The Baroque (D)ef(f)ect
09 Nov 2010 - 27 Feb 2011
THE BAROQUE (D)EF(F)ECT
Politics of the Hispanic Image
From 9 November 2010 to 27 February 2011
This exhibition explores the identitary narrative of the Hispanic and the Latin phenomena, based on an analysis of image politics. One of the most powerful myths continues to be the baroque. As a myth, it has legitimated a self-interested view of culture in the framework of national or local realities and the creation of a powerful international logo: the Latin scene, or the Spanish scene. The exhibition represents a dissection of this narrative and the cultural policies that continue to write it, often hijacking other writings to do so.
The show, based on collective research, takes as its departure point the need to address these issues from the viewpoint of contemporary creation, one of the main beneficiaries of this mythmaking narrative. Using cinema, video, documentary, animation and installation, the exhibition sets out to offer visitors some alternatives in the debate about relations between art and power in societies immersed in conflicts of historical memory. The exhibition aims to merge politics and poetics as a way of catalysing reflection on the strategic nature of any representation of identity.
The exhibition comprises the following units and spaces:
1. (Still Life): an installation by Canadian artist David Hoffos reflects on the mechanisms that create the illusion and falsity of the modern image.
2. The Hispanic brand name: this section uncovers the mechanisms of construction of the brand image, in this case the “Latin American” and “Spanish” stereotypes.
3. The Summit: a central space that sets out to show the wide diversity of opinions recorded in Spain and Latin America about issues such as education, cultural policy, the tourist market and plurinational relations.
4. El naufragio [Shipwreck]: a work of digital animation by Mexican artist Edgar Clement about cultural crossover and the myth of integration.
5. Baroque politics: a section that uses works of fiction and documentaries to illustrate the links between image politics and certain kinds of public and private cultural actions.
6. Pedagogical missions. The Museum of the People. This section includes a series of works that formed part of the “Museo del Pueblo” (Museum of the People), an initiative that ran from 1931 to 1936 as part of the programme of the Misiones Pedagógicas (pedagogical missions). The museum set out to familiarize the people with works by great painters by means of a travelling exhibition of copies made specially for this purpose.
7. El niñito Mazamorrero: a short fictional film directed by Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa that analyses the relations between artistic works and religious myth; and “Deconstrucción”, an excerpt from the documentary Rocío by Fernando Ruiz Vergara, made in 1980, that strips down a religious image.
8. Mil cumbres. Iconoclastia (A thousand peaks. Iconoclasm): a fragmented installation by Seville artist Pedro G. Romero about the relations between processes of iconoclasm and their connection with various forms of popular expression.
9. La veta de la hispanidad (The vein of the Hispanic phenomenon): a documentary in which Ramiro, a miner from Guanajuato (Mexico), gives his view on the memory of place, of great importance in the Spanish colonial imaginary.
10. Finally, México vs. Brasil, a videographic work by Mexican artist Miguel Calderón, presents a fictitious football match between Brazil and Mexico, created using real images, with the final result Mexico 17–Brazil 0. The work parodies the recourse to “manifest destiny” in the face of situations of failure.
Politics of the Hispanic Image
From 9 November 2010 to 27 February 2011
This exhibition explores the identitary narrative of the Hispanic and the Latin phenomena, based on an analysis of image politics. One of the most powerful myths continues to be the baroque. As a myth, it has legitimated a self-interested view of culture in the framework of national or local realities and the creation of a powerful international logo: the Latin scene, or the Spanish scene. The exhibition represents a dissection of this narrative and the cultural policies that continue to write it, often hijacking other writings to do so.
The show, based on collective research, takes as its departure point the need to address these issues from the viewpoint of contemporary creation, one of the main beneficiaries of this mythmaking narrative. Using cinema, video, documentary, animation and installation, the exhibition sets out to offer visitors some alternatives in the debate about relations between art and power in societies immersed in conflicts of historical memory. The exhibition aims to merge politics and poetics as a way of catalysing reflection on the strategic nature of any representation of identity.
The exhibition comprises the following units and spaces:
1. (Still Life): an installation by Canadian artist David Hoffos reflects on the mechanisms that create the illusion and falsity of the modern image.
2. The Hispanic brand name: this section uncovers the mechanisms of construction of the brand image, in this case the “Latin American” and “Spanish” stereotypes.
3. The Summit: a central space that sets out to show the wide diversity of opinions recorded in Spain and Latin America about issues such as education, cultural policy, the tourist market and plurinational relations.
4. El naufragio [Shipwreck]: a work of digital animation by Mexican artist Edgar Clement about cultural crossover and the myth of integration.
5. Baroque politics: a section that uses works of fiction and documentaries to illustrate the links between image politics and certain kinds of public and private cultural actions.
6. Pedagogical missions. The Museum of the People. This section includes a series of works that formed part of the “Museo del Pueblo” (Museum of the People), an initiative that ran from 1931 to 1936 as part of the programme of the Misiones Pedagógicas (pedagogical missions). The museum set out to familiarize the people with works by great painters by means of a travelling exhibition of copies made specially for this purpose.
7. El niñito Mazamorrero: a short fictional film directed by Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa that analyses the relations between artistic works and religious myth; and “Deconstrucción”, an excerpt from the documentary Rocío by Fernando Ruiz Vergara, made in 1980, that strips down a religious image.
8. Mil cumbres. Iconoclastia (A thousand peaks. Iconoclasm): a fragmented installation by Seville artist Pedro G. Romero about the relations between processes of iconoclasm and their connection with various forms of popular expression.
9. La veta de la hispanidad (The vein of the Hispanic phenomenon): a documentary in which Ramiro, a miner from Guanajuato (Mexico), gives his view on the memory of place, of great importance in the Spanish colonial imaginary.
10. Finally, México vs. Brasil, a videographic work by Mexican artist Miguel Calderón, presents a fictitious football match between Brazil and Mexico, created using real images, with the final result Mexico 17–Brazil 0. The work parodies the recourse to “manifest destiny” in the face of situations of failure.