Reality beyond the apparent

So many utopias tumbled.

This opened your eyes. Be grateful.

Rafael Cadenas

PEDROMORALES

de redes y CADENAS

Mobile Tagging Art

Reality beyond the apparent

So many utopias tumbled.

This opened your eyes. Be grateful.

Rafael Cadenas

Reality beyond the apparent

So many utopias tumbled.

This opened your eyes. Be grateful.

Rafael Cadenas

Cuántas utopías derrumbadas3-D Print, ABS plastic, feathers, Microsoft Tag

31 x 30 cm2011

5

Cuántas utopías derrumbadas3-D Print, ABS plastic, feathers, Microsoft Tag

31 x 30 cm2011

5

“I enjoy exploring the world of the unknown and fin-ding good and beautiful things. I have believed inthe fusion between human beings and mobile connecti-vity since the early years, when the extensive use ofmobile phones was merely a good idea. So I got intothis unknown immensity with no idea of what I wouldget, but convinced I would find a lot. Now that noone can conceive their lives without a cell phone,I am able to show what I found in that explorationthat has taken years: Mobile Tagging Art, a term Iinvented to reach the beauty that technological ex-tension of our senses can offer; its aesthetic abili-ty to connect us also with the sublime. Perhaps I’mhumanizing that portable phone that, for better orfor worse complements us, and bringing it to its ownspace in art, within the spirit, where poetry lives.”

Pedro Morales

7

“I enjoy exploring the world of the unknown and fin-ding good and beautiful things. I have believed inthe fusion between human beings and mobile connecti-vity since the early years, when the extensive use ofmobile phones was merely a good idea. So I got intothis unknown immensity with no idea of what I wouldget, but convinced I would find a lot. Now that noone can conceive their lives without a cell phone,I am able to show what I found in that explorationthat has taken years: Mobile Tagging Art, a term Iinvented to reach the beauty that technological ex-tension of our senses can offer; its aesthetic abili-ty to connect us also with the sublime. Perhaps I’mhumanizing that portable phone that, for better orfor worse complements us, and bringing it to its ownspace in art, within the spirit, where poetry lives.”

Pedro Morales

7

Vanidad3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

75 x 47 x 15 cm.2011

9

Vanidad3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

75 x 47 x 15 cm.2011

9

PEDRO MORALES:EXPLORING, LEARNING, FINDINGNotes on art and new technologies

By Gerardo Zavarce

PEDRO MORALES:EXPLORING, LEARNING, FINDINGNotes on art and new technologies

By Gerardo Zavarce

Homo Sapiens Novus3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

13

From the dematerialization of the picto-rial image to the (re)materialization ofthe digital image

The creating journey of a visual artist such as PedroMorales (Maracaibo, Venezuela; 1958) is clearlymarked by the incorporation of new digital technolo-gies as the essential core of his creative explora-tions. In 1988, he drastically transformed his picto-rial orientation, putting aside the traditional means:pigments, canvas, fabric, and embracing computers asan instrument to expand his aesthetic horizons.

That’s how Pedro Morales started his journey intowhat he called: the dematerialization of the pictorialimage. That is, producing an image using only theproperties of a computer as the instrument to createit, therefore, reaching sensorial grounds as a resultof the prolific symbiosis between creator, softwareand hardware.

Homo Sapiens Novus3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

13

From the dematerialization of the picto-rial image to the (re)materialization ofthe digital image

The creating journey of a visual artist such as PedroMorales (Maracaibo, Venezuela; 1958) is clearlymarked by the incorporation of new digital technolo-gies as the essential core of his creative explora-tions. In 1988, he drastically transformed his picto-rial orientation, putting aside the traditional means:pigments, canvas, fabric, and embracing computers asan instrument to expand his aesthetic horizons.

That’s how Pedro Morales started his journey intowhat he called: the dematerialization of the pictorialimage. That is, producing an image using only theproperties of a computer as the instrument to createit, therefore, reaching sensorial grounds as a resultof the prolific symbiosis between creator, softwareand hardware.

15

En Realidad3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

15

En Realidad3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

17

Contradicción3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

Pedro Morales was quick to sense that the appearanceof computers represented significant challenges forartistic creation, which implies: a) dominating thetechnical features of the new means; b) overcomingthe early and superficial astonishment towards thenovelty that could have represented an obstacle tounderstand the potential of using digital technolo-gies in the context of artistic creation; c) creatinga unique language from digital resources; d) explor-ing the interactive and multimedia possibilities newtechnologies offer; e) defeating the apocalyptic in-terpretations of using digital means, f) as well astheir unquestioned and condescending integration.

17

Contradicción3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm2011

Pedro Morales was quick to sense that the appearanceof computers represented significant challenges forartistic creation, which implies: a) dominating thetechnical features of the new means; b) overcomingthe early and superficial astonishment towards thenovelty that could have represented an obstacle tounderstand the potential of using digital technolo-gies in the context of artistic creation; c) creatinga unique language from digital resources; d) explor-ing the interactive and multimedia possibilities newtechnologies offer; e) defeating the apocalyptic in-terpretations of using digital means, f) as well astheir unquestioned and condescending integration.

Assuming these dilemmas has shaped up a creative workbody that, through time, has utilized a variety ofoptions always related to the crossbreeding of artand new technologies, from holograms and stereograms,digital animation integrating sound and image in mo-tion, videogames, virtual reality devices, the incor-poration of the web as a platform for content and abroadcasting medium, to Morales’ recent explorationsusing technologies applied to mobile telephones (QRCodes, HCCB codes) and incorporating 3-D printingtechniques where art operates not as a mimetic repre-sentation of reality but, on the contrary, as a re-production in reality of something previously modeledin the computer’s virtual screen.

19

The philologist that complains about words3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm ea.2011

Assuming these dilemmas has shaped up a creative workbody that, through time, has utilized a variety ofoptions always related to the crossbreeding of artand new technologies, from holograms and stereograms,digital animation integrating sound and image in mo-tion, videogames, virtual reality devices, the incor-poration of the web as a platform for content and abroadcasting medium, to Morales’ recent explorationsusing technologies applied to mobile telephones (QRCodes, HCCB codes) and incorporating 3-D printingtechniques where art operates not as a mimetic repre-sentation of reality but, on the contrary, as a re-production in reality of something previously modeledin the computer’s virtual screen.

19

The philologist that complains about words3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

9.5 x 9.5 cm ea.2011

Paradoxically, something that started in PedroMorales’ work as an exploration on the dematerializa-tion of the pictorial image, what some researcherscall virtual reality and others prefer to call multi-sensorial digital simulation, currently transforms,thanks to microelectronic technologies, into the(re)materialization of the visual image. However,this return comes from the conversion of pictorialimages into digital signs, images that (re)materia-lize through a language articulated under the struc-ture of binary codes.

Poetics of digital images

Now, in Morales’ digital creations we can perceive thecoexistence of a typically technological perspectiveand the conscious and strictly formal search for anaesthetic dimension. The confluence of the new digi-tal technologies with the essential sensorial dimen-sions of the creating process is clearly present inhis work, as well as the articulation of new languagecodes and the proposition of new forms of experience.

21

No está de más tener cuidado3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

14 x 14 cm2011

Paradoxically, something that started in PedroMorales’ work as an exploration on the dematerializa-tion of the pictorial image, what some researcherscall virtual reality and others prefer to call multi-sensorial digital simulation, currently transforms,thanks to microelectronic technologies, into the(re)materialization of the visual image. However,this return comes from the conversion of pictorialimages into digital signs, images that (re)materia-lize through a language articulated under the struc-ture of binary codes.

Poetics of digital images

Now, in Morales’ digital creations we can perceive thecoexistence of a typically technological perspectiveand the conscious and strictly formal search for anaesthetic dimension. The confluence of the new digi-tal technologies with the essential sensorial dimen-sions of the creating process is clearly present inhis work, as well as the articulation of new languagecodes and the proposition of new forms of experience.

21

No está de más tener cuidado3-D Print, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

14 x 14 cm2011

23

Dialog according to a dictator3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

14 x 56 cm2011

23

Dialog according to a dictator3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

14 x 56 cm2011

This confluence allows us to understand that the crea-tion proposals encompassed in this body of artisticwork are not bound by the limits of the technologiesapplied. On the contrary, it represents the subjuga-tion of instrumental boundaries. It involves the po-ssibility to find, within the framework of the creatingprocess, new alternatives: using new materials, deve-loping or modifying applications, experimentation.

Thus, the confluence of these two dimensions, aesthe-tic and technological, makes way for a new set ofrules for the image and, therefore, for the sensitiveand cognitive experience it produces. The visual imagebecomes: polysemous, interactive, multimedia, open,dynamic, self-referential and virtual. It is evidentthat through the use of new technologies, the possi-bilities of the visual image get multiplied, sugges-ting the emergence of a new wave of poetics that needsto look into the new tensions the digital image putsinto play.

25

Mistery3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 24 cm2011

This confluence allows us to understand that the crea-tion proposals encompassed in this body of artisticwork are not bound by the limits of the technologiesapplied. On the contrary, it represents the subjuga-tion of instrumental boundaries. It involves the po-ssibility to find, within the framework of the creatingprocess, new alternatives: using new materials, deve-loping or modifying applications, experimentation.

Thus, the confluence of these two dimensions, aesthe-tic and technological, makes way for a new set ofrules for the image and, therefore, for the sensitiveand cognitive experience it produces. The visual imagebecomes: polysemous, interactive, multimedia, open,dynamic, self-referential and virtual. It is evidentthat through the use of new technologies, the possi-bilities of the visual image get multiplied, sugges-ting the emergence of a new wave of poetics that needsto look into the new tensions the digital image putsinto play.

25

Mistery3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 24 cm2011

27

Brilliant Career3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

30 x 30 cm2011

27

Brilliant Career3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

30 x 30 cm2011

29

Exploring, learning, finding

In Pedro Morales’ work, the incorporation of newtechnologies represents an exploration of grounds ofinhospitable, unknown geographies. In the artist’swords, It’s not about adapting to new technologies,on the contrary, it’s about owning them and usingthem to cater to my aesthetic needs and interests. Iassume technology to humanize it; technological ins-truments reproduce that which represents the purposeof my creative experimentation, what they reproduceis marked by my identity and sensibility as creatingsubject.

Now, this creative experimentation, this willingnessto create allows him to explore beyond the boundariesof what’s known, it represents a journey to the lim-its of the imagination that leads both the creatorand the audience into a permanent learning process.In simple words, Pedro Morales summarizes it as: ex-ploring the unknown, exploring and finding; learning,learning and learning. Exploring, learning and find-ing. There lies the dignity of his aesthetic search:an experimental effort to find, in the context of theuncertainty involved in innovation, other ways of con-ceiving and experimenting visual sensibility, a wayof humanizing the applications of new technologies.

Residencia fija3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 24 cm2011

29

Exploring, learning, finding

In Pedro Morales’ work, the incorporation of newtechnologies represents an exploration of grounds ofinhospitable, unknown geographies. In the artist’swords, It’s not about adapting to new technologies,on the contrary, it’s about owning them and usingthem to cater to my aesthetic needs and interests. Iassume technology to humanize it; technological ins-truments reproduce that which represents the purposeof my creative experimentation, what they reproduceis marked by my identity and sensibility as creatingsubject.

Now, this creative experimentation, this willingnessto create allows him to explore beyond the boundariesof what’s known, it represents a journey to the lim-its of the imagination that leads both the creatorand the audience into a permanent learning process.In simple words, Pedro Morales summarizes it as: ex-ploring the unknown, exploring and finding; learning,learning and learning. Exploring, learning and find-ing. There lies the dignity of his aesthetic search:an experimental effort to find, in the context of theuncertainty involved in innovation, other ways of con-ceiving and experimenting visual sensibility, a wayof humanizing the applications of new technologies.

Residencia fija3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 24 cm2011

31

If the sensitive experience of art is the possibilityof the other, of the difference, then the unknown inthe field of new technologies foster and enrich thecreative work of Pedro Morales and, based on hisaesthetic inquiry at the confluence between art andnew digital technologies, it enables it to restorethe sublime, that is, the beauty in all forms andsigns that permanently accompany the creating exerci-se of Morales throughout the intricate paths of thehuman horizon.

Shelter3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

24 x 12 cm2011

31

If the sensitive experience of art is the possibilityof the other, of the difference, then the unknown inthe field of new technologies foster and enrich thecreative work of Pedro Morales and, based on hisaesthetic inquiry at the confluence between art andnew digital technologies, it enables it to restorethe sublime, that is, the beauty in all forms andsigns that permanently accompany the creating exerci-se of Morales throughout the intricate paths of thehuman horizon.

Shelter3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

24 x 12 cm2011

RAFAEL CADENAS,THE REAL, THE INVISIBLE

Jacqueline Goldberg

If the poem isn’t born, but your life is real,you are its incarnation.

You livein its unconquerable shadow.

It accompanies youunrealized diamond.

Rafael Cadenas

RAFAEL CADENAS,THE REAL, THE INVISIBLE

Jacqueline Goldberg

If the poem isn’t born, but your life is real,you are its incarnation.

You livein its unconquerable shadow.

It accompanies youunrealized diamond.

Rafael Cadenas

A few years ago, when Rafael Cadenas’ poems startedcirculating the Internet, neither the poet nor us,his readers, could conceive a more technological wayof reading him. E-books were still far from the pic-ture. And as it usually happens, the future disman-tles any notion of novelty, and illusions end upfeeding our most deeply rooted imaginary. It is froma tangle of possible impossibilities that the artistPedro Morales reveals a different Rafael Cadenas,showing us that the commotion produced by poetryallows new meanings simply by modifying our percep-tion processes and the way we approach the word.

35

Infantil3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

50 x 50 cm2011

A few years ago, when Rafael Cadenas’ poems startedcirculating the Internet, neither the poet nor us,his readers, could conceive a more technological wayof reading him. E-books were still far from the pic-ture. And as it usually happens, the future disman-tles any notion of novelty, and illusions end upfeeding our most deeply rooted imaginary. It is froma tangle of possible impossibilities that the artistPedro Morales reveals a different Rafael Cadenas,showing us that the commotion produced by poetryallows new meanings simply by modifying our percep-tion processes and the way we approach the word.

35

Infantil3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

50 x 50 cm2011

Morales conceals the words of the well-known andawarded Venezuelan poet in a set of small, weavedacrylic or thread squares. At first sight, thesesquares constitute a work of visual art that, thoughquite suggesting, doesn’t fall out of the “conven-tional”: rich abstract weaves for everyone to adaptto their own references. That’s the visible piece,the one that occupies the exhibition room, an objectthat can be acquired and moved to any space. Morales’artistic proposal consists of making us pass throughthat warp using mobile telephones or portable multi-media devices with built-in cameras by pointing atthe squares using the software Microsoft Tag, whichinstantly recognizes them as 2D barcodes. These codesare links to Rafael Cadenas’ poems.

Poetry, just like the art piece, becomes an interac-tive experience. It travels from a coded —yet poetic—element into the digital world and then to a readingthat, at the same time, unveils poetry’s very owncogs. It’s a kaleidoscopic game of tectonics: thoseof Pedro Morales’ pieces and those of Rafael Cadenas’poetry, a set of metaphoric layers that transformthe apparent into invisible and the concealed intoreality.

37

Pluralismo3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

50 x 50 cm2011

Morales conceals the words of the well-known andawarded Venezuelan poet in a set of small, weavedacrylic or thread squares. At first sight, thesesquares constitute a work of visual art that, thoughquite suggesting, doesn’t fall out of the “conven-tional”: rich abstract weaves for everyone to adaptto their own references. That’s the visible piece,the one that occupies the exhibition room, an objectthat can be acquired and moved to any space. Morales’artistic proposal consists of making us pass throughthat warp using mobile telephones or portable multi-media devices with built-in cameras by pointing atthe squares using the software Microsoft Tag, whichinstantly recognizes them as 2D barcodes. These codesare links to Rafael Cadenas’ poems.

Poetry, just like the art piece, becomes an interac-tive experience. It travels from a coded —yet poetic—element into the digital world and then to a readingthat, at the same time, unveils poetry’s very owncogs. It’s a kaleidoscopic game of tectonics: thoseof Pedro Morales’ pieces and those of Rafael Cadenas’poetry, a set of metaphoric layers that transformthe apparent into invisible and the concealed intoreality.

37

Pluralismo3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

50 x 50 cm2011

39

Una distracción3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

26 x 26 cm2011

39

Una distracción3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

26 x 26 cm2011

41

CADENAS: Loudspeaker3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

230 x 140 cm2011

41

CADENAS: Loudspeaker3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

230 x 140 cm2011

Exhibition visitors —¿spectators, readers, explorers,experimenters?— are required to carry out specificactions to reach wherever their own yearnings allowthem. They can stop at the delicate beauty of theweaves and not admit they are Microsoft Tags. Theycan admire the material representation of thosecodes, so common in the world of advertising, andstill feel immersed in their particular aestheticsresembling medieval codices, Mayan symbols and eventhe Braille writing system, without ruling out a dia-logue with kinetic art. And finally, using technolo-gy, they can get redirected to Rafael Cadenas’ poemsto start a new ride, the journey of linguistic poly-semy and the dejection of the soul.

As a matter of fact, as this catalog offers us theopportunity to take home a good part of the MicrosoftTags we’ve seen in the exhibit hall, it makes us ree-valuate Walter Benjamin’s precepts on reproducibilityand the long voyages of hermeneutics, epistemology,hypertextuality and digital hyper-reproducibility.Behind the lithographic images, the poem remains in-visible, but turns into words when using the sametools demanded by the “real” piece in the gallery.

43

Peace3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

27 x 14 x 14 cm2011

Exhibition visitors —¿spectators, readers, explorers,experimenters?— are required to carry out specificactions to reach wherever their own yearnings allowthem. They can stop at the delicate beauty of theweaves and not admit they are Microsoft Tags. Theycan admire the material representation of thosecodes, so common in the world of advertising, andstill feel immersed in their particular aestheticsresembling medieval codices, Mayan symbols and eventhe Braille writing system, without ruling out a dia-logue with kinetic art. And finally, using technolo-gy, they can get redirected to Rafael Cadenas’ poemsto start a new ride, the journey of linguistic poly-semy and the dejection of the soul.

As a matter of fact, as this catalog offers us theopportunity to take home a good part of the MicrosoftTags we’ve seen in the exhibit hall, it makes us ree-valuate Walter Benjamin’s precepts on reproducibilityand the long voyages of hermeneutics, epistemology,hypertextuality and digital hyper-reproducibility.Behind the lithographic images, the poem remains in-visible, but turns into words when using the sametools demanded by the “real” piece in the gallery.

43

Peace3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

27 x 14 x 14 cm2011

In people’s electronic devices, the poems come out aslight, abstract shapes the eye transforms into wordsand speech: light tamed by reading, an artificialitythat achieves the unveiling of the poem.

In more than half the art pieces in the exhibitDe redes y CADENAS (Of Networks and CADENAS), RafaelCadenas’ poetry is reviewed and revisited with anunprecedented perspective that doesn’t modify itscertainty as it gets transferred into a digital con-tainer. It is not by chance that this catalog beginswith a quote by Cadenas about tumbled utopias.Both creators have known how to get rid of paradigms,keep their eyes wide open and, especially, be grateful.

“Real words grow in pages,” writes Rafael Cadenas.But Pedro Morales makes these words abandon any hintof reality —at least the most immediate and obviousone— to appear in a fragile screen from where, justlike in a book or a website or people’s memories,they continue their journey into eternity.

CADENAS to flyTextile ensemble, Microsoft Tag

140 x 100 cm2010

In people’s electronic devices, the poems come out aslight, abstract shapes the eye transforms into wordsand speech: light tamed by reading, an artificialitythat achieves the unveiling of the poem.

In more than half the art pieces in the exhibitDe redes y CADENAS (Of Networks and CADENAS), RafaelCadenas’ poetry is reviewed and revisited with anunprecedented perspective that doesn’t modify itscertainty as it gets transferred into a digital con-tainer. It is not by chance that this catalog beginswith a quote by Cadenas about tumbled utopias.Both creators have known how to get rid of paradigms,keep their eyes wide open and, especially, be grateful.

“Real words grow in pages,” writes Rafael Cadenas.But Pedro Morales makes these words abandon any hintof reality —at least the most immediate and obviousone— to appear in a fragile screen from where, justlike in a book or a website or people’s memories,they continue their journey into eternity.

CADENAS to flyTextile ensemble, Microsoft Tag

140 x 100 cm2010

47

WritingAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

ReadingsAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

WordsAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

47

WritingAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

ReadingsAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

WordsAssembly, feathers, inkjet, Microsoft Tag

28 x 22 cm2009

Doing Well by Doing Good.Multimedia Installation

A LOOK AT THE LAKE is an intervention inMaracaibo’s urban landscape, a collecti-ve communicational experience that usesthe aesthetic features of fractalshapes, communications technology, andthe laws of chaos to create a sustaina-ble, self-organized social channel ori-ginated from mass-consumption-productdistribution systems (e.g. pop soda), orfrom the public transportation system ofa given area of the city.

Using 2D mobile phone codes as a connec-tion tool, I propose pedestrians to in-teract with the movable installationusing their phones – a device known byeveryone, everywhere. Once they realizethey can interact with the art piece, ifthey choose to scan it, they’ll findmessages, quotes focused on sustainable,green principles, taken from the bestpractices of the corporate world, whichenhance the value of appreciating a ba-ttered natural treasure.

I reinvent two-dimensional codes (Micro-soft tags). I build them manually.I push technology to the limits andforce it to read them, despite the humanerror in their manufacture. It is a pur-pose to humanize technology for the sakeof aesthetics.

The installation promotes the creationof collaborative networks: volunteerusers with two things in common: a tele-phone and an urge to communicate withthe piece. A portion of the city getsnourished at random, from within, as aresult of the increasing exposure tothis interaction.

Within the intimacy of a handheldscreen, art promotes a sort of socialnetwork; people using technology toraise environmental awareness. I mix theconcepts of art, an homage to beauty,and science which, in its utility, pro-vides a social meaning.

Doing Well by Doing Good.Multimedia Installation

A LOOK AT THE LAKE is an intervention inMaracaibo’s urban landscape, a collecti-ve communicational experience that usesthe aesthetic features of fractalshapes, communications technology, andthe laws of chaos to create a sustaina-ble, self-organized social channel ori-ginated from mass-consumption-productdistribution systems (e.g. pop soda), orfrom the public transportation system ofa given area of the city.

Using 2D mobile phone codes as a connec-tion tool, I propose pedestrians to in-teract with the movable installationusing their phones – a device known byeveryone, everywhere. Once they realizethey can interact with the art piece, ifthey choose to scan it, they’ll findmessages, quotes focused on sustainable,green principles, taken from the bestpractices of the corporate world, whichenhance the value of appreciating a ba-ttered natural treasure.

I reinvent two-dimensional codes (Micro-soft tags). I build them manually.I push technology to the limits andforce it to read them, despite the humanerror in their manufacture. It is a pur-pose to humanize technology for the sakeof aesthetics.

The installation promotes the creationof collaborative networks: volunteerusers with two things in common: a tele-phone and an urge to communicate withthe piece. A portion of the city getsnourished at random, from within, as aresult of the increasing exposure tothis interaction.

Within the intimacy of a handheldscreen, art promotes a sort of socialnetwork; people using technology toraise environmental awareness. I mix theconcepts of art, an homage to beauty,and science which, in its utility, pro-vides a social meaning.

Doing well by doing goodDigital embroidery on raffia mesh,

Microsoft Tag300 x 400 cm

2010

Doing well by doing goodDigital embroidery on raffia mesh,

Microsoft Tag300 x 400 cm

2010

53

The game of life3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 12 x 12 cm5 x 5 x 5 cm

2011

53

The game of life3-D Prints, ABS plastic, Microsoft Tag

12 x 12 x 12 cm5 x 5 x 5 cm

2011

55

To ColombiaMetal thread embroidery, Microsoft Tag

80 x 110 cm2010

Passion for the unknown

“To me, finding an intimate and personal relationwith digital media represents a form of passion.Through my work, I make these means adapt to my needs,my identity is always present in my work. Exploringmotivates me, I am drawn to the unknown, to exploringthe unknown. I prefer to be constantly exploring andfinding. It’s not about searching a preset result, onthe contrary, the essence of my work is based on ex-ploring and finding (…) Making digital means do whatI intend it to do, forcing it to do things it wasn’toriginally designed to do. This effort involves ac-quiring knowledge beyond what’s known, aiming beyondthe apparent. This passion for the unknown has made3D printing a possibility for art and has set a newhorizon for the applications of this new technology.So, it’s about humanizing, turning technologies intoa sign of human expression. If they are designedto do “a,” we can make them do “b,” “c” and “z.”Exploring the unknown means going beyond, breakingbarriers.”

PM

55

To ColombiaMetal thread embroidery, Microsoft Tag

80 x 110 cm2010

Passion for the unknown

“To me, finding an intimate and personal relationwith digital media represents a form of passion.Through my work, I make these means adapt to my needs,my identity is always present in my work. Exploringmotivates me, I am drawn to the unknown, to exploringthe unknown. I prefer to be constantly exploring andfinding. It’s not about searching a preset result, onthe contrary, the essence of my work is based on ex-ploring and finding (…) Making digital means do whatI intend it to do, forcing it to do things it wasn’toriginally designed to do. This effort involves ac-quiring knowledge beyond what’s known, aiming beyondthe apparent. This passion for the unknown has made3D printing a possibility for art and has set a newhorizon for the applications of this new technology.So, it’s about humanizing, turning technologies intoa sign of human expression. If they are designedto do “a,” we can make them do “b,” “c” and “z.”Exploring the unknown means going beyond, breakingbarriers.”

PM

Shanghai LoverTextile ensemble, wiggle eyes, Microsoft Tag

100 x 80 cm2010

Shanghai LoverTextile ensemble, wiggle eyes, Microsoft Tag

100 x 80 cm2010

59

Found in the internetTextile ensemble, digital embroidery, Microsoft Tag

210 x 140 cm2009

59

Found in the internetTextile ensemble, digital embroidery, Microsoft Tag

210 x 140 cm2009

The weight of a featherTextile ensemble, embroidery, feathers,

Microsoft Tag210 x 140 cm

2009

Colombia cross stitchTextile ensemble, tile separators,

QR Code210 x 140 cm

2009

The weight of a featherTextile ensemble, embroidery, feathers,

Microsoft Tag210 x 140 cm

2009

Colombia cross stitchTextile ensemble, tile separators,

QR Code210 x 140 cm

2009

63

Black little angelsDigital embroidery, Microsoft Tag

80 x 100 cm2009

Learning by doing

“Over the last few years, I’ve done nothing but learn,learn and learn. I have dared though, to look a littlebeyond what I’ve learned, to break the pre-set barri-ers of both the artistic and technological worlds,therefore facing a field of infinite learning oppor-tunities. We learn through the constant, dynamic anddaily interaction between the materials we use andthe conceptual horizons we establish with our work.

It takes courage, strength, confidence and determina-tion to achieve satisfactory results and agree toshow them. I resisted at first the idea of having asolo-show. I never think I’m ready, my work is alwaysexperimental. It is a game I play with the constantmanipulation of the materials to generate my pieces.My current interests revolve around tri-dimensiona-lity, I am constantly enriching my knowledge aboutthis new horizon, I intervene it by changing algo-rithms, altering routines, by learning on the go.”

PM

63

Black little angelsDigital embroidery, Microsoft Tag

80 x 100 cm2009

Learning by doing

“Over the last few years, I’ve done nothing but learn,learn and learn. I have dared though, to look a littlebeyond what I’ve learned, to break the pre-set barri-ers of both the artistic and technological worlds,therefore facing a field of infinite learning oppor-tunities. We learn through the constant, dynamic anddaily interaction between the materials we use andthe conceptual horizons we establish with our work.

It takes courage, strength, confidence and determina-tion to achieve satisfactory results and agree toshow them. I resisted at first the idea of having asolo-show. I never think I’m ready, my work is alwaysexperimental. It is a game I play with the constantmanipulation of the materials to generate my pieces.My current interests revolve around tri-dimensiona-lity, I am constantly enriching my knowledge aboutthis new horizon, I intervene it by changing algo-rithms, altering routines, by learning on the go.”

PM

65

Why don’t you shut up?QR Code, plastic beads,

coin, nylon34 x 30 cm

2008

65

Why don’t you shut up?QR Code, plastic beads,

coin, nylon34 x 30 cm

2008

67

Talking doorThumbtags on wood, QR Code

210 x 80 x 4 cm2008

“Nowadays, art and knowledge are connected. In aworld full of symbols and information, it is impossi-ble to escape knowledge. Managing information is keyin any field. Technological and scientific advancesare present in all spheres of life. So, in order togo further, we need to learn. There’s so much infor-mation that sometimes it eludes us. So, we need toenquire on our own, as there will always be countlessmore possibilities than we can ever find. I emphasizelearning. I would not be able to show my work withoutwhat I have learned. The only way to find the unknownis by discovering it, and the only way to discoverthe unknown is by learning. To me, discovering andlearning represent the greatest excitement.”

PM

67

Talking doorThumbtags on wood, QR Code

210 x 80 x 4 cm2008

“Nowadays, art and knowledge are connected. In aworld full of symbols and information, it is impossi-ble to escape knowledge. Managing information is keyin any field. Technological and scientific advancesare present in all spheres of life. So, in order togo further, we need to learn. There’s so much infor-mation that sometimes it eludes us. So, we need toenquire on our own, as there will always be countlessmore possibilities than we can ever find. I emphasizelearning. I would not be able to show my work withoutwhat I have learned. The only way to find the unknownis by discovering it, and the only way to discoverthe unknown is by learning. To me, discovering andlearning represent the greatest excitement.”

PM

To Rafael Cadenas. For saying so much.Brief and enlightening. Dawning.

Bravo, Cadenas!

To Rafael Cadenas. For saying so much.Brief and enlightening. Dawning.

Bravo, Cadenas!

71

http://pedromorales.com/cv/

Pedro Morales (Maracaibo, VE. 1958) is a pioneer of digital art in The Americas.‘La Mirada,’ (The Gaze), ca. 1989, made entirely in a 8088 PC with 256K RAM memoryis one of the first works of digital art documented in the region. Ever since, ex-pressing the warmth of the heart and the inner landscape in his artwork became partof the challenge of pushing the aesthetic limits of what was just starting to beknown as “virtual reality.”

Morales was honored with Salon Arturo Michelena’s Arts Research Award in 1991. Hiswork has been in individual exhibits at the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Artof Caracas, and his piece “Generacion Fractal” (Fractal Generation) (1994) receivedthe FAMA Award, granted by the fund for arts sponsored by Fundación Polar, and theGrand Prize in the 20th Art Show of Aragua (1995). The Museums of Contemporary Artof Maracay and Maracaibo both exhibited his Naturaleza Virtual (Virtual Nature)(1997). He has participated in Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria (2002, 2005).

Morales represented Venezuela in the 50th Venice Biennale exhibition “The Dictator-ship of the Viewer” (2003) with his iconic work “City Rooms,” one of the firstartistic creations made on and for the internet. Censured by the government of hiscountry, it was still viewed (navigated) by thousands of people online. City Roomsis a high point in his career and a landmark for Venezuelan contemporary art.

For two decades, Morales’ research in visual arts has maintained an intimate focus,using everyday household events as background for his digital work. He turns tofractal geometry to exhibit his mosaics, the home he means to portray, using thebeauty arduously taken by the artist from technology.

71

http://pedromorales.com/cv/

Pedro Morales (Maracaibo, VE. 1958) is a pioneer of digital art in The Americas.‘La Mirada,’ (The Gaze), ca. 1989, made entirely in a 8088 PC with 256K RAM memoryis one of the first works of digital art documented in the region. Ever since, ex-pressing the warmth of the heart and the inner landscape in his artwork became partof the challenge of pushing the aesthetic limits of what was just starting to beknown as “virtual reality.”

Morales was honored with Salon Arturo Michelena’s Arts Research Award in 1991. Hiswork has been in individual exhibits at the Sofia Imber Museum of Contemporary Artof Caracas, and his piece “Generacion Fractal” (Fractal Generation) (1994) receivedthe FAMA Award, granted by the fund for arts sponsored by Fundación Polar, and theGrand Prize in the 20th Art Show of Aragua (1995). The Museums of Contemporary Artof Maracay and Maracaibo both exhibited his Naturaleza Virtual (Virtual Nature)(1997). He has participated in Prix Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria (2002, 2005).

Morales represented Venezuela in the 50th Venice Biennale exhibition “The Dictator-ship of the Viewer” (2003) with his iconic work “City Rooms,” one of the firstartistic creations made on and for the internet. Censured by the government of hiscountry, it was still viewed (navigated) by thousands of people online. City Roomsis a high point in his career and a landmark for Venezuelan contemporary art.

For two decades, Morales’ research in visual arts has maintained an intimate focus,using everyday household events as background for his digital work. He turns tofractal geometry to exhibit his mosaics, the home he means to portray, using thebeauty arduously taken by the artist from technology.

73

Pedro Morales has explored his vision of the picture within the picture usingstereography, his virtual volumes, freed from wires and screens and yet loyal totheir digital nature. His exhibit Bordados Porno (Porn Embroideries, 2007) was theresult of a long creative seclusion that led him to approach tri-dimensionality onthe plane. 3D vision, a recent fashion, has been widely researched and documentedby Morales since the late nineties.

Bi-dimensional codes (QR and HCCB), now popular in mobile telephones and printedads, have been dismembered and reassembled with paper and leather flowers andpieces of plastic on raffia by Morales since 2007. In his most recent works, PedroMorales experiments with new materials and techniques, using elements produced by3D printers, abstractly-created volumes turned into objects without going throughindustrial processes, displays with messages that can be deciphered with a mobilephone. His recent 3D pieces come from open-source handmade printers assembled by theartist himself. His work also talks with his own voice. Part of the advanced inter-activity of his recent work, mediating mobile connectivity, is the fact that eachcode can bear a personal message which can be changed as life goes on, uploadingphrases, URLs and feelings onto the art piece, just like any other social network.

In 2010 he participated in the Shanghai Art Expo in China, after having receivedinvitations from Madrid, Bogota and Miami. He participated in the exhibit “VitalLake” at the Lia Bermudez Center for the Arts in Maracaibo. In 2011, his individualexhibit “de redes y CADENAS” (of networks and CADENAS) at Galeria D’Museo is anartistic statement of the particular 21st-century phenomena known as “pan-communi-cation”: Everything and everyone bearing contents and meanings in all combinationspossible. Without sacrifice of the aesthetic engagement.

73

Pedro Morales has explored his vision of the picture within the picture usingstereography, his virtual volumes, freed from wires and screens and yet loyal totheir digital nature. His exhibit Bordados Porno (Porn Embroideries, 2007) was theresult of a long creative seclusion that led him to approach tri-dimensionality onthe plane. 3D vision, a recent fashion, has been widely researched and documentedby Morales since the late nineties.

Bi-dimensional codes (QR and HCCB), now popular in mobile telephones and printedads, have been dismembered and reassembled with paper and leather flowers andpieces of plastic on raffia by Morales since 2007. In his most recent works, PedroMorales experiments with new materials and techniques, using elements produced by3D printers, abstractly-created volumes turned into objects without going throughindustrial processes, displays with messages that can be deciphered with a mobilephone. His recent 3D pieces come from open-source handmade printers assembled by theartist himself. His work also talks with his own voice. Part of the advanced inter-activity of his recent work, mediating mobile connectivity, is the fact that eachcode can bear a personal message which can be changed as life goes on, uploadingphrases, URLs and feelings onto the art piece, just like any other social network.

In 2010 he participated in the Shanghai Art Expo in China, after having receivedinvitations from Madrid, Bogota and Miami. He participated in the exhibit “VitalLake” at the Lia Bermudez Center for the Arts in Maracaibo. In 2011, his individualexhibit “de redes y CADENAS” (of networks and CADENAS) at Galeria D’Museo is anartistic statement of the particular 21st-century phenomena known as “pan-communi-cation”: Everything and everyone bearing contents and meanings in all combinationspossible. Without sacrifice of the aesthetic engagement.

CADENAS: loudspeaker¿Qué hace aquí colgado de un látigo

la palabra amor?

PeaceNo me arrastrarás a tu guerra

CADENAS to flyCoraje, llegaremos a la salida.

Caminemos entonces todas las leguas,amortajados pero caminemos.

¿Alguien responderá al fin?Ceremonia en pos de un orden

donde el cuerpo encaje,no este interminable descampado.

Algo me dice que en el fondodel fondo estamos unidos.

Unidos y separados.Unidos.

WritingEscribir me facilita la respiración.

ReadingsLecturas: avíos para pernoctar.

WordsLas palabras reales crecen en la página.

Black little angelsPintor que pintas tu tierra,si quieres pintar tu cielo,cuando pintas angelitosacuérdate de tu pueblo

y al lado del ángel rubioy junto al ángel trigueño,

aunque la Virgen sea blanca,píntame angelitos negros.

Andrés Eloy Blanco

MisteryVivir en el misterio, frase redundante.

Brilliant CareerDesconocía su idioma; por eso hizo

una brillante carrera política.

Residencia fijaLa poesía no tiene residencia fija,por eso es tan difícil dar con ella.

ShelterHablo desde la cárcel que tu también conoces, pero

¿qué pasa si la aceptamos?¿no se vuelve albergue?

¿no se une a nosotros para formar un ser real?

InfantilLa enfermedad infantil del comunismo

es el comunismo.

PluralismoEl pluralismo vive amenazado por

los fanáticos de toda calaña.

Una distracciónEl Emperador ordena:

debemos amarnos como hermanos.Para cumplir con tan piadoso propósito

he decidido aumentar al máximoel número de soldados de mi ejército.

De crónicas chinas.

5.

9.

13.

15.

17.

75

Cuántas utopías derrumbadasCúantas utopías derrumbadas.

Esto te abrió los ojos. Agradécelo.

VanidadEl insignificante emperador de Liliput

se consideraba a si mismo,sin mostrar ninguna prueba,

“terror y delicia del Universo”,aunque había conocidoa un destacado agente

del entonces mayor Imperio,que decía llamarse Gulliver.

Homo sapiens novusSegún las últimas investigacionesde los

paleoantropólogos, el hombre nuevo de larevolución tiene 150,000 años.

En realidadLos que matan en realidad no han vivido.

ContradicciónCristóbal Colón

tantea buscandoen la oscuridad

su estatua.Los que la derribaronaún hablan español.

The philologist that complains about wordsEl filólogo que se queja de las palabras

las espía, les averigua su vida,lugar de nacimiento

fechalinaje

eclipsesregresos,

qué desean,cómo vinieron a dar aquí,

dónde se esconden para no ver,a qué hora sufren,

o si aún cantan.Hace tanto se amigó con ellas.

les reprocha, sí, que se vuelvan cortesanas,que se alquilen,

que se deshonren,pero sobre todo que cuando los dictadores

las usan, ellas no les queman los labios.

No está de más tener cuidadoLawrence M. Kraus dice que el Homo

sapiens fue la primera criatura en 4,000millones de años de este planeta que

desarrolló una explícita espiritualidad.Tan explícita fue que él acabó con sus

predecesores que tuvieron la mala suertede topárselo. Homo neanthertalensis

fue, al parecer, su última víctima. En otraspalabras: somos peligrosos.

Dialog according to a dictatorVersión originaria: Cuando yo dialogo

no quiero que me interrumpan.Versión segunda: Yo dialogo,

pero advierto que no cedo en mi posición.Versión tercera: En diálogo, los que me contradigan

deben reconocer de antemano su error.Versión cuarta: Después de cavilar, dictaminohumildemente que el diálogo es innecesario.

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63.

CADENAS: loudspeaker¿Qué hace aquí colgado de un látigo

la palabra amor?

PeaceNo me arrastrarás a tu guerra

CADENAS to flyCoraje, llegaremos a la salida.

Caminemos entonces todas las leguas,amortajados pero caminemos.

¿Alguien responderá al fin?Ceremonia en pos de un orden

donde el cuerpo encaje,no este interminable descampado.

Algo me dice que en el fondodel fondo estamos unidos.

Unidos y separados.Unidos.

WritingEscribir me facilita la respiración.

ReadingsLecturas: avíos para pernoctar.

WordsLas palabras reales crecen en la página.

Black little angelsPintor que pintas tu tierra,si quieres pintar tu cielo,cuando pintas angelitosacuérdate de tu pueblo

y al lado del ángel rubioy junto al ángel trigueño,

aunque la Virgen sea blanca,píntame angelitos negros.

Andrés Eloy Blanco

MisteryVivir en el misterio, frase redundante.

Brilliant CareerDesconocía su idioma; por eso hizo

una brillante carrera política.

Residencia fijaLa poesía no tiene residencia fija,por eso es tan difícil dar con ella.

ShelterHablo desde la cárcel que tu también conoces, pero

¿qué pasa si la aceptamos?¿no se vuelve albergue?

¿no se une a nosotros para formar un ser real?

InfantilLa enfermedad infantil del comunismo

es el comunismo.

PluralismoEl pluralismo vive amenazado por

los fanáticos de toda calaña.

Una distracciónEl Emperador ordena:

debemos amarnos como hermanos.Para cumplir con tan piadoso propósito

he decidido aumentar al máximoel número de soldados de mi ejército.

De crónicas chinas.

5.

9.

13.

15.

17.

75

Cuántas utopías derrumbadasCúantas utopías derrumbadas.

Esto te abrió los ojos. Agradécelo.

VanidadEl insignificante emperador de Liliput

se consideraba a si mismo,sin mostrar ninguna prueba,

“terror y delicia del Universo”,aunque había conocidoa un destacado agente

del entonces mayor Imperio,que decía llamarse Gulliver.

Homo sapiens novusSegún las últimas investigacionesde los

paleoantropólogos, el hombre nuevo de larevolución tiene 150,000 años.

En realidadLos que matan en realidad no han vivido.

ContradicciónCristóbal Colón

tantea buscandoen la oscuridad

su estatua.Los que la derribaronaún hablan español.

The philologist that complains about wordsEl filólogo que se queja de las palabras

las espía, les averigua su vida,lugar de nacimiento

fechalinaje

eclipsesregresos,

qué desean,cómo vinieron a dar aquí,

dónde se esconden para no ver,a qué hora sufren,

o si aún cantan.Hace tanto se amigó con ellas.

les reprocha, sí, que se vuelvan cortesanas,que se alquilen,

que se deshonren,pero sobre todo que cuando los dictadores

las usan, ellas no les queman los labios.

No está de más tener cuidadoLawrence M. Kraus dice que el Homo

sapiens fue la primera criatura en 4,000millones de años de este planeta que

desarrolló una explícita espiritualidad.Tan explícita fue que él acabó con sus

predecesores que tuvieron la mala suertede topárselo. Homo neanthertalensis

fue, al parecer, su última víctima. En otraspalabras: somos peligrosos.

Dialog according to a dictatorVersión originaria: Cuando yo dialogo

no quiero que me interrumpan.Versión segunda: Yo dialogo,

pero advierto que no cedo en mi posición.Versión tercera: En diálogo, los que me contradigan

deben reconocer de antemano su error.Versión cuarta: Después de cavilar, dictaminohumildemente que el diálogo es innecesario.

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63.

octubre - noviembre 2011

EdiciónD’MuseoTextosGerardo ZavarceJacqueline GoldbergPedro MoralesNicomedes FebresFotografíaCarlos Germán RojasDiseño GráficoLuisa Ponte C.Dirección editorialMarco Antonio SuárezImpresiónGráficas Lauki

D’MuseoCentro de Arte Los Galpones, Galpón G2,Av. Ávila con 8a transversal, Los Chorros.Caracas, Venezuela.Telf: (58 212) 2840943 / 2840177dmuseo@gmail.comwww.dmuseo.com

PEDROMORALES

de redes y CADENAS

Mobile Tagging Art