Michele Guieu's 'Undocumented' Digital Art Series About Undocumented Workers in the U.S. is Selected for the 'Cultural Fusion' Exhibition

Three pieces from Michele Guieu's "Undocumented" digital art series, focusing on undocumented workers in California, were selected for inclusion in the "Cultural Fusion: Exploring the Multi-Cultural Influences on the Arts of this Region" art exhibition. The exhibition starts July 28 and continues through September 30, 2007, at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum, Escondido, California.

Escondido, California (PRWEB) June 22, 2007 -- Michele Guieu's series of digital work concerning undocumented workers reflects her interest in the social and political aspects of living in California and in such close proximity to the border with Mexico. At a time when the immigration debate increasingly divides the U.S. -- and because she is an immigrant herself -- she is concerned by the problems one can have when leaving his or her own country to come to the U.S.

Guieu states, "I love California: the weather, the landscapes and (of course) the ocean, but I cannot help thinking about what this paradise hides, or tries to hide anyway. The characters in my art are more real now than in my work before, and I feel that is a good path for me, a nice journey."

Guieu says she is very close to her family, who inspires her work, and feels close to people she does not know but to whom she feels she owes something: the soldiers in Iraq, the journalists, the women in the war and the immigrant workers who work so hard, but who do not have legal status in the United States. As an artist she feels it is her responsibility to keep her eyes open and to try to pay tribute to all of them.

Says Guieu, "It is very rewarding for me to be part of Cultural Fusion because it is such an important exhibition to have here, today. It speaks to our relationship with the place in which we live and with the people around us. This exhibition brings together the energy of the artists willing to participate actively in the melting pot of cultures and in the social and political aspects of their community. For that I am very thankful to be part of this adventure."

The "Undocumented" series contains subtle images and leads one to wonder about the characters, and their motivations, in the desert-like landscapes. The accompanying text is mostly legible, but difficult to decipher, giving the impression of many people talking at the same time. The text creates the foggy ambiance within the art; people seem to be floating around, looking for something in the fog of information.

Undocumented 2, 3 and 4 are square prints mounted under plexi-glass with no frame. Guieu says she wanted absolute simplicity in the presentation of the pieces. She wanted nothing to come between the observer and the subject matter presented within the pieces.

Guieu often works in parallel on digital and painted pieces, her work with each medium feeding and enriching her work with the other. Many of her pieces now contain a mixing portraits of her family, soldiers in the Iraq war, and portraits of woman. She takes many photos on her trips -- mainly of her family -- and then transforms them and uses them in her digital compositions. The simplified space is important to the message within the pieces, and the human element is essential.

Michele Guieu has traveled extensively and now lives and works in San Diego, California, where she finds a strong attachment to the land, between the desert and the ocean, and the space that inspires her art.

She recently participated in the 2007 Juried Biennial exhibition at the Cannon Gallery in Carlsbad, California, the 2006 International Digital Exhibition at the San Diego Art Institute, the 2006 All Media Juried exhibition at the Palos Verdes Art Center, the 2005 "OMA 4" at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Her work has received many awards and is frequently exhibited through southern California.

About the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum, Escondido
(Excerpted from the museum's website)

The Museum has three main galleries and an outdoor sculpture court totaling approximately 10,000 square feet as well as secure collections storage and receiving areas, administrative offices, a Museum Store, and four studio classrooms.

Since 1994, the Museum has organized more than 35 exhibitions and published 10 catalogues. Group and thematic exhibitions have included the work of modern and contemporary artists such as Ansel Adams, William Wegman, Salomon Huerta, David Ireland, Niki de Saint Phalle, Gerhard Richter, Enrique Martinez Celaya, Bruce Nauman, Cindy Sherman, Masami Teraoka, Harry Sternberg, Eloy Tarcisio, and Wayne Thiebaud. Additionally, the Museum hosts traveling exhibitions from other organizations, most recently from The New York Times Photo Archives, New York; the Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; the Frederick R. Weisman Foundation, Los Angeles; the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; The American Federation of Arts, New York; and Independent Curators International, New York.

About the exhibition "Cultural Fusion: Exploring the Multi-Cultural Influences on the Arts of this Region" (Excerpted from the museum's website)

"Throughout history, artists have produced unique works of art as a direct response to their surroundings, their history, and their cultural development. In this mixed cultural landscape, visual artists have learned to work with, around, or against the image of each new culture. Because of this, the visual arts in particular, have developed to reflect a mixture of these disparate cultural and ethnic views. It is this blend, this dynamic fusion of forces, that The California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum invites artists to explore in a regional juried exhibition entitled, "Cultural Fusion: Exploring the Multi-Cultural Influences on the Arts of this Region".

Jurors for the exhibition:
Jo-Anne Berelowitz, Ph.D. - Professor of Art History at San Diego State University
David Avalos, M.F.A. - local artist and Professor of Visual Arts at California State, University San Marcos
Sally Yard, Ph.D. - Art History Coordinator and Professor, University of San Diego

###