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General DirectorCatalina Restrepo Leongómez
General coordinator and designJorge Carrera Necoechea
Photos:Courtesy from the artists
Acknowledgements:Rochelle Costi
Kerstin ErdmannGonzalo Ortega
Claudia Gareq
LARrevista
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EDITORIALAbout promoting and global visualization
For me, an art promoter is one who knows artists, understands their proposals,indroduce and puts them in contact with other professionals (such as curators,gallerists, critics and theorists) and hope that future projects could emerge from these meetings. Over time I have realized that the work we have been doing in Living Art Room, lead us to define this structure as long as we develop tools for diffusion, improving the construction of contemporaryart portfolios and identifying factors that can affect positive or negatively thegeneral reading of the artist or curator’s work. Likewise we apply new ways for communication through social networks with which we can transcend and getpeople from around the world to know each artist’s work. I am excited to see that every month our webpage statistics
give us visits from countries like Russia,Australia, Indonesia, Japan, UAE, among others.
Since its conception, Living Art Room was established as a promoting platform for contemporary art that follows adifferent system in order to improveartists´ careers. This proposal is unique, and it is quite common that some people do not understand whether Living Art Room is a gallery, a magazine, or if it is just a website. Each of these projects is consequent with the original proposal, and they work as effective tools to encourage our idea about diffusion, promotion and management.
LARgallery is a real and virtual space where pieces from the artists, presented
EDITORIAL
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on the website, are exhibited. It is not a gallery in a traditional sense, now that the pattern we use is different; we do not have any exclusivity clauses, in fact, part of the aim is to invite other galleries to get in touch with the artists, and so they can exhibit and eventually decide to represent them. LARmagazine, is a tool that makes the reading of website contents easier and is worldwide distributed through a social network in which it is supported.
Speaking of LARmagazine, in thisedition we present a new group of portfolios from Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Japan andGermany. And finally, including the first curator portfolio; a project in which we have been working for months and now we are glad to share. We also incorporate a new section called Project, which presents
the objectives and approach of an artist´s proposal. In this occasion we give you Astromozaic by Jorge Carrera, recently launched at the MUCA Roma.
I hope you enjoy LARmagazine’s second issue and your comments are more than welcome.
Catalina Restrepo LeongómezDirector Living Art Roomwww.livingartroom.com
EDITORIAL
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CONTENTS
New Artist Portfolios P:06 Rochelle Costi THE HOUSE P:22 Miho Hagino CHANGING THE ORDER OF THE FACTORS DOES CHANGE THE PRODUCT P:34 Adriana Salazar AUTÓMATAS Y MÁQUINAS MALEDUCADAS P:46 Ro-
drigo Imaz ENTRE CALAMARES Y CEFALEAS P:58 Eunice Adorno SUSPENDED IN TIME P:70 Raúl Cerrillo IMÁGENES QUE SE APODERAN DE LA MENTE
Primer Portafolio de curador P:84 Kerstin Erdmann Actualización de porta-folios P:90 Marisol Maza P:96 Diana María González Artículos P:102 Entrevista a Saúl Sánchez REGLA DE TRES por LivingArtRoom P:110 Residual CAMBIANDO HÁBITOS por Catalina Restrepo Proyecto P:120 Astromozaic JORGE CARRERA
CONTENTS
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LARmagazine
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NEW ARTIST PORTFOLIOS
NEW ARTISTPORTFOLIOS
Rochelle Costi (Brazil)Rodrigo Imaz ( Mexico)Eunice Adorno (Mexico)
(Japan) Miho Hagino(Colombia) Adriana Salazar(Mexico) Raúl Cerrillo
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ROCHELLE COSTI
The House, 1983/97
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ROCHELLE COSTI
ROCHELLE COSTIThe House
Rochelle Costi is a Brazilian photographer considered one of the 100 most important Latin-American artists according to Exit publishing house, next to other great ones such as Cildo Meireles, Vik Muniz, Francis Alÿs, Carlos Amorales, Guillermo Kuitca, Doris Slacedo and Beatriz Gonzalez.Her work is about memory and remains in relation with spaces where people live. The “house” for Rochelle represents a place of belonging for human beings; it is thereflection of every person’s mostintimate thing and a place in which personalexperiences remain registered across time.These spaces -often full of evidences ofentire lives, habits, tastes, relationships with others, etc.- are captured by Rochelle’s camera and revealed in diverse series. These following projects stand out: Rooms - Sao Paulo, 1998 – in whichpictures of different persons’ bedroomswere taken-, and Moving, 1998-2000;
which are before-and- after photos of rooms that have changed their appearance due to different causes such as a divorce, a remodeling, or the arrival of a new family member.
Rochelle Costi’s work, though mostlyphotographic, does not limit itself to adocumentation of opposing situations.In several series she intervenes andmanipulates space taking advantage ofdiverse elements to create differentscenarios. Her project Excessive, 2009, is an example of this. These picturesconsist of a model house where real-sizeobjects were placed in its interior, thesechanging its perspective. Another example isProprietary house, 1999; in this case, Costi constructed small houses (dog-kennels-scale) that were located and pho-tographed in emblematic places of Mexico City.
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ROCHELLE COSTI
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ROCHELLE COSTI
Series: Moving (change of dwellers), birth, 2000
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ROCHELLE COSTI
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ROCHELLE COSTI
Series: Moving (change of dwellers), separation, 2000
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ROCHELLE COSTI
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Sao Paulo Biennial
ROCHELLE COSTI
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ROCHELLE COSTI
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ROCHELLE COSTI
Rooms-Sao Paulo, 1998
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ROCHELLE COSTI
Series Desmedida (Excessive), sala de jantar, 2009
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ROCHELLE COSTI
Serie desmedida (Excessive), cabeÁa, 2009
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Desvios, 2006
ROCHELLE COSTI
Propietary house, 1999
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ROCHELLE COSTI
www.livingartroom.com/rochelle_costi
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Blue Piano, 2005
MIHO HAGINO
MIHO HAGINOChanging the order of the factors does change the product
Miho Hagino’s work is related to her personal perception about differentcities and cultures in which she has beenimmersed. She was born in a village inJapan, very different form Tokyo’s pace of life; she has lived in the U.S. and Mexico City, a factor that has strongly influenced her artistic proposal. The themes that her pieces are about, show a critical point of view about human beings apart from their context, distant from real life and at the same time alienated by technology andimmersed in a consumption society.During the construction of her portfolio, Miho described with her own words thatafter World War II, Japanese began a race against time and working became a hope for emerging after this catastrophe.
However, this scheme did not leadJapanese to happiness, instead, led to an overcrowding of people who only live to work, isolated from society and slaves of technology, media and massproduction. Since this, tough we can see some Miho’s series like “Untitled, 2009”, in which the artist takes pictures ofbuildings in Tokyo; images that showmillions of windows and sophisticated forms. At first sight, those compositions show impressive technological advances,but make people wonder about thosemillions of persons living or workingwithin these tiny cubicles.
An important asset in Miho Hagino’s work is her aim to break schemes and
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MIHO HAGINO
patterns in order to make critical andpoetical statements about how special the individuals are. This can be seen in one of her most poetic pieces “Blue Piano, 2005”, in which, Miho exchanged notes on thepiano scales and then invited a well-known pianist to play recognizable pieces such as “Let it be” by The Beatles, or “Für Elise” by Beethoven. Through this performance, Miho shows the beauty that comes from changing the patterns, and alter what has already been provided to build new things.
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MIHO HAGINO
Rich nature, 2003-2009
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MIHO HAGINO
Untitled, 2009
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MIHO HAGINO
Untitled, 2009
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MIHO HAGINO
Untitled, 2009
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MIHO HAGINO
Untitled, 2009
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MIHO HAGINO
Dark Snow, 2010
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MIHO HAGINO
Dark Snow, 2010
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MIHO HAGINO
Dark Snow, 2010
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MIHO HAGINO
www.livingartroom.com/miho_hagino
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
Crying and consolation machines, 2007
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
ADRIANA SALAZARRobots and impolite machines
Adriana Salazar is one of Colombia’s most internationally positioned young artists. Her work deals with the problem of human actions, recreating their denaturalization through machines built and designed by her. Her kinetic sculptures perform actions that are strictly human, through a series of robotic mechanisms.
Salazar’s automats carry out basic tasks, such as tying a shoe’s shoelaces orthreading a needle, and suggest the absurd idea of machines that are able to replace the human being in such practical issues. Theactions by themselves lose their meaning in a non- anthropological context. Thiscritical stance serves as a way of thinking
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
about technological advances nowadays, considering we live in a time when al-legedly everything can be done throughcircuits and programs which, for example, allow us to turn the volume of the radio up and down, open and close the curtains of our homes, water plants, turn the lights on and off, etc. We are addressing a future–anticipated by cinema and science fiction comics-, in which everything is automatic.
Salazar’s work is humorous to a certain point, since her machines are built in abasic way compared to new technologies. The clumsiness with which they perform is intentional and their function does not point to any practical results. Each piece is a portrait of current societies, whichconsume useless products promising an easier way of life.
Machine that tries to tie two shoelaces together, 2007
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
This piece performs the action of smoking, and thus deals with human scales and gestures. It criticizes the necessity of smoking within a social context (the exhibition space), ques-tioning at the same time the dynamics and habits of social interaction.
Smoking machine, 2003
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
Guitarrist, 2007
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
Machine that tries to thread a needle, 2007
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
Cheerleaders, 2005
Daring machines, 2008
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
Measure, 2006
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Monument to the battle of La Puerta, 2005
ADRIANA SALAZAR
fotografías: Paloma Villamil y Adriana Salazar
Impolite machines, 2004
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ADRIANA SALAZAR
www.livingartroom.com/adriana_salazar
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RODRIGO IMAZ
Cefalea, 2008
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RODRIGO IMAZ
RODRIGO IMAZSquid and Cephalitis
In Rodrigo Imaz’s work is common to find a lot of animals, cephalopod, (octopuses and squids) over all, and also the jellyfish; for their characteristics they can disappear very rapidly or fade away, and at the same time to be ferocious predators. They alsorepresent an entity that gets hold and grab other beings, sometimes these animals represent the cephalitis; migraine in other words, the pain that takeover our head and does not allow us to think, to be weourselves. Thanks to physical characteristicsof these animals, and using of them ananalogies, Rodrigo uses these images as if they were codes that shape a directlanguage that allow us to deduce his thought in a poetical way.
With an impressive technical skill and sur-realistic images in some cases, Rodrigo presents a series of graphical work that with time have became complemented with interventions in public spaces, sometimes in buildings in the middle of the street, and some others in the walls of a house that serves as gallery.
Beyond a nature representation, theartist does a critical though on the currentconsumer societies and the forces that rule the world. It is a paradox of the power of the nature on the prefabricated world that has been build with industrialization and the technology.
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Project Octopus, Barrio del Carmen Valencia, 2008
RODRIGO IMAZ
Too much dreaming for a bird, 2009
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RODRIGO IMAZ
Tentacular,2009
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RODRIGO IMAZ
kraken, 2009 Drop, 2009
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RODRIGO IMAZ
Tentacular explosion, 2009
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RODRIGO IMAZ
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The shade of the shadow, 2008
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RODRIGO IMAZ
After the storm (2nd state (2∫ estado), 2007
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RODRIGO IMAZ
www.livingartroom.com/rodrigo_imaz
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
EUNICE ADORNOSuspended in time
Through her work, Eunice Adorno managesto filtrate herself inside closed culturalgroups and live with them for periodsof time that allows her to realize somefeatures or customs, that may be distant or unknown by many people. The artist has the charm to find these special details and portray them through her photographs.
Eunice has a particular interest into peoplewho preserve traditions or routines over the years; men and women that seemsuspended in time for cultural reasons, tastes, or religious beliefs. Anyhow, they dress, act, work as same as they always have. This pursue for connecting with this type of people permeates Eunice’s work with melancholy, guide her to be able toaccomplish impressive and powerfulimages.
For her latest project called Fraum Blaum, Eunice stayed at a Mennonitefamily house somewhere in Durango.In this particular series the artist wasdedicated to photograph women inside this community. Although this series have a documentary bent, the images shepresents have a major poetic sense. Far from being photojournalism, the artists was notlooking for to capture images of what isalready known about the Mennonites, or even take pictures of moments that arealmost a cliché - like the cheese sale orpeople praying at church - on the contrary,Eunice sought situations where Mennonites girls were having fun, sharing with friends and jumping on a trampoline.
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010 Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
Fraum Blaum, 2009- 2010
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EUNICE ADORNO
www.livingartroom.com/eunice_adorno
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Somos Cosmos exhibition, 2010
RAÚL CERRILLO
RAÚL CERRILLOPainting takes over the mind
Describing Raul Cerrillo´s work is adifficult task. His paintings are the result of several days of inspiration in which he is locked in a room of 2 x 2 meters,absolutely full of tabloid pictures, magazine clippings, pamphlets, and advertisements. His approach to the canvas and painting as medium, after these intensive sessions of observation, is almost a ritual where the mystical and the unconscious get a hold of him. He obsessively creates increasingly large paintings, that invade his space and are integrated into his life. The quality that exists in each of his paintings is brilliant and his giant formats cause the viewer to feel immersed in them. In some sections of
his pieces you can identify detailed figures, alongside others that are caused by spills of enamel colors and shapes generated by the artist subsequently works on.
The monkey figure is recurrent in is work, it is linked with an image that symbolizes the unconscious, the instinctual part of man that lies between manners and clothing, which takes over your thoughts and allows it to do things that could be considered mad unreason, eccentric, or manic. In thisregard, the work of Raul is self-referential, it is precisely what happens to him when he’s in that trance where he produces his paintings
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Picnic, 2010
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Paisaje Azul, 2009
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Last Part, 2009
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Honey Bunny, 2009
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Camino al Cielo, 2009
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Playa Pelirosa, 2009
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RAÚL CERRILLO
CheeseWiz Day, 2010
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Luna de miel ,2010
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RAÚL CERRILLO
Flor de loto ,2010
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RAÚL CERRILLO
www.livingartroom.com/raul_cerrillo
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KERSTIN ERDMANN
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KERSTIN ERDMANN
KERSTIN ERDMANNFirst Curator Portfolio
Kerstin Erdmann is an independent german curator based in Mexico City for several years, and now she works at international affairs for the Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo, MUAC. Her exhibitions are usually formed by several youngartists from Mexican scene. However, theirnationality has allowed her to create tiesbetween Mexico and GermanyFor example, in 2008 she presentedHermandades escultóricas/Diálogo Estético
Alemania-México 2008 at the Museo deArte Carrillo Gil and a Tom Früchtlsolo show during the International Fest ofContemporary Art (FIAC) NO ARTE 2009 in León, Guanajuato. In addition she has put together important exhibitions such as “Nan Goldin” in 2009, co-curated with Carlos Ashida and exhibited at JesusGallardo gallery in León, Guanajuato as well.
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Thanks to her organization, and the fact that she keeps records of all of her works, we have been able to conclude this first model portfolio that contains a verycomplete documentation of all theexhibitions that she has done, displaying room texts, press release, list of works and images of the exhibitions. In her portfolio visitors will find a section dedicated to her academic work where people can access to information such as: conferences, debates, forums among other things. Of course, there is also a publications category; here people can read all her published articles, essays and display a digital version of the catalogs that Kerstin has made.
Building a curator portfolio is a major task of documentation and material compilation.Curators’ work involved many peopleand every project is composed byseveral processes, including texts drafting,
list of pieces, montage design, andsometimes catalog production, among many other things. These folders full of massiveinformation -beyond any desire ofdocumentation for each one of theexhibitions- may be the reason which is rare, if not impossible, to find a curator portfolio.
There are always cultural projects where professional services from curators are required. Sometimes these projects are planned between different countries and organizers do not personally know thepossible-selected-curator’s work. There is no other choice but to be guided byreferences from others, fame, or a re-sume that only brings data about years andexhibition spaces, which does not speak much about the way of working or toconstructing the exhibitions. This factormakes the choice not always be the
KERSTIN ERDMANN
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KERSTIN ERDMANN
Interior/Exterior, exhibition catalog
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KERSTIN ERDMANN
right one, weakens the quality of theprojects, while limiting the possibilitiesfrom other curators to propose and do things different, and refresh the globalcontemporary art scene.
It is important to have this type ofportfolio not only for the curator, but for people working in the arts me-dia. Thanks to this display of such detailedinformation, people all over the world who
already know or not her work, will have full access to all the instances that takes her to consolidate every single exhibition, every lecture, every step in her career.
Living Art Room appreciate yourcomments and suggestions. Send an email to [email protected]
www.livingartroom.com/kerstin_erdmann
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ACTUALIZACIÓN PORTAFOLIOS
ACTUALIZACIÓNPORTAFOLIOS
DE ARTISTA
Marisol Maza (México) (México) Diana María González
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MARISOL MAZA
Mapas discordantes, 2009
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MARISOL MAZA
MARISOL MAZA
Through her work, Marisol Mazainquires about photographic featuresrelated to its power to wield people’s minds in different contexts as: magical, religious, andmemory. Her work has a nostalgic characterto it, a frequent theme is the memory though the photographic imagem it is important to note that each one of her series or projects has a different approach.
Although her work is mostly photog-raphy or photo-appropriation, on video she has also recorded the steps to cast a spell in order to keep the beloved one or another spell to forget. Currently, theartist presents a new project in which she
takes a tourist map from another city in another country (in this first case Granada, Spain) and overlap it to one of Coyoacan (a supposedly very-well known area forthe artist because she works thereand passes through it daily). The artistwalks and follows the coordinates to reach points that are marked as touristicones and take a picture in this particularplace, traveling pictures kind of style.The purpose of this project is, in the words of the artist: “questioning themeaning of a known-place while I won-der about the role of travel- pictures(souvenirs) as an strong proof of having “known” a place”.
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MARISOL MAZA
Tu retratito lo traigo en mi cartera, 2004
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MARISOL MAZA
Tu retratito lo traigo en mi cartera, 2004
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MARISOL MAZA
Piensa en mí, 2007
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MARISOL MAZA
www.livingartroom.com/marisol_maza
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DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
Contemplating men, 2006
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DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
Diana Maria Gonzalez was born in Mexi-co City. She is an artist who has drawn theattention of several curators and critics for her special dedication. Using film as the raw material is a distinctive of DianaMaria’s works. The great classics andevery single image that is produced in films has been stocked in her mind, and from this obsession, she produces piecesranging from installation, video andphotography to educational projects involving the community. In some of her series she finds coincidences betweendifferent films of different directors,with which Diana Maria creates compositionsthat show a particular interest. For example,“contemplating men” 2006, Diana compilesvarious tables of movies where men are alonethinking in a peaceful attitude and watchinga beautiful outdoor scenery.
Besides her individual work as an artist,Diana Maria works collectively withother artists a project called Nerivela. It is an editorial project presented last year in PS1 and consists of a series of publicationsthat compiled texts written by artists -members of the collective- that they made from the appropriation of others written by famous artists form history of arts. At the same time the artist is involved in Rotario, a self-management project in which a group of artists monthly take up a collection in order to finance their own projects. At the same time they invite people to purchase a membership to support the artists, and the members would get an edition (one piece for every project of each artist) at the end of the year.
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rotatorio.org
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DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
Document about the inhabitable, 2009
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DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
From memory: The house, 2009
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DIANA MARÍA GONZÁLEZ
www.livingartroom.com/dianamaria_gonzalez
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Regla de Tres, nueveochenta gallery, 2009
REGLA DE TRES(Cross-multiplication)
Interview with Saul Sanchezby LAR
REGLA DE TRES
What is Regla de Tres?
It Is a project in which a wrappedpainting with the canvas inside out (hiding the painted side) is presented on a cuttingtable; then, the participation of a group ofcollectors is proposed to fragment thefabric, ordering to cut specific dimensions pieces out of it. The gallery where the piece is presented remains empty, indicating that the turning point of what is exhibited is the very action of the project.
How different was to present Regla de Tres in Mexico form how it was in Bogota?
The experience is very similar. Despitebeing an artist little known in Mexico, the scroll-fragmentation-gesture works in both cases as a trigger on different aspects:values and meanings of artistic projects, specifically painting ones.
Your work in México is not as known as it is in Colombia. Was there any preview of your previous series so Mexican collectors could see something about your work before buy a piece of cloth blind sighted?
No, and this shows that in this project, collectors’ enthusiasm for ordering a cut change from one to another; is feed on their fantasies about what they would like to find on the other side of the canvas, and the possibility of participating in a game in which each buyers’ decision affects the sense of the whole work; even though it also influences their confidence to thegallerist.
Were you afraid that the answer was not so positive? So, there was a high risk, don’t you think?
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REGLA DE TRES
Sure, the risk is constant in Regla de Tres. It represents a risk for the gallery in terms of inviting and convincing a group ofcollectors to buy something they do not know and also keep the gallery emptyduring the time of the exhibition; is a risk for the collector who decides toparticipate, without having clearexpectations about the artistic and formal characteristic of the painting; and for the project, because the significance expansion range depends on the existence of some commercial trading.
Were you worried at some point for anycollector negative reaction? One who might felt forced to buy a piece of a painting he had not seen?
When a collector decides to order a cut knows that this decision is a factor that makes sense. It means that beyond thesurprise factor - implicit to the action ofunrolling the piece of canvas-, thecollector must understand that thiscommercial trade is the vehicle ofrepresentation itself, is the trigger for the artistic sense and that he becomes awitness and producer of the piece. Although it is obvious that participating in this game can cause different reactions and different questions about it.
What was the total extent of the fabric? and What was the measure of the smallest piece than anyone could buy?
The total size was 170 cm wide by 1200 inches long, the minimum cut was 50 cm, and up to 150cms.
Does the canvas contain a single image that occupied the entire space?
No, the painting contains various images from various sources; in the case, here in México, the image selection process was filtered through the concept of paranoia.
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REGLA DE TRES
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REGLA DE TRES
Like any artistic project Regla de Tres can have several readings. One that is more connected with the action of severalcollectors sitting at a gala to buy something they cannot see until is cut, making a direct reflection on the art market. However, it also could be interpreted as an intention to bring the intangible value of contemporary painting, which it is not a piece appreciated for its aesthetic qualities and techniques, and becomes a channel for critical thought on something. Do any of these two is closer to what you stand since the beginning of this project?
Actually, all of what you have mentioned. The project started as a comment to thisattitude of insisting on keeping the fightbetween form and signification, andespecially in the realistic or illusionisticpictorial practices in which proposalsare viewed with suspicion. In thisrespect, Regla de Tres seeks to question thevaluation and significance of thepainting. On the other hand, I wanted toreverse the conventional processes ofencounter between the audience and the work; in other words, the priority of display an idea exceeding the image; and finally, to questioning the pieces commercial-trade implicit in the role of the galleries.
Are you planning to resubmit this project in another country?
I think it would be interesting to explore the occurrence of fragmentation in other countries and thus have different crossings and points for discussion about the problem that Regla de Tres inquires.
We saw you at the last Zona Maco,(Mexico City art fair), presented by nueveochenta,the gallery that represents you. Do these pieces have anything to do with thisproject?
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Yes, it is a painting series that are closelylinked to the project. They are rolls ofcanvas apparently displayed inside-out, hiding the painted part of the painting. The scroll is attached with masking tape strips. Those are painted. It means that those strips are actually “The Painting”.
And finally, how did you think aboutMexico art scene in relation to Colombian art scene?
Mexican contemporary art proposalsdeserve all the attention. I feel that in
many cases artistic production has a close relationship with their culturalheritage that provides meaningful elements, unique and universal at the same time.Regarding to Colombian art scene, I think as inMexico and other Latin American countries,cultural exchange networks are becominglarger and more effective. We havecommon interests, which raises a strong possibility in the research, disseminationand socialization of our artistic production.
REGLA DE TRES
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REGLA DE TRES
www.livingartroom.com/saul_sanchez *
* Working on it
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Bordo Pniente, Courtesy of RESIUDAL
RESIDUALChanging Habits
By Catalina Restrepo
RESIDUAL
Among several problems that Mexico City is facing now, bad waste-management is one of the most serious and we do notappreciate its full dimension because it is a huge monster that we have almostall-over us. The most upsetting thing is that it is a reflection of our mind as a society. Each trash-stack that someone left at the corner of a house is a portrait of neglect and lack of sensitivity from the community.Bordo Poniente (metropolitan landfill) is amonument to deficient education, lack of awareness and is preview to the future that waits for us unless we do something about it. The 15-meters-high and hundreds of acrescovered by this, one of the world’s largest landfills, is the result of the quality of life that we have provided for ourselves. The twenty million people who inhabit this city have to find solutions to look up thesituation. It is urgent to change theattitude and stop expecting the government to solve everything. It is time for us to beresponsible for the damage that each of us have caused, and caused every day to the environment. There is no other way to make it, but to get informed and change ourconsumption habits in order to causeminimal impact to nature; so we can keep us away from a real catastrophe.
Gonzalo Ortega and Paulina Cornejo, curators of RESIDUAL, said in a pressconference that it is important to offerfrom a contemporary art project acommunication channel with the aim to generate awareness. They believe thatbecause art transmits images, peoplereceive and understand the seriousness of the problem more directly than it can be an educational campaign launched by thegovernment. For this reason, two non-governmental institution (Goethe Instituteand UNAM-Mexico though the MUCA Roma), present RESIDUAL as analternative to raise consciousness, thanks toprojects developed by eight artists(four german and four mexican) in Mexico City.
RESIDUAL consist in art projects for the public interests, this means they areprojects in which each artist works directly with people and develop pieces in whichfinal result will be tangible and become real by providing education in different areas of the city. In other words, its aim is to show and teach people about using currentlyexisting tools so everyone will be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Each of the artists that participates inRESIDUAL have been invited because
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RESIDUAL
they have developed social inclusion kind of projects during their careers; pieces made by actions and interventions which have improved life quality for all those that were involved. Nor is it a coincidence that these two nations got together to createRESIDUAL. Mexico has the most alarmingpollution statistics in the world andGermany on the contrary, is a country that
has better managed pollution and reverse deforestation process.
RESIDUAL is a three-month-project in which people can get involved as much as they want in each of the eightinterventions. Pia Lanzinger, with thesupport of Casa Vecina, tribute to all downtown sweepers and invites people to
Piece sketch Thomas Stricker
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recognize the important work they carry out. Each of these persons walk the streets ofZocalo cleaning it again and again, making inkilometers the same distance that exists in a track form México City to Tijuana.However, their labor goes completelyunnoticed by most of the people. Another piece will take place at the terrace of the Museum El Estanquillo, the Institute of Waste, a project by Raúl Cárdenas/ Torolab,in which digital and book documentationabout how wastes have been managed through the history in Mexico and the world will be presented. At the same time, this place will serve as a forum forpoliticians and experts, invited to discuss andinform about this subject. This is extremely important since most people pollute not out of evil but ignorance.
Visitors will find projects that directlyinvolve science as well, such as the MinervaCuevas’s piece. Through this one, theartist presents a bacterium that consumesplastic. A huge discovery, because from now on plastic will degrade in just 35 years (not 400). Certainly a breakthrough that will save millions of species worldwide, especially in the seas where the majority of plastic bags end up destroying biodiversityand one primary natural resource we
have. Beyond the scientific aspect of this project, there is a highlight which is a poetic nature that makes us thing on the strength of the earth and the power of nature. This project points to the paradox that is the earth that has to raise a defense mechanism to preserve itself from us (human beings), the most devastating plague of all.
Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth will get to Mexicans form what they like best: food. A fast-food cart becomes the perfect forum to discuss problems and seek solutions at the same time. Visitors will see that the only solution is to change certain habits and will have the opportunity to know and
Model of Eduardo Abaroa¥s piece
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use packaging that does not pollute (Noth-ing, 0%, nil) produced from fibers such as corn. These containers are identical inappearance and perform the same functionas plastic and Styrofoam packaging,with the big difference that are 100%compostable.
Eduardo Abaroa presents a Carnival of Waste; a parade were allegorical cars,inspired by different types of materials to be separated and recycled, traveled across the city helping people to have a visualreference from the materials that should not be mixed up.
Tue Greenfort proposes a lighthouse that will be illuminated from CiudadUniversitaria by processing organic waste to produce methane gas. With this light, the artist will show us the major source of energy that is wasted day after day and shows us also the problem of not consum-ing it. This gas comes out from landfills and spread into the environment, having ahigher temperature than oxygen which warms the atmosphere and produces what we call global warming. Thomas Stricker show us a good way to take advantage of these same organic waste from our own homes; and basically the artist’s project
consists in the creation of a giant com-post container with the help of twentyneighbor families of Talteolco. The aim of thisproject is to supply fertile soil to allneighborhood gardens and improve directly these people surroundings and strengthen the sense of community and group work.
Claudia Fernandez for her part, introducedher piece in Santa Maria de la Ribera, an area that once was very pretty and now, metropolitan growth, neglect of itsinhabitants and markets, have filled it with garbage, leaving behind the niceneighborhood that it was decades ago. In the center of the plaza, the artist willconstruct a collection and recycling center for different materials, this will surely help people to understand the characteristics of the waste and do not mix things up if
Model of Tue Greenfort’s piece
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they can be reused or could have a special treatment to avoid contamination. At the same time, this project will encourage theinhabitants of this area to recover their neighborhood and hopefully thisworking and keeping-the- area-cleanimpulse continues once RESIDUALis finished.
As you can see all the projects are so-cially committed, not in a charity kind of way like giving everything done; they all
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llustration urban gardens. Residual
invite people to work, to teach, to raiseawareness and achieve visible results.Another aspect to commend is thatRESIDUAL organizers and the artiststhat are part of it, share to the world an extensive research along with a complete documentation and is ateveryone´s reach at www.residual.com.mxwhere there is a section called“practices” in which visitors can learn more about responsible ways to manage their own rubbish, waste and garbage.
ASTROMOZAIC
PROJECT
www.livingartroom.com/jorge_carrera www.citoplasma.com.mx/astromozaic
AstromozaicBy Jorge Carrera
Registro montaje metro Pino Suárez
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Astromozaic is a project that aims tocreate virtual constellations trough internetstarting from the exact location of different interventions across the streets. Initiating with a public call, people areinvited to collaborate with the projectindicating the participant’s residence. This place is marked with a star-shaped mosaic and geo-referenced in Internet through a
location map. With this information and the color of the star (in relation to the age of property) the constellations are formed.
The project´s core is the websitewww.citoplasma.com.mx / mozaic, where people can find all the information. Another way to find it is by typing “astromozaic” in any Internet browser.
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Register at MUCA Roma
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Mosaic installation registrer at San Angel
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What is Astromozaic?Astromozaic is an art project, which objec-tive is to intervene virtual public space that internet provides. How does it work?The project is divided into five parts:a. CallPublic in general can register on theproject’s website thanks to social network-ing and e-mail inviting. b. Actual interventionAfter entering the data, a confirmation email will be sent to the subscriber in or-der to receive back the address of the house where they would like to place a mosaic. Mosaic’s color is directly related to how old the intervened space is. c. Photographic recordPictures of the mosaics placed in different areas of the city are taken d. Virtual InterventionDifferent points of real intervention arelocated on google maps by linking thedifferent nodes with which “constellations” start to appear and this is one of the ulti-mate goals of this project.
e. Final registration on the websiteThe final stage of the project consist onupload all the information, images and files to the website (www.citoplasma.com.mx / astromozaic).And also, all the information is also added to social networks around the project.
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Google Maps tags
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www.citoplasma.com.mx/mozaic
