Archive for latin american art
curating and writing about art
Today I met with Carlos Suarez De Jesus of the Miami New Times, who is writing about the Space is the Place exhibition at Diaspora Vibe Gallery, and one of the first things he told me was that he wasn’t interested in “all of that critical theory.” He told me straight up that he was interested in writing about art in a way that’s accessible and engaging for everyday people, and that seventy percent of his readers don’t have a background in the arts. That’s where he got me. (That and the fact that he doesn’t have a car and takes the bus and taxi almost everywhere in MIAMI. Which is pretty rare in Miami, where cars dominate, and pedestrians and cyclists are super rare, unless you’re in South Beach. I love to hear this, since I’m also one of those few folks who also jumps on the bus from time to time.)
This was refreshing to hear from him. I reminded him that my whole perspective is as an artist from a working class background of self-taught artists. And while I studied art in college, I am hyper aware of accessibility and who is and is not included or allowed in. I discussed with him that I curated “Space is the Place” to understand the need by artists like myself who feel the need to produce this time-based work that is ephemeral, difficult to sell, and often misunderstood by our communities, families, and others in larger art circles. And that the whole point of this “Space is the Place” show is to encourage people of all backgrounds to enter a space that is interactive, accessible, and multi-sensory. I felt that Diaspora Vibe was probably the most appropriate venue to present this show, since it is the most diverse art space I’ve been in and it’s leaning towards framing more time-based art. The show is about activating the gallery walls in a way so that you can engage with the art in non-traditional ways by listening to sound pieces on headphones and giant life-size speakers, getting a hug by a hug machine, choreographing a movements via skype from Miami to Chicago and vice versa, sitting down on the floor and watching a sci-fi inspired video, being interviewed by artists collectives, or listen to sonic sculptures. My whole point was to engage the senses that are often neglected in traditional art spaces such as touch and sound and to present art that talks back. I also wanted to show the wealth of time-based art being produced by many artists from different edges of the globe, mostly based in the U.S. So I’m looking forward to seeing what is written in the New Times article which comes out next week.
Opening Reception of "Space is the Place" at Diaspora Vibe Gallery
So “Space is the Place” is finally out of my head and out in the world and getting some attention. It’s been a lot of planning, but definitely very rejuvenating and affirming. The catalogue will be available online soon. Here are pics from the opening and a few from the talk. I’m looking forward to escaping to Texas for a moment, seeing familiar faces, doing some sign painting and portraits with Pops, and taking off the curator hat for now..
Currently listening to: “Rowing Song” and “Florida” by Patty Griffin.
States of Exchange: Artists from Cuba
23 January - 22 March 2008
Image: Jeanette Chávez
Autocensura / Self-Censorship, 2006
Video, 2:52 min
Iniva
Rivington Place, London, EC2A 3BA, UK
States of Exchange: Artists from Cuba, Iniva’s first major exhibition at Rivington Place, provides a dynamic and thought-provoking exploration of the complexities of economic and information exchange in contemporary Cuba.
At a time when borderless communication is assumed to be the global norm, Cuba is a country caught in flux. With two legal currencies, minimal internet access, and divisions between those who can and can’t access external resources, the residents of Cuba have become experts at negotiating the complexities of exchange between each other and the world.
Curated by Cylena Simonds (Iniva) and prominent Cuban curator Gerardo Mosquera, the group show focuses on six artists living and working in Cuba today. Their work offers a witty and provocative response to scarcity and constraint, raising issues of global relevance. The artworks range from sculpture and performance to video installation, plus an extensive video screening programme featuring shorts and experimental documentaries by over 14 artists, including works never before seen in Europe.
Co-curator, Gerardo Mosquera says:
‘States of Exchange aims to show how artists in Cuba discuss contradictions, ambiguities and social negotiations in Cuban life, leading a critical culture that prevails in the country since the mid 80s. They use the semantic powers of art to create complex works whose impact goes far beyond the local context. So this is not a general show of Cuban art but a thematic exhibition on issues particular to Cuba. It includes both emerging artists that are beginning to be known internationally and more established ones.’
Copying Eden: Inside, Outside and After Chilean Art
Friday 25 January 2008, 18.30–20.00
Tate Modern, London
Art produced inside, outside and after the constraints of dictatorship is examined in the research that culminated in the publication Copying Eden: Recent Art from Chile edited by curator Gerardo Mosquera.
The author presents an overview of thirty years of art production in Chile, followed by presentations by two prominent Chilean artists and curator and writer Guy Brett, Lotty Rosenfeld,her work in the context of dictatorship, including her public interventions in the streets of Santiago during the Pinochet régime. London-based Livia Marin, examines the effects of the global market and the end of the era of political tragedy as a backdrop for the work of younger artists in Chile.The event also includes the unveiling of a new airmail painting sent from Chile by Eugenio Dittborn and introduced by Guy Brett. He presents the concept of the ‘airmail paintings’, a series of works started in the early 1980s which are made to be sent by post, and introduces the work made specifically for the even.
desde el norte
a new video from my friend elizabeth ross, founder and director of 5célula, based in morelia, michoacan, mexico, who has been initiating some really interesting projects in the south and internationally intersecting art, community and change. the video is called “desde el norte” and it’s a collage of short interviews of latin americans living in new york who have immigrated here for various reasons. ck it out.
desde el norte
Mouths of Ash– Juan Manuel Echavarría
Juan Manuel Echavarría:
Bocas De Ceniza (Mouths of Ash)
“I was drowning in words.” With that, Juan Manuel Echavarría walked away from thirty years as a writer of serious fiction. Echavarría didn’t look at the art of his own time until 1995 when he began to spend month-long sojourns in New York, often in the company of artist friends, one of whom put a camera in his hands. In his photo series and video films he deals with the power of the drug cartel and various forms of violence in Columbia that have become – after fifty years of civil war – shockingly normal.
Bocas de ceniza /Mouths of Ashe – is what the Spanish conquerors of Columbia called the estuary mouth of the Magdalena River, so named because of the day of its discovery (Ash Wednesday). Today the name is cynically ambiguous: the corpses of victims of the devastating drug wars are found floating in the river again and again. In the video Echavarria portrays the Afro-Columbians living on the Caribbean coast of Columbia. Bocas de Ceniza (Mouths of Ash) is one of Echavarría most wrenching pieces. Peering into the camera are the weary faces of individuals who have survived horrific massacres at the hands of paramilitary forces and FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas. Each individual is singing a song written by him or herself in order to overcome the pain and to heal the scars caused by such violence. Through Bocas de Ceniza, Echavarría has witnessed the recovering of identity of those displaced in the aftermath of war.
Presented at 51st Venice Biennale, 2005 and The North Dakota Museum of Art organized by Laurel Reuter.
Juan Manuel Echavarria, born in Medellin, Columbia, lives and works in Bogota.
