“I
Will Bite Your Face”
Fritz Tugee Peepaw Carraldo
fleece, polyester filling
7x4x3 inches
“Ironlung”
Alma Allen & Fritz Tugee Peepaw Carraldo
ironwood
6x3x3 inches
FRITZS'S FILMS:
FRITZCARRALDO (6.4 MB Quicktime movie)
THE BIG FRITZUNA (6.3 MB Quicktime movie)
PARTY TRAIN (1.6 MB Quicktime movie)
NICE! (216 KB Quicktime movie)
FRITZS'S EXHIBITIONS:
SMOOTH COLLIE (Sur)VIVAL(S): NEW WORKS IN FLEECE AND IRONWOOD BY FRITZ TUGEE PEEPAW CARRALDO
February
6th, 2004
The Pearce Gallery in Venice, California is pleased to present “SMOOTH
COLLIE (Sur)VIVAL(S): NEW WORKS IN FLEECE AND IRONWOOD BY FRITZ TUGEE
PEEPAW CARRALDO.” Artist and activist Fritz, (known as "Flitz"
in Japan), was found on the streets of downtown Los Angeles in June, 2003
by a band of nomads. His rescuers nursed him back to health by wrapping
him in layers of felt and fat which they gathered from the local garment
and meat factories. Fritz quickly became too warm, in fact, he started
to “burn up” given that downtown Los Angeles is very hot in
the summer. However, this fiery experience served to fuel Fritz’s
artistic energies as exhibited in such explosive new works as “I
Will Bite Your Face.” His use of the materials fleece and polyester
is a reference to this history.
Recently, two un-neutered pitbulls DARED to walk down Abbot Kinney Boulevard.
From inside his studio, Fritz filled with rage at this gross social injustice
and burst out the door and across the street to confront the two pitbulls.
Tragically, Fritz was hit by an oncoming car. Miraculously, he has recovered
quickly and the message Fritz tried to convey that night, that he WILL
bite your face should you walk down Abbot Kinney Boulevard, and with your
testicles no less, has been powerfully and eloquently immortalized in
this new work. (Much of Fritz’s activism involves the importance
of neutering/spaying dogs and cats, especially in the U.S. where first
world animals consume around 40 times the natural resources of their counter-parts
in other countries.)
“Irondiaphragm”
Alma Allen & Fritz Tugee Peepaw Carraldo
ironwood
5x6x2 inches
The exhibition at Pearce also includes sculptural objects done in collaboration with artist Alma Allen, (known as "Arma" in Japan). Fritz suffered a collapsed lung from the recent accident. The objects carved by Alma Allen engage in medical historical discourse by creating an “ironlung” and “irondiaphragm” carved from ironwood, symbolizing Fritz’s recovery, reuse of his collapsed lung and injured diaphragm, and rebirth.
A provocateur par excellence, Fritz never ceases to emphasize the act
of art or to conceive of art itself as an action. His entire oeuvre aims
at dissolving the distinction between art and life, at recognizing creativity
in every milieu. Drawing on this credo, the installation at Pearce features
the site-specific action “I Will Bite Your Face” where Fritz
posits “If anything is destructible, why create anything that can
be destroyed?” The fleece & polyester objects in the exhibition
serve to document destruction, the detritus of the all-important process,
the proof that the process of destruction has taken place.
“Self-portrait”
Fritz Tugee Peepaw Carraldo
Fritz may have attended the Yale School of Art, as well as may have modeled for J. Crew, and may have taught at the Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf. Fritz would like to thank his sterilized lady friends Mabel and Olive for making this exhibition possible.
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