Foundational Motives / Javier Toscano Between the years of 1900 and 1986, in which Fundidora* was still active, lavish and coordinated documentation efforts were made as would be done with any other industrial specimen of such dimensions. These same efforts later shaped what then became a photographic archive that now garners a vast number of scenes from the mentioned factory. The collection remained difficult to reach while private holders owned the company, but in 1978, when Fundidora became nationalized, it turned to be of public domain. The archive was by no means a priority for the company when compared to manufacturing steel and operating monumental furnaces, which at the moment where thought as inextinguishable. But once the company´s activities ended and the factory became a public cultural asset, the archive brought to light a treasure of images that testify to the passing of time and certain historical characters. The artistic collective Colectivo Estética Unisex has come upon a large amount of materials and stories within the archive and for the past few years they have undertaken the task to understand and re-interpret them. The team has assembled montages done with astute tactics and tangential possible readings. They have created synchronic visuals with analytical value, have tracked down perceptual patterns to suggest encounters of public importance, recurrent symbols and other indications of communication that is obscured. The members of the collective often start intuitively, but soon discover complex structures in which the visual paradigm unfolds an enigma and its potential solution. In other words, unfolds resonances that magnetize each other to insinuate semiological chains in search for an origin. Colectivo Estética Unisex utilizes the images as a point of access to revive an episode of the industrial life of Fundidora, which just as a chain reaction, it has a diversified impact on the social and political life of the city of Monterrey and of Mexico. * Historical foundry and metalworks factory in Monterrey, Mexico, officially called “Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey, S. A.”, active between 1900 and 1986.
Steel: a weapon, locomotive, refrigerator, building. Hurrah for progress! / Colectivo Estética Unisex Monterrey can somehow be perceived as a great company that has the looks of a city. A defining element of the culture is a high appreciation to labor. It is common to say that the land in fact is sterile and dry, and only the perseverance of human actions had enabled the growth of this specific urban space. Work, development, progress and wealth are entrepreneurial notions that were inherited there as social values. In 2011, we began a process of research and questioning by using the photographic archive from the factory “Fundidora de Fierro y Acero de Monterrey, S. A.” (1900-1986), first iron and steel industry of Latin America and bastion of modernity in Mexico as a nation. The collection, which we found well guarded by the Fototeca de Nuevo León, comprises exceptional “archaeological” material that shows the behaviors of those men who sculpted the company with recurrent actions that revealed purposes, aspirations, missions. The project “Fundidora S. A.” reflects on the ethics and aesthetics of Latin American capitalism in modern times, focusing on: the influence of politicians supporting or rendering a company invisible, the conflicts of interest that occur within power relations, the acts of demagogy of the governmental, entrepreneurial and union leaders, the re-arrangement of authority figures, the indulgence among those subjects that had reached higher positions, the relationship between industry and banks, the official events to commemorate achievements, the control mechanisms and the acts of ascent and descent in the socio-economical ladder. Monterrey´s identity is undeniably linked to its industrial past. The photographic and documental archive of Fundidora, which today is a highly visited green and cultural area called Parque Fundidora, is the media we employed to learn about such past and later to interpret its multiple meanings.
Colectivo Estética Unisex The collective is a joint effort done by Lorena Estrada Quiroga (1970, MEX) and Futuro Moncada Forero (1971, COL). Their work has been presented in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, USA, Spain, France and Malaysia. They have been awarded with several grants such as the PECDA Monterrey (2012 and 2015), México Norte from The Tierney Family Foundation (2013), the acquisition award from the photographic salon Salón de la Fotografía de Nuevo León (2011), a special mention in the national biennial VII Bienal Nacional de Artes Visuales Yucatán (2015), the grant prize of the local exhibition contest La Reseña (2015) and a special mention in the biennial IV Bienal Ciudad Juárez - El Paso (2015). They were selected to participate in the biennales XI Bienal Femsa, XVI and XVII Bienal de Fotografía and I Bienal del Paisaje in Mexico. Colectivo Estética Unisex has exhibited solo in the Museo Carrillo Gil as part as the audio and video program, exhibition titled “Las cuatro acciones”(2016), “Monolitos” in the Alianza Francesa de Monterrey (2016) and “Fundidora S. A.” in Centro de las Artes de Nuevo León (2017). Their work was published in “Existe lo que tiene nombre. Fotografía contemporánea en México” (USA/Mexico, 2015), “Matthew Tierney Book Project. 10 Years of Tierney Fellowship” (USA, 2014), “An Eye for an Ear. Photography Open Salon” (France, 2012) and “Programa de Fotografía Contemporánea 2011” (Monterrey, 2011). http://colectivoesteticaunisex.com/
PIOLET A piolet, or wall-climbing ice pick, created by Ramón Hernández García, an ex-worker of Fundidora and member of the mountain club “Los Elefantes” which represented the company during mountain climbing national contests.
SAFETY IS FIRST “La seguridad es primero” (Safety is first) is one of the many texts written throughout the factory buildings of Fundidora to promote safety measures. They also functioned as a strategy to control and intimidate the workers. “Mientras más te cuidas, más trabajas.” (The better you take care of yourself, the more you work.) “Mientras más trabajas, más progresas. Cuídate.” (The more you work, the more you progress. Take care of yourself.) “La regla de oro de la seguridad. Sé siempre precavido y cuidadoso. No pienses en cosas ajenas a tu trabajo.” (The golden rule of safety. Always be cautious and careful. Do not think of things different from the job.) “Sus diez mejores herramientas. No hay repuestos... en existencia. Cuídate.” (Your 10 best tools. There are no replacement parts. Be careful.)
COMMEMORATIVE SEAL Seals or post stamps released by Correos de MĂŠxico (post office) to commemorate the closure of the company Fundidora. The seal shows the elephant as a symbol of the strength or power of steel, now transformed in a circus animal. It seems to foresee what would happen with the industrial buildings of Fundidora, which after many years of belonging to public domain, were transformed into private properties that host spectacle businesses.
Logo of Fundidora S. A.
ICE ELEPHANT The photographic archive of Fundidora contains several pictures of banquets that exhibit an ice elephant as center piece. It is quite a contradiction to represent the fortitude of steel, therefore the national project of modernity, as a fragile thing that melts in time.
WITH INFLUENCES Sound: Carlos Prieto in collaboration with Jorge DĂaz. Politicians and company managers are often seen imitating the physical labor of workers during official events in the Fundidora photographic archive. This demagogic practice erases and parodizes the worker figure in front of the media.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLAF6uxMrro
MINER MEMORIAL Industrial cities honor entrepreneurs, company leaders, businessmen. We propose a monument for the city of Monterrey by using an emblematic picture showing men building up steel structures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvTVLgd1bEU&t
DYSLEXIA Capital (Capital), labor (Trabajo), progress (Progreso) and expansion (Expansiรณn) are business principles that became part of the moral values and ideals of the families in Monterrey.
CHALLENGER The Challenger space shuttle completed 9 missions before disintegrating during its last travel on January 28, 1986. Coincidentally, the Fundidora company broke a few months after, on May 9. 7 crew members died during the Challenger´s last mission, putting in jeopardy the whole US space program. In the case of Fundidora, 60,000 workers found their jobs terminated and their lives greatly affected.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST I AND III The notion of conflict of interest relates to a certain loss of objectivity, impartiality and independence. Conflicts of interest cover up or protect personal benefits obtained from positions of power at the expense of public or people´s benefits.
LOAN SIGNING The constant devaluation of the Mexican Peso and other Latin American currencies forced a number of companies to close down due to the debts owed to foreign bank institutions.
APPLAUSE Readjustment of power roles among politicians belonging to different areas, who were active during the closure of Fundidora. These are: the Union of Miners leader, the candidate for governor of the State, and the CEO of the company.
THE UNION LEADER Napoleรณn Gรณmez Sada functioned as union leader of the Union of Miners during 4 decades. He was a carismatic and populist politician that belonged to the dominant party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional, PRI) of a hegemonic governmental system. He did what was necessary to keep the position as union leader and this is why he obeyed instead of resisted.
THE PRESIDENT The model represents the idea of growth in the corporate expansion scheme. During the 1970´s, the Federal Government advocated for the closing of Fundidora, which was achieved in 1986. It is one of the first glimpses of Latin American neoliberalism: Fundidora, understood as one of the first symbols of capitalism and modernity, disappeared as consequence of the neo-liberal practices that were affecting State companies across the globe.
THEORY OF THE LAND History of the city.
THE PARK, TAKEN Security wall: a barrier with restricted gates that separates private from public spaces.
MELTING POT Music: Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Morning / Insen Right- Container made of special materials that allow for the melting of metals at very high temperatures. Left- Industrial era relic from Fundidora turned into a fountain in the present Parque Fundidora.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiWofkVmLjs&feature=youtu.be
FOUR ACTIONS Cuatro acciones (Four Actions) explains capitalism within the notion of modernity in Latin America. The actions are Ascending/Descending, Looking/Aiming, Shaking Hands, and Giving/ Receiving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aypBCrGnC4
TRACKS Collaboration with Javier Ramírez Limón. Worker extra, $5.06 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Worker, $4.92 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Cutter assistant, $6.10 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day / Worker extra, $4.95 per day.
PAYMENT SHEETS Payment sheets, or papers where wages are documented as received, from a worker of Fundidora in 1976 and a worker of Best Buy in 2016.
ASCEND/DESCEND Economically | Politically | Socially
UNVEILING OF PLAQUE CEREMONY Plaques are commonly uncovered during the inauguration ceremonies of new places. Before the event, the plaque must be covered at all times. A rule is that the plaque cannot be covered with the national or the company´s flag. The official ceremony is a ritual to exercise power, in these images is represented as fading with time.
1,137,836.58 SQUARE METERS Fundidora changed from being a private to a State company, and then transformed into a public park which is now a midst a privatization process. The Parque Fundidora is a place that is debated between its public aim and the privatization plans that seem to direct its future to the services, tourism and entertainment market. Presently, businesses such as concert halls, museums and galleries, an amusement park, a skating rink, a wax museum, an aviary and an interactive museum, thrive.
INFO-GRAPHIC Reality is a construction. Reality is a mix of concerns, a ball played by the claws of a cat, and the truth, the truth is a cloud of dust.
ROUNDED FORM The human hands transform.
BRIDGES Agreements, alliances, contracts, pacts.
WORKER MURAL A collaboration with ex-workers of Fundidora: Ponciano Gamez Martínez, Evaristo Hernández Duarte, Manuel Mercado Mercado, Efrén Rangel Silva, Emilio Gamez Martínez, Antonio Hernández García, Rogelio García Ramos, Manuel Javier Martínez Pecina, José Armando Ramos de la Rosa, Ramón Hernández García and Felipe Marines Castor. Helmet on, past workers. Helmet off, ex-workers of now.
WORKER FACES Faces of workers from Fundidora were printed and glued on some streets of Monterrey to initiate or provoke recollection about the industrial origin of the city.
EX-WORKERS REUNITE After 31 years, the ex-workers of Fundidora reunited in the context of the present exhibition to have a public conversation about their past labor conditions, production processes, union dynamics, political and community life, worker-employer relations, the closing of the company, and the ways that global economies are taking.
FOUNDATIONAL REENACTMENT Performance in which 86 actors representing the 86 years of life of Fundidora as metalworks factory, tour the premises of the Parque Fundidora dressed in suit, tie and helmet. They embody the businessmen of modern times by executing 4 actions that from our point of view, define modern capitalism: Looking/Aiming (represents the visionary businessman speculating on the future), Ascending/Descending (reflects on the ups and downs of politics, economy and social operations), Giving/Receiving (exposes capitalistic basic rituals), and Shaking Hands (symbolizes power relations).
EXHIBITION