LOS ANGELES
Two In The Pinku
Sep 26 - Oct 18, 2022
Opening Reception: Sat, Sep 26, 7-10 pm
Two in the Pinku is a two-person exhibition by artists and married couple Dakota Noot and Christopher Velasco. Drawing on their ongoing podcast of the same name, which covers the Japanese film genre of pinku-eiga (“pink film”), Noot and Velasco created a new drawing-installation and photographic series. The exhibit refashions their bodies (whether drawn or photographed) into voyeurs and models. The work borrows the humor, censorship, and suggestive posing of pink film and erotica.
In his drawings, Noot renders Velasco as a schoolgirl, underwear model, and tennis player. Facial and chest hair are paired with drawings of luscious breasts: capturing Velasco’s body as a force of absurd gender-play and colorful curiosity. It’s cheeky. By contrast, Velasco’s photographs go the other way: he plays photographer-as-pervert. He questions the gaze as he captures Noot’s exposed body in restroom stalls, lonely hallways, and empty bathrooms. The viewer is complicit in these actions. Yet, Velasco’s hand is present: never a sterile camera or clean setting.
Noot and Velasco have not only explored each other’s bodies but used them for art. If a Tiger can strike a steroid, two fingers can become lost in pink. Viewers are welcome to watch.
Artist’s Bios
Christopher Velasco is a Los Angeles-based photographer, performance artist, and photo historian known for exploring the queer brown body and blending horror with camp aesthetics. His work has been prominently showcased in exhibitions at respected venues such as the Art Center College of Design, AD&A Museum, Avenue 50 Studios, the California Institute of the Arts, the Hibbleton Gallery, the Getty Museum, and the Vincent Price Art Museum. Additionally, Velasco has collaborated with Harry Gamboa, Jr., notably through Virtual Verite, and has performed at Los Angeles Union Station, UC Santa Barbara, and LAST Projects. Velasco's work is part of the collections of The Getty Museum, the Alta Med Art Collection, and the Cerritos College Art Gallery.
christopheravelascophotography.com
@caver83
Dakota Noot is a Los Angeles-based artist, curator, and essayist. He uses drawings, paintings, and installations to create animal-human hybrids that explore rural yet fantastical, queer identities. Originally from Bismarck, North Dakota, he continues to show in both North Dakota and Los Angeles. His series of cutout drawing-installations have been shown at Art in Odd Places, LA Freewaves, Cerritos College Art Gallery, and Otis College. Noot has been featured in Hi-Fructose magazine. He has contributed audio commentaries, essays, and video essays to boutique Blu-ray labels like Vinegar Syndrome, Film Movement, Kani, Klubb Super 8, Third Window Films, and 88 Films.
dakotanoot.com
@dakotanoot
photos by Christine Atkinson coming soon