Reading Group: Five Fires —hosted by Wes Larios

Tuesday, July 12, 2022
7:00 PM 9:00 PM

Schindler House 835 North Kings Road West Hollywood, CA, 90069 (map)

Google Calendar ICS

As we enter into the summer months, the drying-out of southern California, you are invited to join a reading group of “Five Fires: Race, Catastrophe, and the Shaping of California,'' by David Wyatt. Hosted in collaboration with artists’ collective, Peer2Peer, the reading group will meet three times throughout the summer for guided discussions — second Tuesdays, June, July, and August.

Reading group discussions will take place around one of the Schindler Houses’ fireplaces. Discussions will focus on the role of fires, as well as connection between the current landscape of California (an abundance of diasporic flora), versus a colonialist conflagration (a deserted-ness and vastness of land). Reflecting on the fire seasons which plague the American West: what ignites/perpetuates these fires (and how are they rooted in geo-politics)? What does it mean to “control” or domesticate a “wild” fire (such as in a home’s fireplace)?

Attendees are encouraged to come prepared, having read an excerpt announced and made public ahead of time.

PEER2PEER

Peer2Peer (P2P) is a decentralized artist run project space interested in connection, community, and citation. Founded by CalArts 22’ MFAs Elizabeth Herring and Cha Tori.

Our second session takes place Tuesday, July 12th, 7:00 PM, moderated by Wes Larios. We will discuss Chapter Five: The Politics of Water. Wes Larios has also shared The Case for Letting Malibu Burn by Mike Davis and Flutes of Fire by Leanne Hinton as additional optional texts and The Aqueduct Between Us as a supplementary video.

WES LARIOS

Wes Larios (b.1992, Los Angeles, CA) is an artist and teacher. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, then moved to New Haven, Connecticut for graduate studies. After receiving his MFA in 2017, he moved to New York City and participated in the Whitney Independent Study Program. He is now Visiting Faculty at the California Institute of the Arts and UC Riverside. He works slowly on essays, films, drawings, books and photographs from his Depression-era shed in East LA.