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For PENTIMENTO, the 2011 UCSB group MFA thesis exhibition, D'Alessandro responded to the space by using the fireplace mantle as the site for her minimal installation. She chose to exhibit an array artifacts from her previous Art in Athleticism: The Form & Physicality of Boxing exhibit, including competition gloves, headgear, wraps and mouthguard. The fireplace as a conceptual location evokes metonymic associations to story telling, and the personal artifacts exhibit a narrative direction toward the past and present, as well as the future with the addition of a pristine gold trophy. The engraved placard reads 'DESIREE D'ALESSANDRO 20--' and signifies that this is the relic of a future potentiality, one which has yet to be earned or come into being.
Exhibited at the Lauria Hall of the McCormick House, Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, CA.
D'Alessandro's solo thesis exhibition embraced Old Gym Gallery 479's sports and recreation history and focused on hybridizing the fields of art and athleticism. Student boxers from the local community were on display alongside heavy bags and a full-scale boxing ring constructed by the artist. The student boxers made physical appearances in honor of camaraderie and affection for the noble art of boxing throughout the exhibit and interacted with viewers. The exhibition closed with a reception and unforgettable exhibition bout, where D'Alessandro fought alongside other student boxers with the supervising participation of influential figures from the local boxing community, including SoCal Golden Gloves boxing champion Henry Calles of Duke's Boxing/Fitness and Hall of Fame Boxing Historian David Martinez of dmboxing.com.
Exhibited at the Old Gym Gallery 479 of Santa Barbara, CA. 4/18-22/2011
Exhibition and Bout footage by Kam Kunimoto
Art in Athleticism: The Form and Physicality of Boxing
April 18-22, 2011
Solo MFA Thesis Exhibition and Bout Highlights
* Funded by UCSB Graduate Division & IHC
D'Alessandro turned her art studio into a modest boxing training facility as part of the UCSB Art Department's MFA Open Studios. There, she engaged in a public endurance session that lasted 4 hours, training incessantly for 2-minute rounds with 1-minute intervals. Patrons were surprised and intimidated by the noise that invariably contaminated the entire building: the rapid pound of a speed bag being worked and the grunts and slams of power combinations against the heavy bag. Many wondered just what exactly D'Alessandro was doing and how it related to an art context. In order to investigate this concern, supervising Hall of Fame Boxing Historian David Martinez of dmboxing.com encouraged patrons to review her artistic record, similar to how one would investigate a fighter.
Exhibited at the Harder Stadium Studios in Santa Barbara, CA.
This work was an artifact of progress and promotion for the focus of D'Alessandro's MFA Thesis Exhibition at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
D'Alessandro's significant weight loss, rigorous training, and involvement with amateur boxing made her question her artistic practice. She sought to explore the boundary where art meets athleticism and invite spectators from different arenas to converge and converse. She became interested in interaction, reception, and the questions and challenges the pursuit of boxing raises: What is the relationship between the Nobel Art of Boxing and Fine Art? What are the gender-related implications of a woman participating in this field? How does an athletic artifact/performance interact with more traditional media?
The banner was featured at a variety of additional venues and rogue installed in public spaces across Santa Barbara.
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