Connie Samaras review in LA Times

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/02/the-city-of-the-future-exposed-at-uc-riverside-museum.html

Connie Samaras at UCR/California Museum of Photography

Connie Samaras: After the American Century

Saturday, February 5, 2011
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
UCR/California Museum of Photography
3824 Main Street
Riverside, California
www.cmp.ucr.edu/exhibitions/samaras
www.artsblock.ucr.edu

The exhibition is on view February 5–April 2, 2011

Shot at the start of the worldwide economic downturn in December 2008 and March 2009, After the American Century is a series of photographs and videos examining the self-branding of Dubai, United Arab Emirates as a far future, global capitalist haven nestled in the imaginary of an unchanging past, the Arabian desert. Shown for the first time in Southern California, the photographs selected for this exhibit depict the urban landscape in such a way that it is difficult to tell whether the city is moving towards a state of becoming or obsolescence. Magic Planet, a video installation newly created for the CMP show, formally draws from the textured quality of establishing shots in science fiction films and focuses on the laborers imported to build Dubai and the varying landscapes they inhabit.

This exhibition coincides with UC Riverside’s annual Eaton Science Fiction Conference (February 11-13, 2011) at which Samaras will be giving a paper about recent projects and their relationship to differing tropes of future imaginaries.

After the American Century was funded by grants from UC Institute for Research on the Arts, UC Council on Research, Computing & Libraries, and the Montalvo Arts Center for the exhibition series Agency: The Work of Artists, Julie Lazar, curator.

February 5 is the opening celebration for three exhibitions at UCR ARTSblock.
From 6:00pm to 9:00pm artists and curators will be present during opening receptions for exhibitions taking place at the California Museum of Photography, Sweeney Art Gallery, and Culver Center. Curatorial introductions and artist talks begin at 6:30pm at UCR/CMP. Maya Goded will discuss Las Olvidadas - The Forgotten Women; Connie Samaras will speak about After the American Century. At 7:30pm at the Sweeney Art Gallery artist Margarita Cabrera and Artistic Director and Curator Tyler Stallings discuss Pulso y Martillo - Pulse and Hammer. Cabrera’s performance, “Pulse and Hammer” will be presented in the Culver Atrium throughout the evening.

Photo by Connie Samaras, “Workers, Sheikh Zayed Road,” 2009