To think of wrestling as a melodrama, as Barthes wrote, is wrong. Wrestling is not a corrupt drama. It is drama about corruption. The title of this show refers to a “catch,” or hold in lucha libre, a popular sport endemic to Mexico. Lucha libre translates as “free wrestling,” but more specifically it entails a choreographed contest between two or more wrestlers who compete not as themselves, but as morally coded characters divided into the categories of rudos (bad) versus tecnicos or cientificos (good). To be clear, this exhibition is intended not as a show about lucha libre, but as a show that uses lucha libre as a model for the production and reception of contemporary Mexican art.
Date & Location:
April 1st, 2012 - June 1st, 2012
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
San Francisco, CA
Contact Information:
Amy Pederson, Curator
