The OG East L.A. poet and writer Marisela Norte has a show up right now at Tropico de Nopal gallery called "Sociedad Anonima." It is mostly visual, an exhibit of recent digital photography of found images and fragments of urban life captured by Norte, who does not own a car and gets around L.A. by foot and public transit. The show is "conceptually curated" by painter-photographer Diane Gamboa. Haven't checked it out yet but here is an interview with Norte on Uprising Radio, where she says that while "literature chose me," she recently "got the urge to take pictures again," and that in taking pictures of hand-made street signs, for instance, she finds a kind of creative satisfaction: "'Se renta cuarto,' they're always looking for 'hombre sin vicios,' 'man
without vices.' Well, aren't we all? That's the attraction, words. Words
words words, that's how I get fed."
Norte also says the title of the show comes from an explanation her father once gave her for the abbreviation "S.A." that often appears after the names of Mexican film production companies in movie credits:
NORTE: I remember as a kid at the drive-in watching these Mexican films, I asked my father, 'What is S.A.?' 'Oh, Sociedad Anonima.' I thought, 'Wow, what a beautiful pairing of words.' And it always stayed with me. Literally it means anonymous society, and what better name for the daughter of a former movie projectionist to build an entire exhibition or collection of images based on that, Sociedad Anonima.
HOST: So even the title is a found title, in a funny way.
NORTE: Yes it is, yes it is.
The show is up until October 13. There's a conversation with the artist on Thursday, September 27, a martini and film night on Saturday, September 29, and a reading on October 6. * Link for Uprising radio interview.
