Atmospheres of Violence and Landscapes of Suciedad; Building the Deviant Subject in MacArthur Park Los Angeles

• In Event: Gendered Carcerality across the Californian Landscape: Abolishing State “care” as Punishment

Abstract

I utilize Deborah Vargas’ theorization of suciedad, dirty sites central to refusal and excess for subjects rendered undesirable to the state to enrich my theorization of MacArthur Park as a contested space of excess (2014). I argue that ska-punk shows hosted for youth at the park, the unhoused encampment sweep and fencing of MacArthur Park offer us a visuality of the messiness that comes with Latinx sites of suciedad. I interrogate LAPD’s mobilization of moral panic against MS-13 to think through intra community policing of gender and sexuality, refusal of carceral solutions and latinx queer placemaking.

Presenter

• Kimberly Soriano, University of California, Santa Barbara