Mascarón de Proa is the Spanish phrase for a ship’s figurehead, literally the “mask of the prow.” A mask of the prow exists at the intersection of air, water and earth, if one considers a ship as of the earth or of earthbound creatures. A mask is something that covers the skin of a face, extending or stretching the neutral zone between what is inside and what is outside a person physically, emotionally and psychically. A figurehead operates in that nominal space between those who use it to represent or speak for them and everyone else.
Mascarón de Proa
an installation specifically designed for the Experimental Gallery, is intended to explore the boundaries and edges of things.
About the Artist
Currently residing in the Los Angeles area, Daniel Wheeler received his BA from Brown University. He has shown his installations at Newport Harbor Art Museum, California; John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Oakland Museum, California; and California State University at Fullerton Art Gallery. One of his recent projects was a series of sets for the Diavolo Dance Theater, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland. In 1990 he received an Art Here and Now award from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Performance Schedule
A performance by the artist occurred Friday, April 26th, in the Experimental Gallery. Here are some images from the actual performance.
- Special Thanks to
Beatrice Cortez and Constantino Lopez, for assistance with the performances; Patricia Clark at the Institute for Studies in the Arts; Rob Willhoit and Frank Paiz at Residential Life; Robert La Fleur; and the ASU Art Museum installation crew: Stephen Johnson, Greg Strange, Bill Brauckman, Nina Cartier, Fran Harris, Richard Minardi, Belle Struck and Hugo Zamudio. - This exhibition was funded in part by a grant from the Institute for Museum Services and the Friends of the ASU Art Museum.
- Mascarón de Proa was organized by Heather Lineberry, curator, and John D. Spiak, curatorial assistant, for the Experimental Gallery at the ASU Art Museum.
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