... all silent but for the buzzing ...

Curating Contemporary Art
... all silent but for the buzzing ...
Royal College of Arts

«I love his use of light» [© 2014 Beth Fox]

What I do most love in the fact of living in London is the inherent and perceptual idea surrounding of what is a traditional London Spring/Summer day: Sun, Parks, Greens, Reds, Yellows, Rainbow of Colours, Sound, Silence, Noise, Pleasure, Satisfaction, Enjoyment, Intercourse, Happiness, Relaxing, Activity, Entertainment, Reading, Openness, Pasture, Action, Born, Reborn, etc. It is like eating an Häagen-Dazs' Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream accompanied by a sweet and rich Riesling while inserting my penis into a female's vagina. Feel and taste an intense, elegant and lavish golden composition arranged for three pieces, through her warm and wet vertical lips.

On the other hand, being inclosed, inside a building on a such day is like having a classic composition being compose, arrange and democratically decide on which pieces to use by an international group of mindless and wannabe individuals that want to be the next big classic music composer. Way to late my friend! At least some centuries way to late! It becomes a cacophony of information. Not music or any other alternative form of auditory communication structured in a particular manner and with a particular intention, but, instead, an incomprehensibility resulting from meaningless and what could have been relevant remarks. It is all silent but for the buzzing.

Presently, being a composer is more of a professional that wants to be able to trendily fit in with a particular group of people, particularly those with years or knowledge (two or three within an academic framework), but with a reduce of experience (from a couple of months to some outside without any relevance project). The more I know them, the less I want to know and will know. It is just like with the Internet: the more time we spend navigating through the net, the less we see and know. I do have/know some people who compose as a profession. And, believe me, those are really pleasant and enjoyable people to be with.

So, in midst all the confusion of an democratically choosing classic piece for 18 instruments the only real choice is to get inside a cubic and drink to forget. To remind me that I'm inside a dreary villa, on a sunny spring day on the South coast of France, that I'm an unzipped zipped file, or an unbuttoned shirt on a delightful Spring/Summer day in London. In there, I will just forget what was meant to be discus; what is concerned with raw states and disappearances, taken from within everyday life sounds and silence - Ryoji Ikeda concerns, by the way.

A traditional Spring day in London is an indistinct space that lies between chatter and silence. Not a bleak visual condition playing on the lighting level ascertain selection of sound compositions working as possible conditions for visual interventions and installations. These days, instead, are hypothetical descriptions of complex structures and dynamics through resonances and reverberations! It is a celebration of life.

ARCOmadrid Interviews 3 #Solo Projects Curators

© David Hornillos Solo Projects, Focus Latino America, Galería Wien Lukatsch
Mariana Castillo Deball / Tudela en traje de chinelo, 2012

PRESS RELEASE:

Manuela Moscoso interviews #Solo Projects:

Magalí Arriola is Curator of the Fundación/Colección Jumex in Mexico
Marcio Harum is Curator of Visual Arts at the CCSP (Centro Cultural São Paulo)
Sharon Lerner is Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museo de Arte de Lima – MALI
Tobias Ostrander is Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami.

\\||//

*Tobias:

Manuela Moscoso: You spent 13 years working in Mexico and since last year you have been Chief Curator of the Miami Art Museum. In what way has this move to the United States informed your view of Latin American art production?How will this be reflected in your contribution to the "Solo Projects" section?

In the last 5 or 6 years, we have seen more exchanges and collaborations between artists working in different countries in Latin America and the development of a more regional perspective. I see artists looking, more than they were 10 or 12 years ago, for opportunities to present their work in spaces in Latin America, developing dynamic dialogues between different contexts in the region. We are seeing these dialogues reflected in the diversification of the representation of artists in Latin American galleries, with Mexicans working with galleries in Peru, or Colombians with spaces in Brazil, etc. This interesting scenario has had an effect on my contribution and choice of artists for Solo Projects and the inclusion of artists that work with Latin American galleries that are not based in their native country. This regional perspective has also had a big influence on my way of thinking about the programme of the Pérez Art Museum Miami and moving towards a transnational perspective of the context this city offers; Miami as a node and intersection between the Southern United States, the Caribbean and Latin America.

MM: I agree with you, in recent years we have seen the region go through a solid and continuous process of organisation.Do you think these new dynamics correspond to a generational shift, to the professionalisation of the sector?Or what other factors do you think have had a major influence on the current state of affairs in Latin American art?

Yes, this interest in Latin America from within Latin America has to do with the professionalisation of a new generation of artists, curators, gallery owners, writers, etc. I think that 5 or 6 years ago there was a reaction against the homogenisation of global culture, with a focus on aspects that are local to Latin America, people began to take an interest in their own city, history, cultural context, and in developing new art spaces and production based on their immediate context. But now we are seeing an interest in expanding from local to regional interests as a means not of entering into dialogue with the whole world, but of seeking out exchanges with artistic contexts, spaces, galleries that are similar and face similar issues (economic, linguistic, governmental, colonial histories, urban development or social structures). This is a view of the region as a critical space between the global and local contexts.

*Magalí:

MM: Magali, you work as Curator of the Collection/Fundación Jumex in Mexico, a private institution that, correct me if I'm wrong, was established in 2001 in order to promote production and reflection on knowledge of contemporary art, and is now one of the most important contemporary art collections in Latin America.Could you tell us about the role private collections play in constructing a healthy ecosystem for cultural production today?

Yes, the Fundación/Colección Jumex opened its space in Ecatepec in 2001 with a view to opening up the collection to the public and at the same time it started its Sponsorship and Grants programme which perhaps has been one of the most decisive factors in the development and professionalisation of the art scene in Mexico. This programme not only helped to increase the budgets of many government institutions and to develop independent spaces, it also enabled many of our artists and curators to study abroad, thereby expanding our exchange network. So in addition to providing ongoing support for galleries and artists from the local scene through an acquisitions programme, the fact that the foundation established a philanthropic programme has played a major role in developing the ecosystem you talk about. This ecosystem could be seen as a mechanism which, in order to work, requires each one of the players involved in the scene (artists, galleries, collectors, curators, critics, institutions, etc.) to remain active and operational. Therefore, although collecting in itself is fundamental to a healthy scene, it is only one element within a much wider group of elements which I believe should be used to weave other kinds of ties and partnerships.

MM: Ties such as setting up the sponsorship and grants programme. The role of the person weaving the ties needs to be performed in a professional manner with knowledge of the field of arts.In your experience, how can this type of role be carried out by the curator?And do you know of any specific examples apart from Jumex that might be interesting to mention?

I would like to think that it is not a direct role of the curator but that these kinds of ties can be developed, extended and strengthened through a healthy network of exchanges between different agents. Up to now, the strategies that have been used have been the traditional ones - open calls for institutions and individuals to request support for projects, which in most cases are curatorial, and grants for studying abroad. The idea now is to start thinking about developing more efficient and attractive ways of supporting the local scene, which could also help to promote fields such as publishing, historical research, and recovering archives, which in many of our countries have been neglected precisely due to a lack of infrastructure and resources.


*Sharon:

MM: Could you tell us about the working method your team is going to use for this edition? How will the selection process work and how will "Solo Projects" respond to a curatorial action?

For this initial stage, each of the curators has proposed different galleries and artists that are of interest to them so they can be invited to put forward their latest projects for the fair. The proposals have not yet been submitted so at the moment its hard to say what we're going to be presented with and the shape this edition of Solo Projects will take in the end. However, what did surprise me was seeing how many of the members of the curatorial team put forward the same names, as even though they come from very different contexts, there were some very definite points of agreement. This makes me think that the process to select the final participants will be relatively consensual.

MM: What in your opinion is the role of the curator in the fair?

This is the first time I have worked on a curatorial project as part of a fair, but I imagine that it should be tackled in the same way as any other project of this kind, that is, looking for interesting connections and contrasts in the proposals, supporting the artists so they can use the space assigned to them in the most productive and interesting way, pushing to the limit the format offered by an event like this. I am keen to see how the work develops and to start conversations with the other curators. However, in the end it will all depend on the quality of the projects submitted.


*Marcio:

August 23, 2013 11:27:40 AM GMT-03:00 - Mexico City -- Thinking about a Latin America approach to a global fair

MM: As we mentioned in this interview, it is clear that new relationships are forming throughout the entire region of Latin America. However, historically there has been a greater distance between Spanish- and Portuguese-speakers. How do you think this distance is shortened in today's art scene?

Undoubtedly we are witnessing the drawing of new geopolitical maps of the art scene alongside a progression of employment networks through institutional collaboration. At the same time, this is generating unprecedented social impact among agents in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. For example, we can see trade fairs that are focused on the region such as ARCO (Madrid), Zona Maco (Mexico City), artBO (Bogota), arteBA (Buenos Aires), SP-Arte (São Paulo), ArtRio (Rio de Janeiro) and Chaco (Santiago de Chile). We can also see a strong reconfiguration of the biennial circuit with curating that proposes a structural exchange through their artistic research projects without language borders, such as: the 9th Mercosul Biennial in Porto Alegre (Brazil, 2013), the 10th Architecture Biennial (São Paulo, 2013), the 43rd (Inter)national Salon of Artists in Medellin (Colombia, 2013) and the 12th Cuenca Biennial (Ecuador, 2014). Of course we can't forget that these new dynamics are also the result of a global presence, which is opening up the possibility to feel and be closer than ever in our region.

MM: The institution where you work as a curator, the CCSP (São Paulo Cultural Centre), is an iconic place because of how visitors appropriate and use the space, as well as its programming supporting the flow of Brazilian production. Are we going to see similar strategies in Solo Projects at ARCOmadrid?

My contribution will be fully informed by my experience at the CCSP, since one of the most exciting themes in art is to create, problematise and expand contexts. For instance, I am delighted to have the opportunity to rethink beyond a map of Latin American influence in order to research and perceive the important Latin American artistic presence in Brazil. Under this historical perspective we have two names we must not forget: the media artist Julio Plaza (Madrid, 1938 - São Paulo, 2003) and the conceptual artist Francisco Iñarra (Vitoria, Spain,1947 - Diadema, Brazil, 2009). More recently and perhaps more noticeably is the work of Sara Ramo (Madrid, 1975 - lives between Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Spain) and Daniel Steegmann Mangrané (Barcelona, 1977 - lives in Rio de Janeiro). Although this reflection does not necessarily have a visible impact on ARCOmadrid 2014, it directly impacts my curatorial work because it is loaded with a new speed and professional dimension.

\\||//

Magalí Arriola is Curator of the Fundación/Colección Jumex in Mexico, which in November of this year will inaugurate a new space. Previously she was Chief Curator at the Museo de Arte Carillo Gil and the Museo Tamayo, both in Mexico. Arriola has contributed to publications such as Afterall, Manifesta Journal

Marcio Harum is Curator of Visual Arts at the CCSP (Centro Cultural São Paulo) and was director (with Paola Santoscoy) of SITAC XI, the International Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory, Mexico City, in August 2013. As an independent curator, he participated in projects such as the 27th São Paulo Biennial and the 10th Havana Biennial.

Sharon Lerner is Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museo de Arte de Lima – MALI. She has written extensively on Peruvian Art and in 2010 she was awarded the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts 101 Fellowship, supporting her research for the Kadist Art Foundation.

Tobias Ostrander is Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami. He is currently preparing the exhibition program for the new museum, designed by Herzog & De Meuron, which will open to the public next December. He worked in Mexico for 11 years as Chief Curator for the Museo Tamayo and the Museo Experimental El Eco.

Manuela Moscoso is an independent curator based in Rio de Janeiro. She has recently co- curated “FIcisismos” (Universidad di Tella, Buenos Aires) or producided "A Reading that Writes an Script by Yael Davids" (Museo de Arte do Rio, Rio de Janeiro). Together with Sarah Demeuse are Rivet, a curatorial office that has materialized their research on exhibitions and publications about generics and deployment, and resonance and repetition. Moscoso is currently the adjunct curator of the Biennale de Cuenca 12 (2014, Ecuador.) She hold Master’s Degree in Curatorial Studies from the Center for Curatorial Studies in Bard College.

ARCOmadrid 2014: Curatorial team #SoloProjects Focus Latin America

PRESS RELEASE:
Curatorial team/Equipo curatorial
#SoloProjects 2014 Focus Latin America/Latinoamérica
ARCOmadrid 2014

ARCOmadrid announces that Magali Arriola, Marcio Harum, Sharon Lerner and Tobias Ostrander have been named as the curatorial team for #SoloProjects Focus Latin America at ARCOmadrid 2014.

#SoloProjects Focus Latin America is designed to serve as an opportunity for Latin American artists to research and develop new projects. The curatorial team will combine an exhaustive study of contemporary Latin America artists with proposals from galleries in order to arrive at a selection of the most relevant and most representative work from throughout the region.

#SoloProjects Curatorial Team

Magalí Arriola is Curator of the Fundación/Colección Jumex in Mexico, which in November of this year will inaugurate a new space. Previously she was Chief Curator at the Museo de Arte Carillo Gil and the Museo Tamayo, both in Mexico. Arriola has contributed to publications such as Afterall, Manifesta Journal and The Exhibitionist.

Marcio Harum is Curator of Visual Arts at the CCSP (Centro Cultural São Paulo) and was director (with Paola Santoscoy) of SITAC XI, the International Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory, Mexico City, in August 2013. As an independent curator, he participated in projects such as the 27th São Paulo Biennial and the 10th Havana Biennial.

Sharon Lerner is Curator of Contemporary Art at the Museo de Arte de Lima – MALI. She has written extensively on Peruvian Art and in 2010 she was awarded the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts 101 Fellowship, supporting her research for the Kadist Art Foundation.

Tobias Ostrander is Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs at the Pérez Art Museum in Miami. He is currently preparing the exhibition program for the new museum, designed by Herzog & De Meuron, which will open to the public next December. He worked in Mexico for 11 years as Chief Curator for the Museo Tamayo and the Museo Experimental El Eco.

In conjunction with the #SoloProjects exhibition program, Latin American art will also be a focus of dialogue and debate at ARCOmadrid 2014. The Third Meeting of European and Latin American Museums, under the direction of João Fernandes (Deputy Director, Reina Sofía Museum) and Jesús Carillo (Director of Public Programs, Reina Sofía Museum), will convene 20 museum directors from Latin America and Europe. The Professional Meetings will bring together experts and specialists from Latin America and Europe will be directed by Adriano Pedrosa, Irene Hoffman (SITE SantaFe) and Lucia Sanroman (SITE Santa Fe).

ARCOmadrid will also once more feature prizes that have been awarded to artists participating in #SoloProjects, such as the illy SustainArt Prize, which last year was awarded to Julia Rometti and Victor Costales (Jousse Enterprisse Gallery), and to the Chilean artist Voluspa Jarpa (Isabel Aninat Gallery), and the ARCOmadrid/Beep Prize for electronic art, which was awarded to the Mexican artist Marcela Armas in 2012.

In addition, in past editions of the ARCOmadrid, private and public collections have acquired works from artists included in #SoloProjects, such as work by the Mexican artist Eduardo Abaroa (of Kurimanzutto), which was acquired during the Plataforma Fundación ARCO; an installation by François Bucher, acquired by CGAC from the Proyectos Monclova Gallery, and work by the Mexican artist Mariana Castillo Deball, of the Wien Lukatsch Gallery, acquired by the Reina Sofía Museum.

\\||// SPANISH \\||//

ARCOmadrid se complace en anunciar que Magali Arriola, Marcio Harum, Sharon Lerner y Tobias Ostrander serán los comisarios de #SoloProjects Focus Latinoamerica @ARCOmadrid 2014.

La sección #SoloProjects Focus Latinoamérica ofrece un espacio para el desarrollo de nuevos proyectos. El equipo curatorial realizará una investigación sobre los artistas que mejor representan el arte latinoamericano actual y propondrán a creadores cuyas propuestas valorarán junto a las que reciban de las galerías interesadas.

Equipo curatorial #SoloProjects

Magali Arriola es comisaria de la Fundación/Colección Jumex en México que el próximo mes de noviembre inaugura su nuevo espacio. Anteriormente fue comisaria jefe de instituciones como el Museo Carrillo Gil o el Museo Tamayo en México y ha colaborado con publicaciones como Afterall, Manifesta Journal o The Exhibitionist.

Marcio Harum es comisario de artes visuales del Centro Cultural São Paulo (CCSP) y este pasado mes de agosto ha dirigido, junto a Paola Santoscoy, el 11º Simposio Internacional de Teoría Sobre Arte Contemporáneo SITAC XI en México DF. Ha trabajado como comisario independiente vinculado a proyectos como la 27ª Bienal de Sao Paulo, o la 10ª Bienal de la Habana, o como fellow del Goethe-Institute en dOCUMENTA (13).

Sharon Lerner es comisaria de arte contemporáneo del Museo de Arte de Lima - MALI. Es autora de diversos textos sobre arte peruano y en 2010 obtuvo el 101 Curatorial Fellowship del Wattis Institute of Contemporary Art que le permitió trabajar como investigadora para la Kadist Art Foundation.

Tobias Ostrander es comisario jefe y director adjunto para asuntos curatoriales del Pérez Art Museum Miami (antes el Miami Art Museum). Actualmente trabaja en el diseño del programa expositivo para el nuevo museo diseñado por Herzog y De Meuron que inaugurará el próximo mes de diciembre. Desarrolló su carrera a lo largo de 11 años en México como comisario jefe en el Museo Tamayo y el Museo Experimental El Eco.

En la próxima edición volverán a convocarse algunos de los premios que más repercusión han tenido sobre #SoloProjects. Es el caso del Premio illy SustainArt que en los últimos años ha premiado a Julia Rometti y Victor Costales (Galería Jousse Entreprisse) y a la artista chilena Voluspa Jarpa, (galería Isabel Aninat). Del mismo modo, la mexicana Marcela Armas, de la galería Arróniz, fue galardonada con el Premio ARCOmadrid/Beep de arte electrónico en la edición de 2012.

Asimismo, coleccionistas, instituciones y fundaciones adquirieron obras presentadas en este programa, como Inserción arqueológica, del artista mexicano Eduardo Abaroa, representado por la galería mexicana Kurimanzutto, adquirida en el almuerzo Plataforma Fundación ARCO o la instalación de François Bucher, de la galería mexicana Proyectos Monclova, comprada por el CGAC, o una obra de la también mexicana Mariana Castillo Deball, de la galería Wien Lukatsch, adquirida por el Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía.

El análisis sobre la creación en el continente americano se verá de nuevo presente en el III Encuentro de Museos Europeos e Iberoamericanos, dirigido por Jo ão Fernandes y Jesús Carrillo, del Museo Reina Sofía, que volverá a convertirse en punto de encuentro de alrededor de 20 profesionales de ambos continentes así como en los Encuentros Profesionales dirigidos por Adriano Pedrosa e Irene Hoffman y Lucía Sanroman de Site Santa Fe.

Oportunidades de Trabalho

Um estudo do governo norte-americano prevê o crescimento na empregabilidade dos curadores de 23 por cento nos próximos anos, implicando alguma transversalidade e internacionalização.

Na sociedade contemporânea, o papel do curador de arte está relacionado com os mecanismos de apresentação de exposições e com toda a esfera discursiva que envolve essas encenações. Mas, em termos etimológicos, a palavra «curador» alarga-se também a alguém que é conhecedor de substâncias vegetais usadas para administrar em pessoas ou corpos – a pharmakeia (a antepassada da farmácia) –, ou quem tem a autoridade para conduzir espiritualmente uma comunidade.

Segundo dados do estudo Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition (Manual do Panorama Ocupacional), sobre Arquivistas, Curadores e Técnicos de Museus, conduzido pelo Bureau of Labor Statistics, do Ministério do Trabalho dos EUA, prevê-se um crescimento na empregabilidade dos curadores de 23 por cento nos próximos anos.

Este crescimento acarretará, provavelmente, alguma transversalidade e internacionalização, a exemplo do que, de resto, acontece noutras áreas do desenvolvimento humano em função do carácter globalizante que as sociedades tendem a assumir. Nessa óptica, é já paradigmática a mobilização de personalidades de diversas proveniências no âmbito das actividades das feiras de arte nos nossos dias.

«Não há uma linha conceitual, apenas a oportunidade de dar espaço à pesquisa de um curador brasileiro em Portugal, Espanha e França», expressa Adriano Pedrosa sobre a sua participação na ARCOmadrid, este ano, como um dos curadores convidados da secção Solo Projects.

Mauro Cerqueira (1982) e André Romão (1984), oriundos de uma cena artística que Pedrosa tem vindo a pesquisa há uma década, são os dois jovens artistas portugueses que seleccionou. Os outros dois artistas são Aurelient Fromment (1976) de França e o Basco Juan Pérez Agirregoikoa (1963). «Estou muito entusiasmado com a oportunidade de mostrar dois artistas portugueses na ARCOmadrid», acrescenta Adriano Pedrosa.

No panorama actual, a natureza crítica da teoria pós-colonial implica a desestabilização da forma de pensar ocidental (EUA e Europa). Cria espaços para o subalterno ou grupos marginalizados falarem ou produzirem alternativas ao discurso dominante. E, embora seja um prazer especial para um estrangeiro apresentar artistas locais, o que realmente importa na selecção destes quatro artistas é a complexidade e a singularidade de cada uma produções, conforme é defendido pelo curador.

Complementar ao Programa Geral e à secção ARCO 40, a secção Solo Projects apresenta projectos de um artista individualmente seleccionados por uma equipa de comissários internacionais designado pela ARCOmadrid.

Curadores portugueses
Inserido na secção Curators’ Desks, destaca-se o projecto apresentado por Filipa Oliveira + Miguel Amado, que tem como ponto de encontro a repercussão e a difusão da obra dos artistas num espaço independente. Neste caso em particular, a discussão de temas da actualidade ao envolver «artistas, profissionais e público numa plataforma discursiva que evoca a radicalidade das tradições pedagógicas artísticas.»

O projecto apresentado pelo colectivo curatorial é inspirado na frase do filósofo Bertrand Russell: «Para saber algo sobre a mesa, temos que conhecer verdades que a relacionem com as coisas que conhecemos». Intitula-se Sobre a Mesa e «significa que, se uma ideia foi apresentada, disponibilizou-se para o debate público. Sendo “mesa” um objecto, “sobre a” sugere as dimensões simbólicas a si sempre associadas, que incluem comer e beber, trabalhar e falar». A iniciativa compreende dois momentos distintos: uma conversa de tópico livre entre um comissário e um artista, e uma performance-lecture instigada por um artista – este são seleccionados através de uma open call internacional.

Filipa Oliveira + Miguel Amado formam um colectivo curatorial criado em 2004, com sede em Lisboa. Das várias exposições e múltiplos projectos organizado pela dupla, destaca-se Impossible Exchange, apresentado na última edição feira de arte de Londres inserido no Frieze Projects.

Published at NS'214/IN#110, Mercado da Arte (68), (Diário de Notícias N.º 51446 e Jornal de Notícias N.º 257/122), 13 de Fevereiro de 2010, Portugal. André Romão, delfi, 2009. Courtesy Baginski Galeria/Projectos