El Cabello como Expresión Artística

Tanya Aguiñiga (b.1978) is a Los Angeles based furniture designer/maker

La artista residente Tanya Aguíñiga del DCCA, estuvo trabajando con estudiantes de cosmetología de la escuela bachillerato Howard de tecnología.

Por medio de este esfuerzo, Aguíñiga enfoca la importancia de la belleza femenina ayudando a que se escuche la perspectiva de la mujer hacia la estética del diseño, un campo que actualmente esta dominado por hombres. Las participantes trabajaron en el  diseño de obras de arte desde sillas encontradas hasta lámparas, combinando técnicas de peinados para cabello y el proceso tradicional de tapicería y acabado. Aguíñiga cree que por medio de la combinación de objetos funcionales y diseños e ideas de cambio social, las participantes podrán demostrar el actual papel de la mujer tanto en el sector privado como en el hogar en cuanto a cuerpo, género y cultura. Las estudiantes estarán presentaron sus obras en el DCCA el 29 de Octubre del 2008.

Tanya Aguíñiga  (n.1978) es una diseñadora y fabricante de muebles de Tijuana, México, actualmente reside en Los Angeles. El trabajo de Tanya está enfocado en la experiencia de la frontera: la interconexión de sociedades, la belleza en la lucha y la celebración de culturas. Ella recibió su licenciatura en Diseño Aplicado con énfasis en diseño de muebles de San Diego State University y su maestría en artes finas en diseño de muebles de la Rhode Island School of Design. Ha obtenido varios premios por su trabajo incluyendo el prestigioso premio United States Artists Fellowship y ha sido nombrada una USA Target Fellow en el campo de artesanías y artes tradicionales. Ha participado en el PEW Foundation Fellowship panel y ha sido representada en numerosos medios de comunicación incluyendo la revista Wallpaper, el LA Times y NBC News. Ha expuesto su trabajo desde México hasta Milán y recientemente en el Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Una muestra permanente de su trabajo pertenece al Children's Museum of San Diego en una instalación titulada “Bosque de Textura”. Aguíñiga ha trabajando en la comunidad como voluntaria y en posiciones pagadas. Incluyendo siendo miembro del Taller de Arte Fronterizo, una colaboración de artistas bi-nacional donde se crean trabajos de conciencia social y política acerca la vida fronteriza de E.E.U.A./México. Tambien ha creado muchos trabajos que tratan sobre los derechos del migrante por medio de instalaciones en México y Estados Unidos. Aguíñiga también ha enseñado en el Rhode Island School of Design y en el San Diego Museum of Art. Puedes leer más acerca de Tanya Aguíñiga al http://www.aguinigadesign.com/

Este proyecto ha sido posible, en parte, por becas del National Endowment for the Arts, JPMorgan Chase, and The Gilliam Foundation. Adicionalmente con el apoyo de The Wilmington Flower Market. El apoyo operativo general del DCCA ha sido proporcionado por el Bank of America y el Delaware Division of the Arts, una agencia del estado de Delaware dedicada a educar y apoyar las artes en Delaware, en asociación con el National Endowment for the Arts.

Howard students use hair-braiding techniques to design furniture

DCCA Artist in Residence works with Howard High School cosmetology students to create furniture by incorporating African-American hair braiding

Seniors who are enrolled in the cosmetology program at the Howard High School of Technology are working work with California-based artist and furniture designer Tanya Aguiñiga to create a series of unique lamps and chairs that feature hair weaving and braiding techniques traditionally used by African-American women. As part of the DCCA’s Art & Community Visual Arts Residency Program, Aguiñiga is working with the students for eight weeks through October to translate their skills in hair styling into usable and creative elements in furniture design and fabrication. The project will conclude with a temporary exhibition at the DCCA on view October 29 through November 16, 2008. The exhibition will be featured during our extended gallery hours during Art on the Town on Friday, November 7, 2008 from 5 – 9 pm.

To begin the project, Aguiñiga provided each student with a lamp she found at a thrift store or flea market. The students were encouraged to plan their designs by making sketches on photographic reproductions of their lamps. The students are now in process of converting their two-dimensional designs into three-dimensional works using braiding techniques with synthetic hair. After the lamps are completed, the Howard students will design and re-fabricate reclaimed chairs, employing similar braiding techniques and traditional upholstery.

Through this outreach effort, Aguiñiga is focusing on the importance that is given to female beauty to help women voice a feminine perspective on the aesthetics of design, a field that is currently dominated by men. The participants are collaboratively designing works of art from found chairs and lamps, using a combination of hairstyling techniques and more traditional upholstery and finishing processes. Aguiñiga believes that, by combining functional objects with socially-charged design ideas, the participants will be able to address the current roles that women hold in both public and private settings in regard to body, gender, and culture. Ultimately, Aguiñiga’s project will be a collaborative experience – and the exchange of dialogue and experiences between Aguiñiga and the students will be incorporated into the furniture. Aguiñiga hopes to inspire the young women in the class to use their skills and education in a variety of different outlets and discover their inner creativity.

Tanya Aguiñiga found inspiration for this project in contemporary hair-styling techniques and was enthused by the culture behind African-American beauty shops. According to Aguiñiga, beauty shop stylists are important voices in their communities and keepers of stories. The culture of African-American beauty shops holds a deep history and a rich heritage and Aguiñiga is using this as a platform for design and artistic expression.

About Tanya Aguiñiga

Tanya Aguiñiga (b.1978) is a Los Angeles based furniture designer/maker raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Tanya’s work is informed by border experiences: the interconnectedness of societies, the beauty in struggle, and the celebration of culture. She holds a B.A. in Applied Design with an Emphasis in Furniture from San Diego State University and an M.F.A. in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design. She has received many awards for her work, including the prestigious United States Artists Fellowship, and was named a USA Target Fellow in the field of Crafts and Traditional Arts. As a USA Target Fellow, Aguiñiga was hosted by the Native Arts Center at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, where she studied the techniques of traditional Alaskan art. Aguiñiga was also one of four United States designers invited to participate in Design Miami Design Performances as part of Art Basel. Aguiñiga has also served on a PEW Foundation fellowship panel and has been represented by numerous media outlets, including Wallpaper Magazine, the LA Times, and NBC News. She has exhibited her work frequently from Mexico to Milan and recently at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. A permanent installation of her work is at the Children’s Museum of San Diego as a “Texture Forest” for toddlers. Aguiñiga has used art and design as a vehicle for humanitarian work by volunteering for social engagement and activism organizations in the United States and Mexico, including as a member of the Border Art Workshop, a bi-national artists collaborative that creates socially and politically conscious works addressing US/ Mexican border issues. She has done a great deal of work for migrant rights through art installations across Mexico and in the United States. She has managed several initiatives in the Maclovio Rojas community and was instrumental in the building of a women’s center, a sports center, and the “Aguascalientes” Community Center in this community. Currently, Aguiñiga is involved with the “Watts House Project,” an “artist-driven urban revitalization initiative” based in communities near the Watts Towers in Los Angeles. Aguiñiga has also taught at the Rhode Island School of Design and at the San Diego Museum of Art.

About her experiences, Tanya says, “Living simultaneously in two countries made me very aware of the differences between the first and third worlds. It also made me very aware of my privileged situation, having been born in the United States. It was a privilege I never took lightly as I witnessed, on a daily basis, all that people sacrifice to reach

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