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ANNOUNCEMENT Artists’ Book Release

Details

  • In the Court of the Conqueror featuring Patty Ortiz with George Emilio Sanchez
  • Curator & Editor, Cydney Payton MAZZY PRESS, Monterey, CA Production, binding, design by Small Editions, Brooklyn, NY Clamshell construction by Sarah Smith
  • Letterpress printing by Sarah Nichols
  • Letterpress plates by Boxcar Press
  • Images by Patty Ortiz
  • Text by George Emilio Sanchez

  • Curator and Editor, Cydney Payton MAZZY PRESS, Monterey, CA

  • Available: June 10, 2024
  • Edition Size: 15
  • Presale Price: $2,500.00 until July 15, 2024
  • To purchase or for more information email info@ortizysanchez.com

Annoucement

Patty Ortiz and George Emilio Sanchez (Ortiz y Sanchez) are proud to present their inaugural artists’ book In the Court of the Conqueror. The book is a MAZZY PRESS project conceived and curated by Cydney Payton as a memory of experiencing the performance and video work In the Court of Conqueror at Abrons Arts Center, NY in 2022. In the Court of Conqueror is a collaborative work by Ortiz y Sanchez that includes performance and videos. The work is both a monologue by Sanchez and a collection of related images that Ortiz imagined as video responses to the performance. In the Court of the Conqueror confronts the 200-year-old history of the US Supreme Court rulings diluting Tribal Sovereignty of Native Nations. The piece weaves the autobiographical story of Sanchez’s search for his indigenous roots with citations of legal case law related to Indigenous Nations where federal, state, and tribal sovereigns abut and conflict. The book was means to enclose the project and viewing experience into another model for future audiences. The artists’ book becomes a translation of the ephemeral nature of performative art. Tactile, with distinctive visual layers, the book offers viewers an opportunity to interact with a time-based staged work that no longer exists. While the original content and context arrive anew in this form, the critical questions about laws and indigeneity remain.

This limited edition linen covered book contains numerous elements. Ortiz offers an original cyanotype containing a ghostly image of a historic map of the Texas territories. A digital artwork with still images from Ortiz’s the video installation takes the form of a leporello. A handsewn booklet show us excerpts from Sanchez’s original script in a new poetic format. Letterpress documents provide context and descriptions of the overall project.

About the Artists, Curator and Small Editions

Patty Ortiz is a visual artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and San Antonio, TX. Her artistic practice moves from drawing to video and often looks to institutional critique and social practice. Alongside her work as an artist, she was an Executive Director of the Museo de las Americas in Denver, CO and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio. Her work has been exhibited internationally in Mexico, Chile, and the Netherlands. Her public art commissions can be seen in Denver International Airport and The Jeppeson Corporation in Frankfort, Germany. Recognition includes awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. Ortiz holds an MFA from University of Texas. pattyortiz.net

George Emilio Sanchez is a writer, performance artist and social justice activist who lives and works in Fort Greene, NY. He has been performing original works since 1992 and is recognized as a leading performance artist in the arena of social practice. His work has received prestigious support from the Fulbright Program (Peru), New York Foundation for the Arts, The MacDowell Colon, and the Rockefeller Foundation to name a few. Sanchez is the Chairperson of the Performing and Creative Arts Department at the College of Staten Island/City University of New York where he has taught for over three decades. Sanchez holds an MFA from Bard College, NY and a Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law from University of Oklahoma. georgeemiliosanchez.com

Cydney Payton is writer and curator who lives and works in Monterey, CA. She founded MAZZY PRESS in 2022 as a curatorial project where the book or enclosure operates as an architectural space to present innovative collaborations between artists and writers. The inaugural project was In the Long Window with visual artist Alan Scarritt. In the Court of Conqueror is the second project of MAZZY PRESS. Payton has an extensive background in contemporary art as a museum director and curator. Her curatorial focus is on the relationship between contemporary art and experimental architecture. Payton holds an MA in Curatorial Practice from California College of the Arts. cydneypayton.com

Small Editions

Small Editions is a book and print design studio, a book bindery, an artists’ book publishing house, and an educational workshop space. The studio was founded in 2012 by Kimberly McClure and Corina Reynolds. Since 2019 Hannah Yukiko Pierce has been the owner and director. smalleditions.nyc

Press Release

Press Release (PDF)

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