Ruben Ochoa has distinguished himself in the SoCal art scene from other post-studio practices by engaging community and art through a direct material connection with the urban hubris that is Southern California. His fascination with car culture, urbanism and social relations in his practice has culminated in an aesthetics of participation. This was best seen in his Class: C Gallery mobile project, where he invited artists to exhibit within the context of a special gallery that was built into the confines of a modified Chevy van. This project was a fluid, constantly moving presentation that mapped a behavior of Los Angeles car culture as it also implanted itself within a contemporary art context, along the lines of public art discourse.
Upon agreeing to produce a project for ESL, his 'participation aesthetics' became even more apparent. He was quick to point out that the neighborhood where the ESL venue is located could facilitate some community interaction within an artistic practice. He subsequently highlighted for ESL the shortcomings of projects spaces, referring to the economies of art exhibition and presentation that often abandon the communities that surround the exhibitions themselves. His concern was that ESL was engaged in perpetuating this activity.
If this was the case, then certainly his installation Borrowed Ladders challenged this notion. Mr. Ochoa set out ESL project by convincing both businesses and residents near our project space to lend them their ladders for the day so that he might make a temporary sculptural installation.
Ruben Ochoa took the social convention of immediate charity, relying on the condition that the solicitor of such charity (Ochoa himself) would be a credible and trustworthy borrowed of the ladders. He thus referred to the lenders through his practice as an artist, and convinced them to take a chance with their possession. What resulted was a fragile yet weighty reminder of the toil but also trust woven throughout the local neighborhood.
