Violent By Design is an arc of Los Angeles-based painter Nehemiah Cisneros' own "Ghetto Mythologies" created from 2019 to 2021 during the artist's residency in Kansas City, Missouri. The work merges the graphic aesthetics of 90's skateboard graphics with the theatrical scale of the Baroque painting of the 1600s. The two-part show challenges American history with humor and satire. While living in the Midwest, Cisneros draws connections to Los Angeles gang culture and the Midwest's embrace of confederate flags. Through these examples of communities functioning as tribes that show pride through gang symbols painted on buildings or Flags that nod to a racially segregated time, Cisneros summons stereotypical characters of each opposing side, having them do battle amongst one another, questioning the theories of nature and nurture. Are we Violent By Design, or is there hope for a possible redemption to our species?
Violent By Design opens publicly on March 12th and will be on display until May 29th in the heart of the Kansas City arts community in the Crossroads. In conjunction with Habitat Contemporary Gallery and Leedy Voulkos Art Center, this series will be exhibited in two parts.