UPCOMING EVENTS
LIFE OF A CHOLO
IN IMAGES AND WORDS
SATURDAY APRIL 13, 6-8PM
LIFE OF A CHOLO
IN IMAGES AND WORDS
Come join us at Eastern Projects for a night filled with art, spoken word, and culture.
The evening's event will include:
Gallery exhibition walkthrough with photographer Merrick Morton.
Special screening of the short film “Life of a Cholo” directed by David Charles Rodriguez.
Live performance of spoken word and poetry by Richard Cabral.
Q&A Featuring
David Charles Rodriguez - Director, writer and filmmaker.
Richard Cabral - Emmy nominated actor, producer, and writer.
Franky Carrillo - A community leader, justice advocate, who was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. He is currently Commissioner of the LA County Probation Oversight Committee.
Charles “Bear” Spratley - Former Crip gang member and now Executive Director of B.A.B.Y (Brothers Against Banging Youth) it’s mission it is to prevent young people in South Los Angeles from entering gangs and to reduce the impact of gang activity on our communities.
Fabian Debora - Director of Homeboy Art Academy
JC Gable - Publisher Hat & Beard Press
MERRICK MORTON | IG @merrickmortonphoto |
Eastern Projects Gallery | IG@eastern_projects_gallery|
Merrick Morton: Un-Rehearsed
Eastern Projects Presents
SOLO Show Merrick Morton: Un-Rehearsed
SATURDAY March 30th 5-9PM
With the publication of Clique: West Coast Portraits From the Hood [Hat & Beard Press] followers of Merrick Morton’s over four decade career of street photography are reminded that, whatever its location, the real substance of a neighborhood is made of people, of individual and group personalities, of circumstance and shared modes of expression. Morton’s camera has served both as a passport and portal, bridging cultural differences as he has gained the trust and, in a sense, artistic partnership of subjects. This solo exhibition includes documenting the Barrio and Inner City, incarcerated men and women in America’s prisons, locked wards within the walls of a California state psychiatric hospital, portraits from cities, towns, and villages in Mexico and Cuba, and “Life of a Cholo” a special collaboration of poetry and photography with actor/poet Richard Cabral. The SOLO show will include an art installation by Richard and he will be performing spoken word at a later date during the exhibition. In counterpoint to the street scenes, Unrehearsed includes portraits of actors with whom Morton worked with on film sets. Behind Morton’s lens, the performer dissolves but the subject remains.
In the directness with which Morton’s subjects greet the camera, Morton earned the trust of people because he showed up for people who want to be seen –often ambivalent or challenging, usually intense - with people who feel their story is worth recording, if only in a single moment.
Cocktail Drinks Sponsored by Hedonistas De La Fe
MERRICK MORTON
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Merrick Morton is a documentary/street photographer, and film set still photographer of more than 90 films including Fight Club, La Bamba, Colors, The Big Lebowski, and the Chicano classic Blood In Blood Out. His photographs of 1980’s Southern California barrios and inner city communities capture an intimate look into a rarely seen side of Los Angeles, and were inspired by his interest in subcultures. His portraits of both incarcerated men and women portray a sense of strength and dignity; the images give viewers the chance to enter spaces they would otherwise never dare to. Other photographic essays of Morton include documenting locked wards at a California State Psychiatric Hospital, and extensive travels to Mexico and Cuba throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is currently photographing the Cholo culture in Mexico City.
Morton’s documentary work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Guardian, and Vanity Fair.
IG: @merrickmortonphoto
Richard Cabral
Richard Cabral is an actor best known for his work on MAYANS M.C. and AMERICAN CRIME, for which he was nominated for an Emmy. His decade-long career has also included roles in LETHAL WEAPON, THE COUNSELOR, A BETTER LIFE, END OF WATCH and, most recently, on the hit Peacock series TWISTED METAL. In addition to his work in film and television, Cabral has also been a vocal activist for his community. He has traveled throughout the country speaking on issues such as prison reform, drug rehabilitation and immigration. Cabral has maintained a relationship with Homeboy Industries, since he went through the program himself over a decade ago. Most recently, his coffee company, Tepito Coffee, partnered with Homeboy to create a staffing pipeline that creates jobs and a support network for reformed gang members, with the ultimate goal of breaking the cycle of incarceration and recidivism that plagues the communities of Los Angeles.
Photo | ARTHUR GALVAO