Adam Cooper-Terán — Multimedia Designer and Performer

2012 portrait of Adam Cooper-Terán by Denise Uyehara “Of Flight & Correspondences” Digital Collage (w/ Circle of Protection and scanned ephemera), 2009 ACT-magus portrait by Steven Johnson Leyba, 2012 Live pic from Annia Jekka (P1070112) by Steev Hise, 2020

 

Verbobala – Sonoran Strange performance at Arcosanti

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this episode we hear from Adam Cooper-Terán, Multimedia Designer and Performer. We go deep into the world of grief, loss, art and spirit in the times of COVID-19. Cooper-Terán talks intimately about how art has helped them process the way death and grief have touched their life. We also talk about their identity as a first gen Tucsonan decendent of Mexican, Yaqui and East Coast Jewish lines. Grappling with “home land” becomes the subject of ANNIA JEKKA where Cooper-Terán takes on connecting this land’s (the Tucson Mountains) past and present by mashing up representations of different historical moments in a mediatic collage. Generational trauma is a thing here; a present day example involves for-profit detention facilities to house immigrant children. There’s currently a petition circulating to restrict their presence after it was announced that VisionQuest is moving into The Dunbar Pavilion. We discuss going back in time to bring generational trauma to bear when there is so much denial in mainstream society; denial about things ranging from this country’s history of slavery, to a brown migrant underclass to the reality of mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex…Cooper-Terán answers the question why they you running into the fire that everyone else is running away from? 

Our listeners may notice that this recording sounds a little different than usual. KXCI studios are still closed in response to CDC guidelines. That said, we continue working hard on new content. This episode of Aristories was recorded remotely. Thank you, listeners, for your continued support as we fine-tune. This is only our second interview recorded since stay-at-home orders.

Listen to the full-length podcast by hitting play above (link to the mini below)!

https://kxci.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Adam-Cooper-Teran-Mini.mp3