m a S
r e pl
Editora y Directora / Director & Editor:
Alicia Murría Coordinación en Latinoamérica Latin America Coordinators: Argentina: Eva Grinstein México: Bárbara Perea Equipo de Redacción / Editorial Staff:
Alicia Murría, Natalia Maya Santacruz, Santiago B. Olmo, Eva Navarro info@artecontexto.com
Colaboran en este número / Contributors in this Issue:
Santiago B. Olmo, Farid Zahi, Bérénice Saliou, Pedro Medina, Alicia Murría, Juan Antonio Álvarez Reyes, Armando Montesinos, Carlos Jiménez, Agnaldo Farias, Elena González, Pablo G. Polite, Eduardo Bravo, Abraham Rivera, José Manuel Costa, Natalia Maya Santacruz, Eva Grinstein, Bárbara Perea, Mónica Núñez Luis, Fernanda Nogueira, Miguel López, Mariano Navarro, Kiki Mazzucchelli, Sema D’Acosta, Iñaki Estella, Alejandro Ratia, José Ángel Artetxe, Javier Marroquí, Francisco Baena, Mireia A. Puigventós, Suset Sánchez, Luis Francisco Pérez. Especial agradecimiento / Special thanks: A Santiago B. Olmo por su colaboración en este dossier To Santiago B. Olmo for his help making this dossier
Asistente editorial / Editorial Assistant:
Natalia Maya Santacruz Responsable de Relaciones Externas y Publicidad Public Relations and Advertising Manager:
Eva Navarro publicidad@artecontexto.com Administración / Accounting Department:
Carmen Villalba administracion@artecontexto.com Suscripciones / Subscriptions:
Pablo D. Olmos suscripciones@artecontexto.com Distribución / Distribution: distribucion@artecontexto.com Oficinas / Office: Tel. + 34 913 656 596 C/ Santa Ana 14, 2º C. 28005 Madrid. (España) www.artecontexto.com Diseño / Design:
Jacinto Martín
ARTECONTEX TO ARTECONTEXTO arte cultura nuevos medios es una publicación trimestral de ARTEHOY Publicaciones y Gestión, S.L. Impreso en España por Técnicas Gráficas Forma Producción gráfica: El viajero / Eva Bonilla. Procograf S.L. ISSN: 1697-2341. Depósito legal: M-1968–2004 Todos los derechos reservados. Ninguna parte de esta publicación puede ser reproducida o transmitida por ningún medio sin el permiso escrito del editor. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without written permission from the publisher. © de la edición, ARTEHOY Publicaciones y Gestión, S.L. © de las imágenes, sus autores © de los textos, sus autores © de las traducciones, sus autores © de las reproducciones autorizadas, VEGAP. Madrid 2009 Esta publicación es miembro de la Asociación de Revistas Culturales de España (ARCE) y de la Federación Iberoamericana de Revistas Culturales (FIRC)
Esta revista ha recibido una subvención de la Dirección General del Libro, Archivos y Bibliotecas para su difusión en bibliotecas, centros culturales y universidades de España, para la totalidad de los números editados en el año.
Esta revista ha recibido una subvención de la Comunidad de Madrid para el año 2009.
El viajero: www.elviajero.org Traducciones / Translations:
Joanna Porter y José Manuel Sánchez Duarte
ARTECONTEXTO reúne diversos puntos de vista para activar el debate y no se identifica forzosamente con todas las opiniones de sus autores. / ARTECONTEXTO does not necessarily share the opinions expressed by the authors. La editorial ARTEHOY Publicaciones y Gestión S.L., a los efectos previstos en el art. 32,1, párrafo segundo, del TRLPI se opone expresamente a que cualquiera de las páginas de ARTECONTEXTO sea utilizada para la realización de resúmenes de prensa.
Portada / Cover:
TOMAS SARACENO Galaxy forming along filaments, like droplets along the strands of a spider’s web, 2008. Cortesía: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.
Cualquier forma de reproducción, distribución, comunicación pública o transformación de esta obra sólo puede ser realizada con la autorización de sus titulares, salvo excepción prevista por la ley. Diríjase a CEDRO (Centro Español de Derechos Reprográficos: www.cedro.org) si necesita fotocopiar o escanear algún fragmento de esta obra.
SUMARIO / INDEX / 23 SUMARIO / INDEX / 21
Primera página / Page One
4
Ampliando el radio de acción / Widening Our Sphere of Action ALICIA MURRÍA Dossier: Una mirada a Marruecos / A Look at Morocco
7
Saliendo de la sombra / Coming Out from the Shadow SANTIAGO B. OLMO
15
Invención y reinvención de sí mismo: El arte marroquí frente a sus interrogantes The Invention and Reinvention of Itself: Moroccan Art in the Face of its Questions FARID ZAHI
23
Collectif 212: La diversidad como impulso creador / Collectif 212: Diversity as a Creative Impulse BÉRÉNICE SALIOU Especial / Highlight: La Biennale di Venezia. 53 Exposizione Internazionale d’Arte
31
Bienal y delito / Biennial and Crime PEDRO MEDINA
39
La propuesta de Birnbaum / Birnbaum’s proposal ALICIA MURRÍA
45
Bruce Nauman ¿Estás escuchando? / Bruce Nauman Are You Listening? JUAN ANTONIO ÁLVAREZ REYES
51
El chico de la moto llega a la cueva: BFP en tres actos The Motorcycle Boy Arrives at the Cave: BPF in Three Acts ARMANDO MONTESINOS Páginas Centrales / Centre Pages
59
Tania Bruguera. O la refundación de la política Tania Bruguera or the Relaunching of Politics CARLOS JIMÉNEZ
68
Capacete Entretenimientos: La invisibilidad propia en favor de la visibilidad del otro Capacete Entertainments: One’s Own Invisibility in Favour of the Other’s Visibility AGNALDO FARÍAS
75
CiberContexto ELENA GONZÁLEZ
79
Cine / Cinema Reseñas / Reviews EDUARDO BRAVO Jeff Keen, en las trincheras del cine low-tech Jeff Keen, in the Trenches of Low-Tech Cinema PABLO G. POLITE
83
Música / Music Reseñas / Reviews JOSÉ MANUEL COSTA Al otro lado del sonido / On the Other Side of Sound ABRAHAM RIVERA
87
Libros / Books
91
Info
97
Críticas de exposiciones / Reviews of Exhibitions
Widening Our Sphere of Action This year has been replete with new challenges for ARTECONTEXTO. In February we launched the digital version of the magazine, whose issues (with the exception of the current one) can now be read online. We feel that this is the best way of reaching our readers and achieving our main objective: the widest possible circulation of the magazine’s contents. More recently, in June, we created a cultural platform which is intended to complement our printed edition, widening our sphere of action and covering issues and events that can be difficult to keep abreast of in a quarterly magazine, particularly one focusing on analysis and the debate of relevant ideas. In this way, ARTECONTEXTOagenda (which will be updated on a weekly basis), will provide information on what we regard as the most noteworthy developments and events in the fields of cinema, music, festivals, video, dance, theatre, exhibitions, lectures, summits, seminars, etc., that are currently taking place all over Spain. This site aspires to become a reference guide, thanks to the sound judgment and quality of its contents. We shall also furnish a space that will operate as a forum for opinions on every aspect of creative work and cultural policies, which require fast and timely coverage. This space is ARTECONTEXTOblog. We hope that, like the magazine itself, all of this will contribute to the vitality of the Spanish art scene. Turning to the contents of this issue, we have long intended to probe the Maghreb and its art scene. Now, with our dossier, we take a look at Morocco, a country which, although a close neighbour, is largely unfamiliar to us, except for often misleading stereotypes. Bérénice Saliou, Farid Zahi and Santiago B. Olmo write about today’s Moroccan art production. The issue also includes a section devoted to the 53rd Venice Biennial, an event which is always counted upon to exceed expectations, rather than settling for being “just another” large-scale show. In our central pages, Carlos Jiménez examines the work by the Cuban artist Tania Bruguera, while Agnaldo Farías, from Brazil, examines some less conventional artistic proposals. Along with the new sections we have launched this year, devoted to music and cinema, and featuring the contributions of José Manuel Costa, Abraham Rivera, Eduardo Bravo and Pablo G. Polite, our book section has been expanded. Meanwhile, the Cibercontexto section offers an analysis of the online view of Morocco, carried out by Elena González, while the Info and exhibition review sections take a look at the shows taking place in the international art scene, completing our summer issue.
ALICIA MURRÍA
You are reading a preview!
To read the full issue, subscribe or visit us at www.artecontexto.com
YTO BARRADA First Class Lounge - Ferry from Tangier to Algeciras, Spain 2002. Foto: Š Yto Barrada. Courtesy of the artist.
Coming Out from the Shadow
SANTIAGO B.OLMO* The residual gaze of a sort of pocket-sized Orientalism, connected with the tourist experience, continues to cast a shadow of exoticism over Morocco which often makes it impossible to see the dynamics of a modernity that is exercised and interpreted through its own codes. This “shadow” is obviously supported on the reality of a series of very relevant traditions, which do not always make it easy to appreciate the vitality of the present, in the same way as the romantic gaze which was projected over Spain in the 19th century, and which continues to exist in the form of the country’s poetic imagery. The Moroccan reality cannot be easily characterised, as it is made up of many complex identities; it is best defined by diversity, as proven by the way in which cultural production, from literature to cinema and the visual arts, is giving rise to one of the most solid cultural scenes, not only in the Arab world but also in Africa, coinciding with its increasing political and economic weight as a country. It has now been ten years since King Mohammed VI ascended to the throne, and, although perhaps not all of the expectations present at the beginning of his reign have been fulfilled, society has embarked on a whole gamut of internal debates, with the aim of trying to build a new network of civil consensus. The relative freedom of the press, which would have been unthinkable 15 years ago, makes it possible to conduct incisive and intelligent social criticism by means of media such as the weekly Tel Quel, published originally in French, and now also available in Arabic, which is reminiscent of the Spanish press during the transition period.
Artists, creators and intellectuals develop initiatives, often against the trends set by institutions, which are highly relevant in the context of a gradual social and cultural transformation. An example of this is the case of the Tangiers Cinématéque, a project promoted by the artist Yto Barrada at the Cinema Rif, an old decó cinema, in the city centre, which was on the verge of being torn down, and which -thanks to her work- has become the first film archive in the country, offering film cycles, presentations featuring producers and directors, exhibitions and workshops. It also boasts a free library, and has taken on the task of storing and preserving film works. It is funded by a private association, and its main purpose is to promote Arab and Moroccan films, but it also functions as a general cultural centre. In fact, in the last few years, Moroccan cinema has experienced a period of great effervescence, with many women among its new directors, such as Farida Benlyazid, who has recently directed a Spanish-Moroccan co-production, La vida perra de Juanita Narboni [The Dog’s life of Juanita Narboni] based on the novel of the same name by the Spanish-Tangiersin author Ángel Vázquez. In the field of documentary, it is worth noting the work by Leila Kilani, whose films reveal an intense social and political criticism: in 2002 she directed Tanger, le rêve des brûleurs, in which she reflects the atmosphere in the city from the perspective of those who want to get into Europe by crossing the Gibraltar Strait; and in 2008 she made Nos lieux interdits, in which she gave a voice to the memory of the repression during the leaden years under the rule of Hassan II. Emigration, and the problems it has caused, has given rise to DOSSIER · ARTECONTEXTO · 11
LAMIA NAJI Coleurs Primaires, 2004. Video still. Courtesy: Lamia Naji.
many visual reflexions. A few years ago, the artist and professor of the Tetuan Fine Arts School, Abdelkrim Ouazzani, led the project Pateras de la vida [Pateras of Life which was presented in Spain (or, more specifically, Malaga), though it did not attract much media attention. The project consisted of an intervention on pateras (small boats used by immigrants) produced by artists from both sides of the Gibraltar Strait. The Swiss artist and curator Ursula Biemann, produced an incisive exhibition and publication which functioned as study platforms entitled The Maghreb Connection (2006), where she inserted, along with other works, Yto Barrada’s The Strait Project, which was produced in Tangiers, on the basis of photographs depicting the various sides of the city, at each stage of the journey through the Strait. Beyond this project, her photographs can be found in the parks where immigrants sleep, in the ferries crossing the Strait toward Algeciras, among the tobacco sold by street vendors and on the sides of buses. The work by Yto Barrada has gained great poetic depth thanks to her interest in visually analysing the city of Tangiers from every perspective, and can be placed alongside the abovementioned documentary by Leila Kilani and the novel Partir [Leaving], by Tahar Ben Jelloun. The unstoppable touristic development of Tangiers, which now 12 · ARTECONTEXTO · DOSSIER
includes a free commerce area next to the airport, and which also expects to boast a huge commercial port in the next few years, has been examined by Barrada in the project Grand Royal Turismo, a sculptural model of a leisure development which also features game elements such as electrically-powered cars. In 1999, the Villa des Arts in Casablanca presented the exhibition El objeto desorientado en Marruecos [The Disoriented Object in Morocco], under the guidance of Jean Louis Froment, it showed the work by young artists who, from the perspective of aesthetics, conducted a reinterpretation of the day-to-day object, taking into account the way art has emerged from traditional Moroccan culture, by means of the quotidian and ornamentation. The proposals made it possible to glimpse a new, budding generation, beyond paints and canvas. Among them, it is worth noting the installation by mounir fatmi1, Liasons et déplacements [Relationships and Displacements], which consisted of several pieces of luggage for six people, featuring six compartments and six pairs of handles, but with different destination labels, highlighting the elements of emigration and exile which are shared, as well as those which are not. On the other hand, Younes Rahmoun’s bookshelves full of kitchen utensils, heaters, tagine pots
YOUNÈS RAHMOUN Ifrise, 2000. Ateliers d’Artistes, Marseille. Courtesy of the artist.
and wicker breadbaskets, pay homage to the value and meaning of craftsmanship as an object, as something venerated and appreciated rather than “found”. This same show featured a piece by Hicham Benohoud entitled Tapis de priére, in which the idea of the carpet is used to bring together different interpretations of life, symbolism and religion (carpets are used to pray in the Islamic tradition), and which featured several sheets of grass as a literal metaphor of the territory delimited by the carpet itself. Benohoud is an artist who has gradually broken away from photographic conventions, making use of conceptual strategies. In his photography series La salle de classe, produced when he was an art teacher at a Marrakech school, his students staged -in Absurdist aesthetics- transformation of the space, (by piling up the desks or moving objects around), with the aim of exploring reality in different ways. In latter projects he used portraits of people’s backs, thousands of passport photographs, emphasising self-referentiality, and distorted self-portraits featuring objects and his own naked body. It is particularly worth noting the series of self-portraits which were folded over until the artist’s head disappeared. Lamia Naji also examines self-referentiality, but from a poetic and
autobiographical perspective, with intensely narrative visual fragments which speak of complementary elements: memory and absence, transit and travel, abandonment and re-encounters. Her images construct an itinerary for a personal life experience. One of her most solid works is the video Couleurs primaires (2004), which she filmed in black and white in night-time and interior locations, and where shadows take on an important role. She combines shots of gnawa musicians2 with a techno soundtrack, which easily fits the rhythm of the images, establishing a consistent fusion between tradition and modernity, which is, as it happens, the best way to describe the current Moroccan situation. * Santiago B. Olmo is an art critic and exhibition curator NOTES 1 The artist has chosen to write his name in lower-case letters. 2 Gnawa music is known for its strong percussion rhythm, and originated in the SubSaharan communities which settled in the south of Morocco in the Middle Ages, and which used music as a way to go into a mystic trance. In the same way, techno music activates a cathartic experience in the listener.
DOSSIER · ARTECONTEXTO · 13
ROMAN ONDÁK
Loop, 2009. Courtesy: Gb Agency, Janda Gallery Johnen Gallery. Photo: Pedro Medina
MONA HATOUM
Hot Spot I, 2006, in Interior Landscape.
Courtesy: Fondazione Querini Stampaglia. Photo: Pedro Medina.
30 · ARTECONTEXTO
FIONA TAN
Disorient, 2009. Courtesy: Government of The Netherlands. Photo: Pedro Medina.
MONA HATOUM
Impenetrable, 2009, in Interior Landscape.
Courtesy: Fondazione Querini Stampaglia. Photo: Pedro Medina.
La Biennale di Venezia. 53 Exposizione Internazionale d’Arte
Making Worlds Biennial and Crime PEDRO MEDINA *
We live in a time which is difficult to map. Not too long ago, biennials provided ways to review the trends of the day, but now all we do is attend the huge soiree that is the Venice Biennial. This is a model that seems to be exhausted, but to which we all resort, like collectors who seek the extremes of reality in a single place. This microcosm, however, is no longer used as a way to analyse the world, a task which until a few years ago seemed unavoidable by artists, and has instead become an approximative and superficial cumulus of positions which respond more to political than to artistic reason, and where eclecticism has become the sign of an era without a clear paradigm. Despite this, we should expect more from a biennial such as this: a hypothesis or interpretative approach to what is happening. If curiosity has not disappeared, it requires a space for observation designed to establish connections between the forms and experiences of reality. However, Daniel Birnbaum’s spectacle is something different, as he stated prior to the Biennial’s inauguration: “I do not believe in movements and trends; they exhaust me. I am only interested in individual things”. This year’s title, Making Worlds, seemed to hold the promise of a dimension in which the artwork would be aimed toward the process of praxis. However, the title is not as meaningful as the sum of the translations of that same sentence, with which Birnbaum attempts to convey a sense of diversity. All discourses sketch a journey, and, in this case, it begins with Yona Friedmann, whose work includes a huge blimp, reminiscent of Peter Cook; Utopia, however, no longer seems possible. Friedmann could have triggered an idea, but he only leads to an empty accumulation, a showcase which is incapable of constructing a narrative or pointing in any direction. We could have saved ourselves
the trip to the exhibition, by reading the work of Nelson Goodman, who would help us understand that “making” always entails a remaking with regards to issues of Modernity; this in itself is more than Birnbaum has to say. There are some coincidences, though, such as an unusual revisiting of the 1970s; but, all in all, Birnbaum’s exhibition is founded on merely prescribed formulas, ostracising documentary and archival proposals, which only proves his willingness to remove art from the world, as if it were a separate sphere. But not all is chaos, and there are some consoling oases, such as the piece by Joan Jonas, which poetically narrates the story of artistic creation, its traces and gestures, following in Dante’s footsteps; or the piece by Tomás Saraceno, which probably constitutes the Biennial’s monumental image, and is the best way of visualising the creation of marvellous and empty worlds. In addition to these pieces, we find Tony Conrad’s fragile paintings-films, which are slightly transformed when exposed to light; the animated piece by Nathalie Djurberg, rather than her installation; the relationship between Simon Starling’s kinetic sculpture and the production forms described by the film; and the sound piece by Roberto Cuoghi on the space planned by Scarpa, which covers the popular Chinese song Mei Gui using recycled instruments. In fact, this was the song which appeared in the film The Pillow Book, by Peter Greenaway, who is presenting The Wedding at Cana, by Veronese, at the Fundazione Cini, in what is the third multimedia homage to nine masterpieces. This is one of the productions that stand out during the futile journey through the pavilions which are dotted around the city, and further confirms the trend towards the visual spectacle. However, it is worth seeing the landscape created by Martin Boyce in the Scotland Pavilion, where ARTECONTEXTO · 35
nature is tamed to become geometry; the enveloping installation by Dario Milana, at the Scuola della Misericordia; or the Palestinian proposal, a duplicate of which has been shown in its home country, which reflects of the use of the media, stereotypes and the necessary cultural currents that flow through Venice. As well as some other pieces which we will mention later, it is at the Giardini where we find the most interesting artworks, such as that by the Dutch artist Fiona Tan, which offers an extraordinary contrast between the vision of today’s world (following in the steps of Marco Polo) and the spaces for intimacy; the proposal by Roman Ondak, which transports the flora from the Giardini to the inside of the CzechSlovak pavilion, as if it were a continuation of the building, erasing the walls around it. The Danish contribution, as well as that by other Nordic countries, offers an unusual continuity between art, the real estate market and the inhabitable space, while Guests, by the Polish artist Krzystof Wodiczko, could, at first sight, convey a sensationalist meaning, yet in fact gives an interesting insight into the figure of emigrants. That is pretty much it, apart from projects such as that by Patricia Rivadeneira for the IILA, a few pieces from Unconditional Love and a large dose of egotism in the national pavilions. However, apart from these isolated works, the Biennial displays a striking tendency to reflect on the exhibition space itself, either in terms of the interventions upon it, its actual nature as an event, and the difficulty of taking in so many pieces in the frenzy of each biennial. The interpretation of such meaningful spaces as those in Venice oscillates between events which take place in parallel to the Biennial, dragged along by its glamour, such as L’Anima dell’Acqua [The Soul of Water], at Ca’ d’Oro, which, regardless of the originality of the argument, are perceived more as an intrusion than as a dialogue. On the other hand, Mona Hatoum’s excellent Interior Landscape, at the Fondazione Querini Stampaglia, gives rise to a necessary puzzlement, and is integrated in the museistic space, successfully giving rise to a tension which seeks a new world project. Perhaps one of the most significant coincidences is the way several pieces lay their gaze on the Biennial itself, as can be seen in the works by Steve McQueen, in the United Kingdom Pavilion, which offer a slow and poetic narrative of abandonment; along with a more personal and suggestive perspective, by Dominique GonzalezFoerster. In this way, an essential question arises on the meaning and construction process of these structures once the Biennial is over. This leads us more to a process than to a space, as analysed by Marina Nebbiolo in her study of the Biennial’s impact. In this way, the website www.rebiennale.org examines this activity and presents projects to recycle the material which is rendered useless after the Biennial. The figures on the 11th Architecture Biennial are tremendously revealing, suggesting the need to many improvements. We will undoubtedly have to look at ReMakeWorlds 2009, which nods at Birnbaum’s title, taking it more seriously. It is precisely in these fringe spaces that we find an interesting field, linked to research, which takes a look at the latest technologies. However, it is often difficult to show these projects in this context. This 36 · ARTECONTEXTO
is the case of one of the best of these: the Catalonia Pavilion, which combines discourse and up-to-the-minute issues with a transparent process applied by the Guide of Good Practices, and where we witness a profound reflection on the res communis, a category which includes all that can be shared in the world. From the magnificent work by Pedro G. Romero on sacramental iconoclasty to the revealing macro-archive by Daniel García Andújar, we find a field of analysis which has generated not a catalogue, but a group of essays which reflect on the transformation of our day-to-day experience. The problem, however, is that this exhibition requires more time than the average Biennial visitor can spare. Even so, it reveals the relevance of an encyclopaedic spirit which conceives reality as an archive in the making, and which is open to new platforms. In this sense, it is worth mentioning the first Internet Pavilion (www.padiglioneinternet.com), created by Milton Manetas, who has also contributed to incursions on the physical space, such as those conducted during the first few days of the Biennial, with the Swedish group Pirate Bay (www.embassyofpiracy.org), which despite being found guilty of copyright infringement, continue to make trouble, from their seat at the European Parliament as well. Internet is no longer considered a mere communication tool, but has become a coexistence space where it is not files that are exchanged, but culture, becoming the habitat of new idealists with an intensely inventive character. Lastly, this edition of the Biennial has institutionalised names such as Yoko Ono, John Baldessari, Bruce Nauman and Emilio Vedova, as well as François Pinault, given that marketing criteria prevails, and it is a well-known fact that Venice is an excellent showcase to display modernities. It is because of this that the Punta della Dogana was one of the epicentres of luxury. The search for media attention and Venetian glamour has given rise to new pavilions, such as the one of the Arab Emirates, which only lacks a travel agency, as well as Chile, Montenegro, Gabon, Monaco, and even Catalonia and Murcia. These new spaces are almost always designed to inflate the ego of whichever artist, curator or politician happens to be around. All of this contributes to an atmosphere of decadence which conceals its fractures with masks, just like the Viennese waltzes composed after the empire’s downfall. Therefore, a final assessment could well coincide with the sensation conveyed by the piece on Pasolini by Alfredo Jaar: one has to look at reality and make new worlds, because there is a lot which needs changing, although, unfortunately, as the years go by, we still face the same problems, and today we are more exposed than ever, because few raise their voice in the way Pasolini did. Ultimately, there is a chance for salvation: to interpret this Biennial as an open system, one which is just as fragmented as the society to which it belongs—an era with no fixed boundaries—disoriented and confused. Of course, this would be a perfect excuse to justify the spectacle that is the current art system, which has become a game where responsibility does not play any part. * Pedro Medina is an art critic and Cultural Area Director at the IED Madrid.
PETER GREENAWAY
FIONA TAN Disorient, 2009. Courtesy: The Netherlands government.
Le Nozze di Cana, 2009. Courtesy: Fondazione Cini. Photo: Pedro Medina.
IVÁN NAVARRO
Death Row, 2006. Photo: Pedro Medina.
ARTECONTEXTO · 37
CIBERCONTEXTO
Artists and Spaces in Motion By Elena González González
For years, there have been many important institutions, both private and public, devoted to contemporary art in Morocco. However, only recently have artists been able to find spaces in which to develop and show their projects. It is undoubtable that the Moroccan visual arts scene is in crescendo, indicating that many artists exhibit their work in Morocco before going abroad, something which only a few years ago was not possible, simply because there was no interest in these expressions. The average Moroccan artist is increasingly versatile, producing work using a wide range of formats and techniques, from video to photography, installation and performance. Because of the lack of spaces, and a resistance to change on the part of the Moroccan
cultural administration, which tends to favour less risqué proposals, artists and critics themselves have taken on the task of creating multi-purpose spaces which can be shaped to their needs and interests. By lending their support to the new generations, they also promote an atmosphere of reflection and debate, which is urgent and necessary but still not enough. These are the people who use the internet to offer the scarce information available regarding the country’s art practices. Although there are not many Web-specific art projects produced in Morocco, this search has focused on spaces, collectives and other groups whose activities contribute to strengthening contemporary Moroccan culture.
Independent spaces The space La Source du Lion (www.lasourcedulion.org) began its activities in 2005, although the initiative of generating a new flow of collective projects in Casablanca had first emerged ten years earlier, thanks to the artist Hassan Darsi, who, along with the art director Florence Renault and another group of artists, promoted a way of working based on art’s social role. Their projects encouraged artists and communities to come together by means of interventions in public spaces, which are now available online. On the other hand, L’appartement 22 (www.appartement22.com) is a small but dynamic space based in the centre of Rabat, where a great variety of activities are organised. It is one of the many activators of the Moroccan art scene, thanks to the value it assigns to the artist’s creative process, above and beyond the final work. Its director, the critic and curator Abdallah Karroum, launched this initiative in 2002. The space recently published a catalogue detailing all of the activities carried out at L’appartement 22 between 2000 and 2008. Its website also includes archived information regarding the exhibitions and the work by artists who have taken part in its art residency programmes, but one of its most interesting sections is the visual and written chronicles of the debates and encounters organised at this space. 76 · ARTECONTEXTO
Three Outstanding Artists We have selected three artists, basing our choice not only on the quality of their visual work but also on that of their websites, where they share information on their own work, as well as on multiple discourses, interpretations, and forms of Moroccan art. We begin with Mounir Fatmi (www.mounirfatmi.com), an artist from Tangiers who trained at the Fine Arts School in Rome, and who, for many years, has lived and worked in France, where his entire professional career has been conducted. This prolific artist abandoned painting in 1993 and opted for video and installation as his usual forms of expression. His work criticises the power of the media and the control of information, and also deals with the subject of exile and the cultural conflicts within the Arab world. We continue with Younès Rahmoun (www.younesrahmoun.com), a young artist who is interested in new technologies. He has been lucky enough to find a way to stay in Morocco whilst both studying and working. His cultural heritage is clearly apparent in all of his work, which deals with issues such as spirituality and meditation. He examines these issues on the basis of compositions in which balance and simplicity prevail. Lastly, the artist Yto Barrada (www.ytobarrada.com), whose interest lies in issues such as illegal immigration and territorial problems, has set up a website which includes a large part of her work, focusing mainly on photography, and which also contains a selection of critical texts about her production.
The Tangiers Cinémathèque
http://www.cinemathequedetanger.com Set in the old Rif Cinema, this initiative is working toward the development of cinema culture in Morocco. The film archive is managed by a non-profit association, although the project was originally set up by Yto Barrada, who is still working as its director. Here, cinema-goers can enjoy high-quality films, an alternative to more commercial movies. Among its aims is that of building a collection of documentary cinema, video-art and experimental film.
Specific Training École Supérieure des Arts Visuels of Marrakech http://www.esavmarrakech.com
This school is one of the few spaces for independent training where students can take advantage of a new and multidisciplinary teaching model. It was created in December, 2007, in Marrakech, in what was a unique initiative, never attempted on the African continent, which brings together professionals working in different disciplines in order to enrich its educational programme. Its main aim is to provide tools which will help the new generation of artists and film, television and visual communication professionals. At the same time, the centre has become a cultural space open to all, with exhibitions, meetings, screenings and debates, often enjoying the presence of artists-in-residence, critics and theoreticians from all over the world. ARTECONTEXTO · 77
Thank you for reading this preview!
To read the full issue, subscribe or visit us at www.artecontexto.com