62
Tania Candiani
Tania Candiani
Órgano/Organ, 2012Laboratorio Arte Alameda. Mexico City.
Metal pipes, trompets, speakers, keyboards, computer, program. Detail
Órgano/Organ, 2012Metal pipes, trompets, speakers,
keyboards, computer, program
The space formerly occupied by the churchorgan in San Diego ex Convent, today
Laboratorio Arte Alameda, is the site for anew instrument that has been transformedinto a talking machine. The device featurestwo keyboards, one musical and the other
from a typewriter. Each time users move toanother line by striking the carriage-return
lever, the words that have been written canbe heard by means of a voice synthesizer.The musical keyboard features even morecomplex programming: each key and each
chord has been programmed to sound aphonic syllable, for a total of 1201 syllables
that reference the lenguage-aquisition
The assignment of sounds -proper to linguistic orality- to keys and chords allows for texts to be converted into musical notation and subsequently become sheet music.
The end result is a vox mechanica system that re-signifies the meaning of the message.
https://vimeo.com/47247746
Órgano/Organ, 2012
Pianolas/Player Pianos, 2012Laboratorio Arte Alameda. Mexico City
Paper piano rolls, optical tone generator, motor, mechanism, speakers, glass cabinet.Detail
Pianolas is a digital adaptation of aplayer piano; in this piece, paper rolls
revolve along a system of motor-drivenbarrels and their perforated notes are
read as they pass over an opticalsensor connected to a frequency-
generator that reproduces thecorresponding tones.
Pianolas/Player Pianos, 2012Laboratorio Arte Alameda. Mexico City
Pianolas/Player Pianos, 2012
Historias Sonoras/Sound Stories, 2012Laboratorio Arte Alameda. Mexico City
Fiberglass domes, surround-sound system, monitor, dvd player and video.Detail
Historias Sonoras/Sound Stories, 2012
Sound devices in the form of unipersonal domesequipped with surround-sound systems (twoforward channels, one center channel, two effectschannels and a sub-woofer for bass reproduction).Beneath the dome, a screen provides a visualaccompaniment to the sound piece using anoscillogram for each channel. The sounds’ graphicrepresentation allows us to visualize time as thehorizontal axis and amplitude as the vertical axis.Historias sonoras’s point of departure is Mexico’svenerable tradition of sound artists that dates backto the days of radio dramas. Foley artists calledsonidistas specialized in using a wide variety ofobjects to create sound effects that on-air plotsrequired. This language of simulacrum hasdisappeared with the advent of effects libraries.These four sound devices present sonicinterpretations of graphic novels.
Historias Sonoras/Sound Stories, 2012Installation detail. Laboratorio Arte Alameda. Mexico City
http://cincovariaciones.com/category/historias-sonoras/
Máquina Telar, 2012Museo de la Estampa. Mexico City.
Punched cards, wooden mechanism, optical tone generator, speakers.2.40 x 2.00 x 1.10 mts
Detail
https://vimeo.com/48174357
Máquina Telar, 2012Museo de la Estampa. Mexico City.
Punched cards, wodden mechanism, optical tone generator, speakers, drawings, single channel video
and embroidered strips.
"Telar" (Loom) was installed for the firsttime in 2011 at the XI Bienal de Cuenca,
Ecuador, and consisted of severalelements as catenaries made with
"punched cards", projections on the wall ofthe information contained in the cards,
instruction drawings, a video piecerecorded in the textile factory, embroidered
strips with the text ”Hecho a Mano"(Handmade) stitched by a mechanical
loom, and an artisan which spent severaldays embroidering the instructions of use
for the handloom in his manually operatedloom.
In 2012 the piece arrived to Mexico City andwas exhibited at Museo de la Estampa. For
this ocassion, I´ve constructed a machine inorder to set up an interface mechanical and
symbolically significant in the mediation ofweaving. The machine, activated by thepublic through a cranck, translates into
sound the instructions of the punched cards.
Máquina Telar, 2012Detail
Plataforma sonora. 30 relojes de cuerda, 2012Metal structure, aluminium trumpets speakers and three amplifiers. 9.00 x 1.50 m
https://vimeo.com/43941806
Plataforma sonora. 30 relojes de cuerda, 2012Sound installation
My intention was to reflect upon the presentand on memory; upon our activities
according to schedules, on sleep and rest.What happens during this cycle?
With this piece I intended to explore thepossibility of manipulating time perceptionand its sound. If at a symbolic level we can
use the metaphor of its elasticity through theuse of a mechanical and programed rythm,
such as the sounds and melodies of oldalarm clocks, there is also a physical
property that allows us to talk aboutcontinous symmetries or time translation.
Between these two levels, this piece worksas much in its capacity of connecting
harmonic qualities, as its manifestation ofthe potential energy stores in the sound
waves.
Metal structure with triangular prism shape,suspended. Every angle of the structure is
covered by a row of aluminum trumpets withspeakers. The sound piece is a compositionmade with the recordings of 30 alarm clocks.
Alarm clocks in the recording studio
Torre Reloj. Plataforma Sonora, 2012Sound piece for the installation
Multitrack recording14:12 min
Leer de corrido, 2010MUAC. Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo. Mexico City
Latex balloons, thread, pneumatic system, microcontroller, air compressor and ruber hoses16 mtsDetail
Leer de corrido is about the readingexercises used in the school as read
lessons. The piece consists of a seriesof 16 latex balloons which are
embroidered with the words “Elcumplimiento del deber proporciona
gran satisfacción. El deber esencial detodo buen mexicano es trabajar” (“The
fulfillment of duty provides greatsatisfaction. The essential duty of every
good Mexican is work”). The text wastaken from a book published in 1966 by
SEP (Secretary of Public Education inMexico). The balloons will inflate anddeflate with a pneumatic mechanismwhich sometimes show the completesentence and others, isolated words,
provoking other meanings straightrelated with politics and the Mexican
idiosyncrasy.
Leer de corrido, 2010Detail
https://vimeo.com/51421034
Leer de corrido, 2010
.
A visual performance is built word-by-word for recuperating the title and first sentence of Clarice Lispector´snovel "The hour of the star". Each word of the sentence was hand-sewn in latex balloons, and inflated anddeflated by the artist. This video derived from a larger series of works called "Tales and Other Nightmares"based on the appropriation of first lines of books written by authors such as Camus, Kundera and Duras,
unfolding new narrative possibilities blown by a shared origin.
The hour of the star. 2010Monochannel video. 60 sec.
https://vimeo.com/28202854
Sobre el Tiempo, 20071000 alarm clocks in La Salada Desert
Baja California, MexicoSingle channel video
Sobre el Tiempo, 20081000 alarm clocks in Giza Desert
Cairo, EgiptSingle channel video
.
The videos shown documentation of the gesture of placing one thousand watches in the desert. This time-lapserecording, captures the pass of the time perceived on the growth of the shadows of the alarm clocks on the sand. The
recordings were made in two deserts: La Salada Desert in Baja California México, and Giza Desert, in Cairo, Egypt.
Sobre el Tiempo, 2008Cairo Biennial. Egypt.
Installation of 3000 alarm clocks clicking at unison,, and two s ingle channel videos
Reinterpretación de Paisaje.Cierre Libertad, 2008Installation with yunkyard materials
Reinterpretación de Paisaje.Cierre Libertad, 2008Installation with yunkyard materials
View of the process
Reinterpretación de Paisaje(Reenactment of landscape)proposes overlays and newinterpretations upon what is
visible. It represents a view of anon-existing landscape in the
border fence between Mexico andUnited States, from the view of a
neighborhood known as ColoniaLibertad, in Tijuana City, the
mexican side of the border withCalifornia. The basic idea was to
transform the panoramatemporarly: instead of a metal
fence, a colorful representation of awide open view.
A metaphorical restoration of thenatural point of view.
Reinterpretación de Paisaje.Toque de Valla, 2008Wooden structures and rope
Action with regiment bands and volunteers in the border fence between Mexico and U.S.
Reenactment of Landscapeproposes overlays and newinterpretations upon what is
visible. The action happenedin Playas de Tijuana, in theborder between Mexico andU.S. where the metal fence
goes into the sea. A group ofregiment bands played
battalion orders with theirdrums and trompets, while
the volunteers helped to erectthe wood structures putting
them against the fence. Theaudience ended involved in amore physical understanding
of their reality.
Reinterpretación de Paisaje.Toque de Valla, 2008
Battleground, 2009Performance and Live Broadcast
Rubin Center for the Arts. UTEP, El Paso Texas
Battleground, 2009Performance and Live Broadcast
Rubin Center for the Arts. UTEP, El Paso Texas
Live performance andstreaming. An action that
happens simultaneously in twoborder cities (El Paso Texas
U.S., and Ciudad JuarezMexico).
Cities which have respectivelythe title of the safest and the
most dangerous of theircountry.
The piece, a virtualbattleground, represents the
situation of violence in theborder, at the same time thatturns the tools of domesticity
into the tools of war.
Battleground, 2009Live Broadcast from Ciudad Juárez
Rubin Center for the Arts. UTEP, El Paso Texas
Habita Intervenido, 2008Intervention
Freestyle, stencil and spray paint on glass Hotel Habita, Mexico City
Habita Intervenido, 2008Intervention
Freestyle, stencil and spray paint on glass Hotel Habita, Mexico City
This gesture of appropiation of theexterior glass walls of a fancy hotel,
by a group of taggers, was anstatement of conquered territory. Ametaphoric way of inhabit, throughtheir taggs, as temporary guests inthis hotel placed in one of the mostexclusive neighborhoods of the city.
During the process we discussedconcepts and definitions about
identity, personal history and citybarriers. This project aims to bringattention to the potential beauty of
the "freestyle graffiti" and to create adiscussion about how certain forms
of visual expression have hadprioritized over others. The project
demonstrated and questioned howis that the circumstances can turn
something in fashion when indeedmost of the time is perceived as
vandalism.The hotel was covered with taggs
over four months.
Habita Intervenido, 2008
Writters y Escritores, 2009Spray and acrilic paint on glass
Biblioteca Vasconcelos. Mexico City
Some graffiti crews, “taggers” and“writters” were invited by me to make a
bomb with the name of a writer overthe window facade of the recently
opened Biblioteca Vasconcelos(Vasconcelos Library) in Mexico City.
I chose to re-inscribe the visuallanguage of bombing —which is
normally criminalized— and use it togive homage to literature. The project
worked to bring attention to thepotential beauty of graffiti and to createa discussion about how certain forms
of visual expression are prioritizedover others. One of the most
interesting parts, besides the making)was the reaction of those who
condemned and denounced the cityauthorities for their neglect with the
library. Of course, they never read thenames written on the facade.
The intervention lasted about threemonths and created a new connection
with the barrio.
Writters y Escritores, 2009
Writters y Escritores, 2009Process
Kaunas Graffiti, 2009Textile 09. Kaunas Biennial
M. K. Čiurlionis National Museum of Art, LithuaniaThread and ribbon sewn on canvas
19 x 1,80 mts
Kaunas Graffiti, 2009
This piece succeded in theplacement inside the museum of a
very precise reproduction of thetaggs that had plagued their
exterior walls. These taggs whichwere considered an eye-sore, were
translated into a massive tapestrythat transformed a so called
vandalism activity into a craft form.I´m very interested in placed the
calligraphy of the streets in acontemplative frame, a cover whichhelps so that could be perceived it
as a more conceptual aestheticgesture.
Refranes. 2008-2011Centro Cultural España, Mexico City
Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, U.E. Citizen Participant. Darb 1718, Cairo, Egypt
A project about language, publics and popularculture which activates in three stages: posters in
the streets, a mobile “mailbox of proverbs” forcollect sayings in the streets, and a final
installation displaying the process. Refranesinvolves an investigation into the use of language,the logic of discourse, the evolution of languagesover time, while proposing a public exploration of
reality conceived as a poetic gesture.This project has been done in Mexico City, San
Francisco, California, and Cairo, Egypt.
Refranes, 2008-2011Centro Cultural España, Mexico City
Refranes, 2008-2011Mailbox of proverbs
Mexico City
Refranes, 2008-2011Installation of the cards collected in the Mailbox of Proverbes
Food Quilt. 2005The Eating Project
Salina Arts Center. Kansas U.S.25 x 5 meters
Food Quilt. 2005Details
Seven hundred samples of thefavorite food of a community in
Kansas, U.S. were collected.The food was gathered, identified,
vacuum-packed in plastic bags, andfinally sewed together using thetraditional technique of the quilt.
The Food Quilt depicts one of themost important rituals in the
American society: to eat.
Studio Dust. 2006Studio. London
Broom, flyers, plastic bags, and film.
IwenttoLondonwithaprojectbasedoncollectdustandgarbageofstudiosofartists.Itwasasortofportraitwithoutpersonage,throughpicturesoftheircleaninginstrumentsortheirwasteaccumulation.So,Iofferedtosweepandcleanartists'studios.Iprintedhundredsofflyersanditworked.Ivisited,swept,andgathereddustfrom180artistsstudios.StudioDustisabouttheuseandcustomizationofthespace.Itisaninvestigationintowhatmightbeidentifiedashiddenintheunconscious.Thisseriesofphotographsshowsdebrisfragmentsofabsencesthatshapeandstructuretotheworksofeachoftheartists,andalsointheformofremindersandwarnings,aboutdecisionsandrecurrentpurposes.
I went to London with a project based oncollect dust and garbage of studios ofartists. It was a sort of portrait without
personage, through pictures of theircleaning instruments or their waste
accumulation.So, I offered to sweep and clean artists'
studios. I printed hundreds of flyers and itworked. I visited, swept, and gathered
dust from 180 artists studios. Studio Dustis about the use and customization of the
space. It is an investigation into whatmight be identified as hidden in the
unconscious. This series of photographsshows debris fragments of absences thatshape and structure to the works of each
of the artists, and also in the form ofreminders and warnings, about
decisions and recurrent purposes.
Studio Dust. London. 2006
Otros Paseos.Otras Historias. 2010Lugar Cero. Mexico City
Printed maps, mobile modules, tshirts, sound recorder, volunteers and guided tours
In Otros Paseos, Otras Historias, theintention is an act of drift to develop a
project based on the collection ofinterviews handled by a team of
volunteers which walk through the citycarrying the modules built for this
purpose, in order to gathertestimonies and memories of
residents of the historic center ofMexico City.
Through those compiled memories,was created a script which was the
point of departure for the guided tours.The walks enable create affective
cartographies, re-discover the city withother eyes, based on intimate stories
that take place on a par with thestories that we all know.
The mechanics of this project is verysimilar to the construction of a novel,
conceived as a binder in manymicrostories readed by the guides
along the walks. Otros Paseos is apsychogeographical adventure forreading, a novel micro-stories and
anecdotes to be traveled.
Otros Paseos.Otras Historias. 2010
Classic Six. 2010Studio view
ISCP New YorkThis project received the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
Drawing on the archives ofthe New York Public Libraryon Classic Six apartments,
I conducted aninterdisciplinary project,
located in the crossroadsbetween architecture,
drawing, sculpture andclothing.
This project exploreselements of how the city
became what it did. Usingthis as a starting point, the
project more importantlydelves in to how our modern
cities are shaped, what isthe concept of a home in
such a city and how spaceis becoming more and more
of a rarity and commodity intoday’s world.
Classic Six. 2010 Studio view
ISCP New YorkThis project received the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
Classic Six. 2010Tania Candiani. From Floor Plans to Confections Patterns: Apartment House in New York City 1900-1914
Upper Main Gallery, Abrons Art Center. New York
La Constancia Dormida, 2006sewing machine, fabrics, threads, and metal hooks
Fábrica La Constancia. Puebla México
La Constancia Dormida, 2006sewing machine, fabrics, threads, and metal hooks
Fábrica La Constancia. Puebla México
La Constancia Dormida is a projectconsisting in occupy an old textile
factory for work and live thereduring a month. Against theabandon, the labor, was the
premise. In 30 days, I embroidered400 meters of texts, and designed30 dresses; tailoring became as a
narrative resource and laborembedded within meanings.
This temporal occupation at thefactory s warehouse of “La
Constancia” (the second largesttextile factory in Latin America) wasthe point of departure for upcoming
reflections about labor,dissapearing trades, and a
constant nostalgia for the obsoletethat makes me consider the
discursive content of the artifacts.
La Constancia Dormida, 2006sewing machine, fabrics, threads, and metal hooks
Fábrica La Constancia. Puebla México
Other Narratives. Performance, 2009Kaunas Biennial, Lithuania
“Words of "love making”,words of love, pleasure sounds, demands, bad words,
dirty words, prayers.
This performance will take its shape in the embroideryof all those secrets,
private phrases, which we say when we are making love.
Please come closer and whisper in my earthe words for those moments of pleasure”.
Mattresses Mantras consists in a series ofinterventions with diverse materials on
recycled mattresses.Love, pain, satisfaction, desire in the
intimacy of a mattress.Mattresses are commonly associated with
rest, good dreams, security, home... butthey are also loaded with sexual
implications and, attached with it,differents types of violence.
Perceived as a traditional material inhousehold practices, the thread speaksabout assumptions, about women roles(laborious, housekeeper, care wife and
mother), and this preconceived idea of thematerial is the basis of the conceptual
confrontation in the pieces.
Mattesses Mantras, 2005-2007Interventions on recycled mattresses
Familiar Protection Series, 2004-2006Cascos Protectores (Protection Helmets)
Familiar Protection Series aims todeconstruct the social institution of the
family by exposing expectations andstereotypes operating within the family unit.
The approach to the cultural subjectivity ofMexican social codes, passes by ironic,sometimes painful, observations whichextend beyond national identity and the
family.Given the efficacy of the family in enforcingprescribed social roles, a personal sense
of self seems to emerge equally fromresistance and surrender to those roles.
Familiar Protection, struggles with with theperception and representation of modern
life through the preeminence of narratives,and the potential of formal and material
experimentation on content.
Familiar Protection Series, 2004-2006
Familiar Protection Series, 2004-2006Lanzadas
Familiar Protection Series, 2004-2006El Cacerolazo. Sound Installation
