Observing the rules in the exercise of doubt
By Nahela Hechavarria Pouymiro
As a rule: first want, then be able to. That’s what it is all about. How to manage to arouse interest in that “other” that is consuming us. The use of video as a means of expression in the most contemporary art has become almost an axiom of avant-garde appearance. It is becoming ever-more common for video or audiovisual installations to occupy the space once dominated by traditional manifestations such as painting and sculpture, both in biennials and in contemporary art fairs, both in galleries and museums.
What does video as a medium presuppose for the contemporary artist? An expressive need? Just a medium that must be dominated? The truth is that access to the new media and technology applied to art presupposes a novel sta
ge for the artist. Boris Groys even speaks of how the barrier between the artist and their public becomes thinner until it disappears because “the creators live surrounded by art producers, more so than by consumers.” Then what are we to discard or to define as “artistic” from the wide audiovisual production that is circulated and being consumed on a daily basis throughout the world?
Are the spaces for promoting and legitimizing art the ones that will eventually sacralize a practice that is evidently deregulated? As a reflection of a moment in which the focus of attention is displaced towards a fictionalization of daily life, artistic institutions play their roles as regulators of what art “should be”. That is why there is an abundance of international festivals, theoretical events and fairs on video creation, thus making up a booming and necessary promotional circuit.
In Cuba, holdi
ng the Primer Festival de Videoarte in the year 2001, as a collateral exhibit during the Tercer Salon de Arte Contemporaneo, was a thermometer for the recognition of alternative audiovisual production on the island. It revealed a group of proposals with unique stylistic and thematic richness. This event did not have a follow-up, as a festival, as it would be expected from the vitality it showed and the wide acceptance it attained. Nevertheless, Proyecto Circo appears in 2003, Performance & Audiovisuals which detonated in a fresh and open manner the public space of the Cuban audiovisual scene, with exhibits by Cuban and international artists and this time it has maintained an almost yearly continuity.
In 2010, Proyecto CIRCO presented the I Muestra de Videocreacion which included works from Switzerland, Cuba and Spain. In this, its second edition, it includes in addition to th
e former three countries, a small selection of video artists from Latin America that will be exhibited concomitantly, which propitiates a greater plurality of proposals by both recognized and novel artists from the area.
In this second edition, the triad Switzerland-Spain-Cuba constitutes the main axis seen through the curatorship of several artists, researchers and curators. In the case of Spain, the selection was structured from the vision by Ada Azor (Proyecto CIRCO), Angel Garcia (Vera Icono Producciones), Macu Moran (Video ArtWorld), Wendy Navarro, Fernando Barrionuevo (MECA, Almeria) and Juan Ramon Barbancho (La nave espacial, Sevilla). In turn, the Swiss exhibit was in the care of multimedia artist Adela Picon and finally, Ada Azor, acts as curator and general coordinator for the Cuban and Latin American selection. Somethi
ng significant that defines a wider reach and action range of the II Muestra de Videocreacion program is the fact that it expands its exhibition time to one week with two relevant venues, Galeria 23 y 12 and Wilfredo Lam Arts Center.
The profuse thematic liberty present in the II Muestra de Videocreacion Suiza-España-Cuba covers a broad range of styles that go from quoting and questioning the cinema and television premises and codes or the video-clip aesthetics, to manipulating personal files and images; recreating visual games that intend to generate a new ambiguous, alternative reality, where signifiers and referents are displaced in and out of the work of art; the use of motifs and associations in which the body, the music and the video art as manifestations are constantly dismantled and re-viewed. In this sense, the analysis of power, politics, the urban theme, the relation man-na
ture, memory, cultural stereotypes are some of the ideo-thematic axes going through the selection of proposals.
Doubt as examination subject matter, placed before our eyes to force us to see, to understand a reality that is ever-more fragmentary and fictional, teeming with images that are at once alien and our own. May it help, at least, to incite us to look out into the distance and penetrate the vast space which is contemporary audiovisual art.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
::: VENUE ::: GALLERY 23 y 12
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: SPAIN ::
Selection by: Ada Azor. Circus Project
Angel Garcia Roldan :: Prologue to a perfect human / 9'21'' / 2010
Alejandro Vidal :: One second burns for a billion years / 7' / 2007
Avelino Sala :: Stop / 1'48''
/ 2010
Begoña Egurbide :: In our memory / 7'02' / 2010
Carles Congost :: Synthesizers / 8' / 2002
Daniel Silvo :: The peacock can't keep standing, the crane can / 6'21'' /2009
Diana Larrea :: Cinema Dore / 3'30'' / 2004
Isaki Lacuesta :: Theory of the bodies / 4'40'' / 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Hamaca Media & video art distribution from Spain
Joan Morey :: New WAVE or Desencert / 8'53'' / 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Hamaca Media & video art distribution from Spain
Juan Aizpitarte :: Surface / 14'58'' / 2010
Luis Cervero :: Death, Lov, Death and Rock and Roll / 9' / 2005. Courtesy of the artist and Hamaca Media & video art distribution from Spain
Marcelo Exposito & Nuria Vila :: Tactical Frivolity + Rhythms of resistance / 39'/ 2007
Selection by: Angel Garcia Roldan, Visual Art, Vera Icono Productions
Alfonso Hervas Clivilles :: Light
Work I / 4'30'' / 2010
Beatriz Sanchez :: The river dreams / 4'46'' / 2009
Eugenio Rivas Herencia :: Miracles that are not magic / 3'49'' / 2006-2009. (Version for Circus Project)
Juan Lopez Lopez :: Peter Pank / 8'41'' / 2008
Laurita Siles :: The first emperor dancing sevillanas to the txistu-Oin /1'74'' / 2009
Manolo Bautista :: Imitation of live / 7'22'' / 2007
Miguel Angel Moreno Carretero :: The cloud / 4'50'' / 2008
Miguel Soler :: Blank / 6'39'' / 2008
:: SWITZERLAND ::
Selection by: Adela Picon, Multimedia Artist, Berna
Adela Picon* :: Locutorium / 34'10'' / 2004. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Beatrice Brunner
Anna Katharina Scheidegger :: Individual action of floating speed / 7'/ 2009
Andrea Loux :: In the dark of night / 7'40'' / 2006
Anne Lorenz* :: She loves me she loves me not / 23' / 2009
Chantal Michel :: Sorry Guys / 15' / 1997
Ch
ristian Gonzenbach :: Gherkin Sports / 2'12'' / 2006
Christoph Draeger :: Subterranean Doomsday Vendor/5´/2006
Diana Dodso :: Souvenir / 3'3''/ 2001
Elodie Pong* :: Post Scriptum / 8'14'' / 2009. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Freymond-Guth Ltd. Fine Arts
Lena Maria Thüring* :: The house / 12'06'' / 2005
Marc Mouci :: Home / 4'20'' / 1999
Michael Spahr :: The fall of the idols / 4'3'' / 2011
Myriam Thyes :: Depression Marquis / 2'23'' / 2009
Roberto de Luca :: The golden cage / 20'/ 2055
Rudolf Steiner :: Tom & Jerry Revisited /3'54'' / 2006
Simone Zaugg :: Fear For Fascination / 5' / 2004
Yan Duyvendak :: An eye for an eye / 6' / 2002. Courtesy of the artist and videoart.ch
*Selection by: Ada Azor. Circus Project
:: CUBA ::
Selection by: Ada Azor. Circus Project
Adrian Curbelo :: Sleep / 2'28'' /
2010
Celia & Yunior :: Names that were men / 3'41'' / 2009
Duniesky Martin :: Pastimes of the new man / 3'43'' / 2010
Hamlet Armas :: S:O.S. / 3'10'' / 2006
Javier Castro :: Divination for the year / 1' / 2010
Jenny Brito :: World map / 27'' / 2008
Lainier Díaz :: Interview (Ten questions for the new contry) / 16'19''/ 2009
Levi Orta :: Days off Dias libres / 3' / 2011
Lisandra Ramirez :: Maria Karla / 18'37'' / 2009
Luis Enrique Lopez :: Exercise on Anthropology / 5'/ 2010
Luis Garciga :: In order not to envy other people’s Jacuzzi / 1'02'' / 2009
Reinier Nande :: The pendulum / 1' / 2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
::: VENUE ::: THE WILFREDO LAM ARTS CENTER
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
:: SPAIN ::
Selections of Spain-Gu
est Curators
Selection by: Macu Moran. Director Video Art World
Eva Davidova :: Dani / 36''/ 2005
Evaristo Benitez :: Vanitas / 3'57''/ 2009
Luis Bezeta :: Self-portrait / 2'51'' / 2005
Jose Luis Serzo :: The Welcome / 3'48'' / 2006
Miquel Arnal :: Octopussy / 6'/ 2007
Selection by: Wendy Navarro. Art Critic & Curator, Barcelona
Fernando Sanchez Castillo :: Pegasus dance / 12'4'' / 2008
Jordi Colomer :: To wander in a flat field is… / 4'14'' / 2008
Mabel Palacín :: Sur l'Autoroute / 11' / 1998-1999
Perejaume :: Surar / 9'50'' / 2009. Courtesy of the Joan Prats Gallery
Txomin Badiola :: SOS. E3 (The serfdom of life and the character of shadows) / 4' / 2000-2001. Courtesy of the Moises Perez de Albeniz Gallery
Selection by: Fernando Barrionuevo. Director MECA, Almeria
Adele Raczkövi :: A looking for love / 8'25'' / 2010
Ángela Cuenca :: The silent image. The sound experience / 5'20'' / 2008
Gitta Pardoel :: They write everyday / 3'15'' / 2010
Jose Luis Lozano :: To the time of the scar / 4'02'' / 2008
Julio Tigre :: Catrarquitetura / 9'02'' / 2010
Maria Cañas :: For a handful of Yuan / 5' / 2008
Pablo Fernandez-Pujol :: Intro Berlin (I-IV-VI) / 2'51'' / 2010
Selection by: Juan Ramon Barbancho, Independent curator, Collaborator La Nave Spacial, Sevilla
Amparo Garrido :: Reappear / 14'41'' / 2008
Felipe Ortega-Regalado :: Musaranho / 4'52'' / 2008
Fernando Baena :: Ebba / 3'07'' / 2009
Joaquin Delgado :: Low tide / 6'50'' / 2009
:: LATIN AMERICA ::
Selection by: Ada Azor. Circus Project
Graciela Taquini ::
Secrets / 5'20'' / 2007
The sublime the banal / 12'2
9'' / 2004
(Co-directed by Gabriela Larrañaga & Teresa Puppo)
Lucas Bambozzi ::
Here again / 6' / 2002
Postcard / 13' / 2003
Ximena Cuevas ::
Raffle / 7'47'' / 2001
Paper Bodies / 4'5'' / 1997
Regina Jose Galindo* ::
Grave / 1'32'' / 2009
Crisis Cloth / 6'49'' / 2009
While they remain free / 2'26'' / 2007
Polygraph / 5'23'' / 2008
Crisis Blood / 14'44'' / 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
___Staff___
Direction :: Ada Azor
Coordination :: Angel Garcia Roldan
Swiss Program Coordination :: Adela Picon
Text Presentation :: Nahela Echevarria
Swiss Program Text :: Alice Henkes
English translation :: Heidy Suarez, Nivaldo Negrin
Graphic Design :: Marwin San
chez
Web Design & Catalog :: Angel Garcia Roldan
Technical Director :: Josue Garcia
Photo :: Alfredo Sarabia
Camera :: Lisandra Ramirez
http://www.proyectocircocuba.blogspot.com/
http://www.proyectocircocuba.org/
http://www.veraiconoproducciones.es/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Circus Project thanks the following people and bodies ::
Anne Lorenz, Avelino Sala, Begoña Egurbide, Celia Gonzalez, Carlos D. Donalson, Carolina Trujillo, Claudia Haedo, Esteban Castellano, Dayara Bernal, Dunia Zambrana, Fernando Baena, Fernando Barrionuevo & Rosa Muñoz, Gonzalo Rabanal, Hilda Ma. Rodriguez, Hamlet Armas, Ibis Hernandez Abascal, Jenny Brito, Juan Ramon Barbancho, Jorge Fernandez, Lisandra Ramirez, Lourdes Azcuy, Luis Enrique Lope
z, Luis Garciga, Irina Bernal, Margarita Gonzalez, Manuel Garcia, Maylin Lara, Miguel A. Moreno Carretero, Myriam Thyes, Nora Otaño, Olga Ma. Garcia, Pedro Deniz, Rossie Zambrana.
Especially!!! Adela Picon, Heidy Suarez, Latzy Santana, Wendy Navarro, Enrique Leon, Reinier Nande, Ares Zanuy, Nekane Aramburu, Alejandro Vidal, Carles Congost.
The Second Exhibition of Videocreation Spain-Switzerland–Cuba, has the support of the Swiss Arts Council, Pro Helvetia and the sponsors ::
AECID
Collage Habana
La Nave Spacial
HAMACA
MECA
Video Art World
