Maria Gaspar
Image Credit: Zeltzin Vazquez
Walking through Chicago’s Little Village, Gaspar began to reflect on what it meant to have the largest architecture of the neighborhood she grew up in be the Cook County Department of Corrections. “I had this moment of reflection, thinking there’s something we can do here to radically transcend this place of detention. This could be something powerful.”
Maria Gaspar, Unblinking Eyes, Watching, 2019, vinyl adhesive. Photo: Claire Britt
In Unblinking Eyes, Watching, Gaspar printed high-resolution images of the north end of the jail to scale and plastered them onto the wall of the Chicago Cultural Center. In this work, Gaspar forces the viewer to think about the presence and proximity of these detention sites and our own relationships to power.
Close-up of Unblinking Eyes, Watching. Photo: Claire Britt
At SAIC, Gaspar wants her classroom to be an inclusive and inspiring place. “Teaching and learning is such a magical and transformative process and it must include justice. Working with others, whether it be people on my block, in another neighborhood, or at SAIC, it’s an opportunity to engage, to understand one another, and to challenge the systems that continue to divide and oppress."
An artist leans against a table in a large, modern studio
