, just stay within that community, but it’s about moving beyond that.”
A photograph of “Instant Mural” shows Valdez in heavy makeup, platform heels and a bright jacket, one of the “glamorized” outfits she dons for her compositions.
“I know something that was really disturbing for me is that whenever I saw an image of a Mexican in the media, it was usually a negative image or very limited view of what we’re all about,” Valdez said. “That’s why you see me wearing these different costumes […] I just wanted to break that limited stereotype.”
Though Valdez and Gronk often created art steeped in Chicano issues affecting the culture as a whole, Sonia Romero and Enrique Castrejon, two artists that represent the next generation, tackle art from a more individualistic perspective.
Castrejon’s pieces combine collage with drawing; he deconstructs images of war and death or homoerotic or religious iconography and uses math to measure angles and draw lines protruding from the pictures he chooses. Castrejon said he likes expressing the facets of his identity, such as being Chicano and gay, in his art, and allowing the viewer to interpret the themes within his compositions.
“For me, I like being in that inbetweeness,” he said. “I grew up in that way. I mean, growing up undocumented — that taught me how to actually just be quiet and actually be able to understand how to adapt.”
Romero said her mixed background doesn’t find a place in her art.
“I just don’t look at things that way. I just look at the tree next to me, and then I draw it and it means something to me. It’s just not part of my art practice,” she said.
Valdez said that after her period with ASCO, she looked away from the barrios and the politics to reflect on herself in her paintings. Now, she said she’s trying to find a middle ground between both realms. Both Valdez and Gronk agree that the older generation is “still growing up” and changing with the times.
“I think for me, it was a learning experience growing up in a particular moment in time. You have shared experiences, but you don’t stay there. You always continue to grow and experience things, and take in a lot of information,” Gronk said.
WEIGH IN:
What separates this class of creative expression from the rest? What was the genesis of Chicano art? How did the blend of culture, of ethnicity, location and time influence the art? What do you find striking about the works?
Guests:
Patssi Valdez, contemporary artist & original member of the ASCO collective
Gronk, artist & original member of the ASCO collection
Sonia Romero, contemporary & public artist based in Los Angeles
Enrique Castrejon, artist (measured and fragment collage drawing)