¿How it arises the Pot/Path hole proyect? Path-holes project is born of a daily situation of the life of the city where I live: one day was walking with my grandmother along the streets of my neighborhood when she stumbled and fell of mouth to the floor. It was there where I started being aware of all the holes that existed in the path. I didn´t imagine that this experience would originate in me a process of expressive search. First of all, I believe indispensably refer to the definition of the word "pot/path-hole", since it has not been chosen eventful: Pot/path-hole m. Hole in a road or in a way. II The Current atmospheric that provokes a sudden and momentary decrease of the plane the IInd PI. Fig. Difficult moments, altibajos. In the present work I will used the term "pot-hole" in the more literal meaning, that is to say, as reference to a hollow in the way or in a path, since in the more metaphorical meaning, as reference to a process of crisis or successive changes in the order of the things. I believe that a pot-hole is at the same time empty and process. This project borns in the year 2006, at that moment of mi life I was studying in the university and in turn being employed at an art gallery called Zavaleta Lab. As I was working in an art gallery, I was questioning what incidence can have the art market and collecionism on the artistic production, beyond all the things I was asking myself how I was going to face the decision of " being an artist " and what ways I was going to choose. Having the possibility of being employed at an art gallery, made me understand many realities. When I was a child, I dreamt that I was going to exhibit my works in squares and I imagen that one day a collector was going to come and would say to me that he wanted to be my patron. Obviously this did not happen, and I never exposed my works in a square. On the contrary, I was working in a gallery, an enclosed space, a little bit dead and sacred. By then, I remember in college we were studying different artists who performed in public interventions (Greco, Bony, Grippo, Minujin, etc.).. This new format struck me, and I guess somehow I managed to appropriate it. Today there are so many tools to express that it is important to choose with which ones work and what materials to use to express my ideas in the most authentically as possible. In fact, the Path- holes Project is a research that connects painting, drawing, photography, performance and sculpture. Path Holes project began in 2006 and extends to the present. In regard to the decisions needed to be develop and take shape, this work has taken me a long time, but not only at a practical level. During the last years, I worked at the service of authentic feeling of the need to continue to deploy the project, seamlessly and for very short periods. Therefore, this paper is organized into chapters, which correspond to the stages of project implementation. In each chapter, the intention is to move through the different questions that arose and continue to emerge in the process of my work.
CHAPTER 1 1.1 Step No. 1. year 2006 At first, I decided to research the gaps in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA): how they were, where they were, how long they were there without them being repaired. Firstly, despite I daily move along through the city, I pay special attention to those holes that stand in the sidewalk and pedestrian traffic and I noticed the neglect level that suffered Buenos Aires city. The bumps were too many and the idea of arranging even a single block was almost impossible, so I decided to limit my research in my own neighborhood, Colegiales (College), where I live and walk in the streets daily. This decision help me to study and see what would be happening during my interventions. Secondly, I decided that my research would focus on the bumps located on sidewalks, not only because I identified with the deterioration of pedestrian rights, but also because there are many schools in Colegiales, nursing homes and institutions for people with disabled. Cololegiales, is in the CABA and understands the limits: Alvarez Thomas Avenue, Forest Avenue, The Incas Avenue, Elcano, Cramer, Virrey del Pino, Cabildo Avenue, Jorge Newbery, Cramer, Dorrego Avenue. (See map below.)
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Colegiales (College) district map, C.A.B.A, Argentina .
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http: //www.datacap.com.ar/barrios/colegiales.htm
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My first task at this stage was to find out who was responsible for these holes I saw daily in my travels. I approached the center of Colegiales´ Quarter Ombudsman, located at 771 Delgado Street, and was told that the sidewalks were an ambiguous territory, that while the City Government could be causing these holes, the cause could be from different private companies as electricity, water or gas, or maybe even the frontage owner (the citizen). That is, the responsibility fell on all, it was shared responsibilities, which often means that no 3 one assumes the duty to resolve the problem. From this information I decided to signal some bumps in the road pavement with yellow paint, the same that is used to define the street. The idea was to make a call, bringing the empty ..
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http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/6752/mapacapitalfederalwz3.gif Each lane frontage should be maintained in good condition, and if that is due to deterioration caused by third parties, must make the appropriate report to the head in charge of fixing them. 3
Intervention. Road marking paint made with yellow. Location: corner of Avenida Federico Lacroze and Cramer. Neighborhood Colegiales (College). C.A.B.A. Time reference: August 25, 2006 Photographic Record: Nicholas Novali, with the collaboration of Florencia Almiron.
However, when I made my performing actions, passersby often kept walking as if nothing happened and I discovered that in this city I could do whatever I want, because probably very few people notice. The indifference caused me some sadness and made me feel unsafe because it was clear there was no one who takes care of Colegiales (College) streets. But I also began to enjoy this freedom ... nobody stop me to paint the bumpy sidewalks. Despite the indifference, some people stopped to talk with me. I think this is one of the most enjoyable stage of my work process, as I can interact directly with the viewer. I like to see their reactions, what they think about my “ilegal” action. At first, painting the bumps at night was the best choice. First of all because I didn´t want to avoid or interrump pedestrians flow, also because it was quieter. Moreover, I didn´t want police to see me, because obviously I was intervening public space without permission of the state. However, many times it happened that the police saw me while doing the actions, but even for them, I was indifferent. Roland Barthes argues that "social space is what allows that to happen 4 new shares, while suggesting another and prohibits others ..." I went to paint many times, in some cases went out alone and recorded everything with my camera, and I called my friends that help me to film and keep me company. My first fantasy at this stage of the project was to paint all the holes I could found in Colegiales (College) district. But I knew I needed a specific type of paint, and also I knew it have to stay for a longer time. That is why I decided to use yellow road paint, yellow, which represented many benefits. On the one hand, the color is commonly used for urban signage of all kinds: a call to the motorist and pedestrian traffic rules about. On the other hand, is much denser, thicker and longer than other paints. Finally, the intense and brilliant yellow color attracted me a lot because in this period of work color was really very important. Researching on the Internet I learned that the yellow color has different meanings and I found one with which I could really identify, largely because of the close relationship it had with me at that moment I was living. Inquiring about the chakra ´s science, the yellow chakra is like eddies knew spherical in the body that act as transmitters of energy and influence in our activity in the physical plane. We assume that each chakra of the body is a different color, and yellow corresponds to the third chakra: "To the ordinary man the third chakra is the seat of personality. It is the place where social identification is confirmed and treats himself by personal strength, the will and aspiration 5 performance of power, or by adapting to social norms. ... ". 4
Corbeira,Dario,Construir o Reconstruir Textos sobre Gordon Matta - Clark, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, página 114. España. “el espacio social es lo que permite que sucedan acciones nuevas, a la vez que sugiere otra y prohíbe otras más…”. 5 http://centrosdeenergia.blog.dada.net/post/814126/TERCER+CHAKRA+-+AMARILLO(color amarillo)
After a while, one of the holes that had marked was repaired. The images that we see here are photographic records of the corner Federico Lacroze Avenue and Cramer Street at Colergiales (Colleger) railway station, where marked potholes were filled. Instead of simply replacing the tiles they filled them with cement.
The hole signposted was filled with cement. Copper lid was removed from the site and replaced with a concrete slab. Location: Frederico Lacroze Avenue and Cramer. Neighborhood Colegiales (College). C.A.B.A. Time reference: Bump was painted on September 1, 2006 and returned to be completed in 2009. Photographic record: Fernanda Vilella
Despite this actions, very few of the potholes i have painted had been. I started doubting whether it affected someone, if what i was making was really remarking something, i was asking
myself if pedestrians noticed this warning to avoid a stumble, but despite my hesitations I decided to follow my path. 1.2 Conclusion Stage No. 1 At this stage of the project I discovered a great freedom. On the newspapers and the tv news they are always talking about the fear that argentinean citizens lives on the street, the insecurity, the possibility of being robbed or killed. I know that that happens, but also my I learnt about what was happening, meeting people, both indifference and curiosity. For a moment, I put aside the idea of the artwork within an institution that gives a value for the art market, and went to public space. Once in the street, I found myself acting on the margins of illegality, but I was always clear that what I was doing was not immoral. I was only remarking a problem, and it does not harm anyone. I also learned to appreciate the presence of my friends and people who accompanied me in my search. CHAPTER 2 2.1 Step No. 2. year 2007 In 2007 I had quit my job at the gallery and I was worried about the issue enough all the effort that an artist makes to get to showcase their work, I was disappointed with this world, marketing, dealing with artists, collectors, and contracts between the gallery and the artists that didn`t exist. Everything was a lie. I had grown up in a world that taught me in the theory, of how things should be and work, but slowly I discovered that in practice, everything was different. All this made me grow up and rethink how I wanted to drive in this system, which at one time hoped would give me the opportunity to submit, but I would do it my way, in a different way. I also learned to question certain systems of legitimation of art, to question where I was going, where to point my compass and how I was going to get there. At the same time, I was finishing my studies at university IUNA (National College of Art) and I began working on a new gallery, Insight arte. It was the second art gallery where I worked, and I was concerned enough of what I would live as an artist, which today remains a question. I understood the art market, but even today I still do not understand what is the value of an art work, if it lose or not its function once it is sold, if art has to have a function or meaning, or if it is merely decorative work. What is art?, For whom?, what does it mean to exhibit in an art gallery or in a museum? What is the role of a curator? To whom it is intended? It is intended to someone? From these questions, I find illuminating two quotes that refer to the work of art in the museum context: "We can refer to the internal architecture of a painting or any work of art ... However, the work of art only exists, can only be viewed in the context of the museum or gallery to which it is intended and that without however, no special attention " “Podemos referirnos a la arquitectura interna de un cuadro o de cualquier obra de arte…No obstante, la obra de arte solo existe, solo puede ser vista, en el contexto del museo o la galería 6 a los que va destinado y a los que, sin embargo, no se presta especial atención” For its part, Corbeira states that "the museum and gallery, as particularized manifestations of social relationships, participate in shaping the reception of the work of art through an often imperceptible web of political, cultural and economic" . “no el museo y la galería, como manifestaciones particularizadas de la relación social, participan en la configuración de la recepción de la obra de arte a través de una trama a menudo imperceptible de intereses 7 políticos, culturales y económicos”
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Corbeira,Dario,Construir o Reconstruir Textos sobre Gordon Matta - Clark, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, página 109. España. 7 Corbeira,Dario,Construir o Reconstruir Textos sobre Gordon Matta - Clark, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, página 109. España.
In response to this artistic paradigm and many other issues, in 2007 Doris Salcedo, Colombian artist, exhibited her work in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern Museum with her intervention called Shibboleth, to which the artist referred to by saying "So, Shibboleth is a critique of art, art 8 history, museum and, of course, society in general ".
Doris Salcedo Shibboleth 2007 9 Image: Tate Modern Museum.
Salcedo, by breaking the floor of the space, is talking of a rupture, a cut, a vacuum. With this exhibition the artist makes the viewer lower your head, look at the crack, notice the signs. In my interpretation, the museum as a space of legitimation has a crack, leak and needs to be rethought . On the other hand, Gordon Matta Clark interventions performed in different buildings signals from holes created in the architectural structures that are in a state of neglect and about to be demolished. Matta Clark redefines an abandoned building that is about to be demolished by cutting and creating a new space from the holes. From the cuts he made, Gordon removes the parts, and preserved them as a memory, a memory of something that is gone. Once these pieces are exhibited in a museum, they take on a new meaning. Corbeira Dario, in his book on Gordon Matta Clark, says: "The goal of the psychology of Gordon´s art is to endorse what was uninhabited. He worked in ancient buildings, neighborhoods that have been abandoned. He takes care for a building that had lost its soul " “La meta psicología del arte de Gordon consistía en hacer suyo lo deshabitado. Trabajaba en edificios antiguos, barrios en situación de abandono. Cuidaba de un edificio que había perdido 10 su alma”.
8 http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_7035000/7035694.stm 9 http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/dorissalcedo/default.shtm
Gordon Matta-Clark (b. 1943, New York; d. 1978, New York) Office Baroque, 1977 Parquet wood flooring, drywall, and wood with Cibachrome print on masonite Photo: 30 x 20 in.; floor: 15 3/4 x 59 x 90 1/2 in. The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles Partial and promised gift of Blake Byrne
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Although during the development of my project I did not know the works of Salcedo and Matta Clark, now I not only sympathize with them but I think they have been essential for me to understan my own work. You could say that what unites them is the vacuum as a starting point, and depending on a sign, which may be existing or created. In my case, the holes are there, I only remark them to create estrangement, since we get used to live with them. As for my project, my first step was remarking to change. After all these questions, I thought to make the Memory of a slump, and after obtaining it, fix it. I named “Memory of a pot-hole” to the negative of the selected hole vacuum. This type of treatment is related to Rachel Whiteread´s work, British sculptor whose work is manifested in their particular vision of everyday objects, which she reinvented using the technique of 11
http://www.moca.org/pc/viewArtWork.php?id=42
"emptying of what we see." Rachel Whiteread vacuum molded inside the object, and asserts that his work "is similar to making a death mask of ancient Rome, a solid representation of death." He adds: "I am in you I've reversed your mark. You are exactly what has been missing since the time you just fit into the mold in which I have become. "“Yo soy el tú en el que me he revertido, tu huella. Tú eres exactamente lo que desaparecido desde el momento en que sólo 12 tu encajarías en el molde en que yo me he convertido ”. In 1993 she attracted attention with her work called “House”, it was the perfect negative of a three floor Victorian house located in a London neighborhood, the idea was to create traces of interior space... “it involved making a cast of an entire house, one of a terrace in the East End of London that had been scheduled for demolition. House was completed in October that year, and it became one of the great artistic causes célèbres of the past 20 years, overshadowing the 13 work that had been officially nominated for the Turner prize” .
Rachel Whiteread House, 1993 Ubicación: Esquina de Grove Road y droman Road, Londres E3. (Obra destruida, 1994) Image: Rachel Whitread 14 Concrete .
I started to get the memory of a bump, but I had several complications. I ´ve had done some quite precarious tests, and all these frustrated me a lot because I could not get the negative. So I resolved to continue painting and remarkink the holes, but I realized that these actions no longer made sense and I had to keep trying to get the memory of a pot-hole. In that moment I wanted to be Rachael Whiteread, who uses this technique with perfect precision and handles large scales in her work. I would have liked to have financial support to carry out such
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12 Corbeira Darío, “Construir o Reconstruir”, Textos sobre Gordon Matta - Clark, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, página 129. España. 13 Charlotte Higgins, the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/sep/08/art10 14 http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2007/sep/08/art10
monumental works, but my reality was different and I had to learn to adapt to my limitations, which often means an opportunity. When I revisited the potholes that were marked with yellow paint on the previous stage, I noticed that some had been fixed, but most remained in the same conditions: full of emptiness. I wondered if I needed to fix them, this situation would you change anything? Why fix it, for what, to whom, was there any sense? Should I have to take care of sealing cracks in our argentinean reality ? On the other hand, I questioned the futility of pointing to the possibility of settling, that is, worth perhaps fix a pothole instead of pointing out many. In addition, the paint used to indicate them it was quite expensive and was possibly more effective to use my resources to fix at least one bump. So I decided to buy thevanilla type tiles and repair the potholes selected. When I started to perform the action, I was a disaster, my lack of technology was such that was was evident that I could not do this alone, and that I would need professional help. I thought hard about the tiles and the holes. Alongside Mauricio Macri(aregentinean politician) began his political management in the City of Buenos Aires and he began to fix Buenos Aires sidewalks. In his political campaign, the yellow color was used for propaganda campaign, this was one reason why I stopped using that color. I walked around the city and watched many posters with the slogan "The city works"(La ciudad trabaja). I thought that with the money the government spent on posters Macri, had been able to fix more potholes. From this I wondered about my political affinities, and if I wanted my work had to do so directly with that area. While I am aware that my work is political, I prefer to link it too with my own empties and traces. Seeing that Macri's government was working with the sidewalks, I thought I could take the project and request financial support, thus I believed that the citizens and the government could agree on certain things, and each could be charge of their own potholes. I did a project which I presented to the Management and Participation Center (CGP) that represents my neighborhood. Make an appointment with the director, Mr. Fernando Boffi, who was very nice but told me about the inability to fix it because it was illegal, while the jurisdiction of each hole corresponded to different persons or entities. In turn, I presented another project in which he proposed to point out the bumps with yellow paint in order to attract the attention of the frontage and invite them to fix their sidewalk. I was interested to hear all the voices of this shared problem,the project would include a quiz to find out what they thought of this conflict. In short, I wanted to find a way, within the legal range in which the bumps may be arranged between government and citizen. Once I presented the project it had been was rejected, and again returned to frustrate me. In early 2008 I decided to take a more active position even though it was illegal. Although I was uncomfortable, I needed to cross the border of legality sure to start acting, which led to the stage # 3. 2. 2 Conclusions Stage No. 2 During this period I stopped marking the holes with yellow paint because if not my work was going to be anchored directly to the Mauricio Macri´s propaganda and that was not my first intention. I discovered that I must find a way to solve the conflict, and in turn register through an artistic movement, I wanted to register my point of view of a contemporary to my time and context. In the search for the possibility of resolving the conflict, tried to communicate with the government to see if they could reach to an agreement, but it was difficult. Perhaps the way that I had proved to be heard was not the most appropriate. At the end of this stage, my father had been discovered cancer, and these gaps were related to my life. How to fix something that I could not take charge, even though everything was still trying to fix it, everything was in vain.
CHAPTER 3 3.1 Step No. 3. year 2008 As in the previous stage I had found some blind alleys, I began to try other logs and other materials. Attempted use irony as a means of communication, and I thought fill the potholes of dyed blue water, recreating a kind of small urban lakes with sailing paper boats in it. The photographs below are records of these tests:
Intervention with colored water and paper boats on different paths College Quarter. Location: Cramer Street. Neighborhood Colegiales (College). C.A.B.A. 2700 Time reference: year 2008 Photographic register: Cecilia Larroude
Pot hole intervention. Water and paper boats Location: Moldes Street 900.Colegiales (College neighborhood) Reference time: Year 2008 Photographic register: Fernanda Vilella
Pot hole intervention. Blue water dyed with paint. Location: Moldes Street 900.Colegiales (College neighborhood) Reference time: Year 2008 Photographic register: Fernanda Vilella
After these experiences, I was not satisfied: it was a waste to spend so much water, plus the fact that people go through there and warned not to imply the possibility of getting wet and dyed pants. My expression could go unnoticed and ended up injuring bystanders. I also thought in making big bubbles made in polystyrene, cardboard and glued paper so that grow from the inside of the bumps, but not terms of interest because they disrupt the pace, and also the bump and tried to point out the conflict that would be unnoticed in front of the sculpture that would result from this speech. On the other hand, I discussed the possibility of filling the holes with cement and building blocks of about one meter in height so that directly interrupt the street, but it seemed useless because once again achieved all that was detrimental to pedestrian and exacerbate their anger.
Still looking for a way to communicate my ideas. Research a glow paint that glows in the dark but they were so expensive that it was not feasible. So I kept walking and watching what I had in my way. Pay attention to the way people fix the potholes in their path and made a record of the variety of tiles that exist in this city: there are all types and shapes, and noticed that when the frontage is responsible for arranging their holes , each using the tile you want and how you can solve the problem. So I decided to make my own tiles, as were researched and bought the materials. I started my adventure believing I have the title of master builder, I mix with sand, cement and water, I managed to regulate the quantities and using the spatula in the way a professional would. Once achieved the mix, I built a wooden frame and poured the mixture into one. Then, I waited until it dried to cut the resulting block and extract various parts of the measure necessary to function as tile. In this process, I discovered that ferrite and binder could dye the top of the tiles, and avoid buying this painting technique. Then you can see the result of this practice:
yellow brick Cement, Sand, Water, Ferrite 2007 Fernanda Vilella
When I finally got the tiles that needed to be placed in the path broken, I take back the initiative. I come to realize that I was opposed to this resolution of the conflict. For now, fix the potholes on my own was not a sustainable activity since my financial resources were not enough to amend the amount of holes that were at least on the sidewalks of my neighborhood. In addition, I discovered that the arrangement of the paths had a very specific technical know because a misplaced tile can generate, for example in a rainy day, people step on and get wet. In addition, it causes the rest of the tiles fall off, which would generate a bump getting bigger. As a result, I returned to the method of observation, and noticed that some neighbors solved the problem by filling the holes with cement. While at first glance seem large tiles, I noticed that in fact the holes were covered entirely with cement, but with the subtlety of which they drew lines that mimic the perimeter of the tiles. This solution seemed perfect. I decided I would use cement, noble material, and that if I could give it some texture gave so it won´t be slippy. The following photos show the tests performed:
Pothole selected to be filled. Filling the gap. Location: Av Federico Lacroze 2700 Materials: Sand, cement, water, ferrite and broken tiles. Photographic Record: Patricia Legarretta Time reference: year 2008
Pothole filled. Materials: cement, broken tiles, sand,water, yellow ferrite Year reference:2008 Photografic register: Patricia Legarretta
Meanwhile, continued my foray into institutional sectors. Attempted communicate with different entities in my neighborhood, either nursing homes, schools, special education, etc.. I seek different support to help me find a solution. Presented a paper written and turned to have several meetings with the director of the CGP in my neighborhood to see if they could do something about it, but again to no avail.
3.2 Conclusions Stage No. 3 At the end of this period many things happened to me. While in the earlier stages the idea of the Memory of a bump was my plan, by the end of the third stage had not yet been materialized. I needed time to mature and knowledgeable about the technique entailed by it. Anyway I discovered along the way, not without amazement, that each manages its pot-holes as you can. At times I perceive this gesture as something very personal, ie, creativity and limited resources to support the resolution of a problem. It was a great learning experience. On the other hand, I had resigned Insight arte, I had exposed a series of drawings in the gallery where I worked and did not want to mix things up. Or I was working on an artist or in a gallery. In parallel I was organizing, along with a friend and artist GradĂn Lucila, a new way to present and interact with other artists. Lucila Gradin and I exhibited in Peru and we discovered that when it comes art called "Latin American", there was very little of what we thought was real. Today we hear much about Latin American art but we realized that there was no real dialogue between the artists of this source. This concern led us to create a group of artists interested in dialogue and in building a different way to present our work. The idea was to connect, help, exchange views and, at best, self-managed to expose with not curators involved. In this period we connect with artists interested in our proposal and began to organize an exhibition, with all that it implied, that is, predisposed to contact with sponsors to fund the project we were creating. It was tough because, besides we were not sure how to realize this project, we could not find investors to support us. Finally we apply the National Funds for the Arts and got a scholarship that would help us to do the project. My father had died. Consequently, or not, my work began to take another look. My outlook on life, meaning, the idea of protection, etc.. I was mistaken. And among those confusions everything in my life seemed to take a new direction.
CHAPTER 4 4.1 Step No. 4. year 2009 In the month of March we inaugurated the exhibition Artists in Latin America (ALA). That is, the project had begun in late 2008 was to realize on 26 March, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. By this time I continued to work on the bumps, thinking and analyzing what I wanted to explain and show, how it would all work done so far. Started in 2009, and after three years of research, I realized that during the formal search for finding the adecuate materials I forgot where I was going. When walking I concentrated on the bumps, and adopted a position quite limited, such as one takes when walking with his head down. From seeing so much trees I forgot the forest. I had to lift my head and feel in the course. Anyway, I knew I needed to find again my way, the only way I could develop my work was creating it. The date was approaximating to the exhibition´s oppening, so I decided I was going to present the record of the bumps under which corresponded to the first round. I decided to make an intervetion from Amenåbar Street to Lacroze Avenue, it was my way to the supermarket, in LacrozeStree with Conesa Street. It was a very very short trip, however there was an amount of about 20 holes. My idea was to fix the holes in the same way as do some neighbors, as they could. Making a mixture of cement, sand and water and draw the lines to look like tiles. When I decided to carry out this idea, I set out to do a survey of the potholes, by this time knew them well, and I noticed that were still visible traces of the first interventions paint marked in 2006. Here you can see these remnants:
Photographic record of intervention in 2006. Time reference: year 2010 Photographic record: Fernanda Vilella
In the period in I decided to do the intervention and implementing it, something unexpected happened. Telecom, a provider of communication services, broke many of the paths of travel that had been selected to implement tasks of improving their service. The problem was that after finishing this work, they left without fixing the sidewalks for over one year. The sidewalks were worse than they were, and no one knew when they would fix them. Unfortunately I do not have state registration of these this time. Only in March 2010 arranged part of that journey. The picture below is the record of the settlement of one of the paths:
Potholes in front of the supermarket Location: 2842 Lacroze Avenue Time reference: year 2008 Photographic Record: Fernanda Vilella
This in turn out to other new situations. First of all, my plan to fix the sidewalks because they apparently did not make sense, that work had been done. However, the same day as the sidewalks fixed I observed a large hole in the corner of Federico Lacroze Avenue and Conesa Street, in front of the way that I had originally selected. Half a block from this place is a school for children with motor disabilities, AEDIN, and in the next block, a primary school. That is, it was obvious that hindered the passage hole, even those who did not have the physical capabilities to avoid it and not fall in the attempt. The pothole in question was so great that it did not want to spend money on yellow road paint and decided to appropriate it. In Stage No. 3 had experienced almost timidly the use of irony and humor by testing floating paper boats in a hole made lake. Although at the time I was not pleased with this initiative, there is something of the visual humor and I was attracted to. With this new bump in three dimensions could try to do something in that record. Instead of a wink, like paper boats could make a gesture with my intervention. Something that the pedestrian could easily grasp, and that in turn had an impact similar to having the ads today.
Summer in Buenos Aires, 2009. Intervention and performance. Location: Corner Lacroze and Conesa. Atmosphere: Agustina Rosembaun and Fernanda Vilella Photographic Record: Julieta MoranoVerano in Buenos Aires, 2009. Intervention and performance. Location: Corner Lacroze and Conesa. Atmosphere: Agustina Rosembaun and Fernanda Vilella Photographic Record: Julieta Morano
Summer in Buenos Aires, 2009 Intervention and performance Neighborhood Colegiales. Lacroze and Conesa Corner Atmosphere: Agustina Rosembaun and Fernanda Vilella Photographic Record: Julieta Morano
In this corner there is a deli called "Formaggio". I do not want to cause problems with neighbors, nor make an explicit claim to this location in particular, but to make this hole as a reference for the thousands we can find throughout the city. The intervention schedule was from 7:00 to 9:00 am, as the deli open from 9:00 AM. Once I did the performance, very interesting things happened. People passing laughed, watched, amazed, and wondered what it was all such a deployment. There were those who thought it was a production of photos and even some I snapped pictures with their phones. It gave me a diverse pattern of responses. Suddenly a lady came up and angrily told me what I was doing was stupid, that all I wanted was to go on television, and why I was doing that when there are a lot of children of tuberculosis. I was happy she react and get angry because it meant that what I was doing had affected her and had caused her to reflect whatever she wanted. In light of subsequent events, I took a work of Argentine artist Jorge Macchi, called Advertising, it helps me understand the language I used in summer in Buenos Aires, 2009. In Advertising, Macchi oil paintings reproduced on billboards messages ("Pica-pica", "Plumber"), ie the social context and inexhaustible source of ideas and images. For Macchi and his work Eva Grinstein, art critic, says: "Advertising is the result of settling a long process that began in 1995 while photographing in the street things that caught his attention ... that concept, Macchi reproduced these messages succinct ... and soon became interested in theatrical lighting mega posters, strategically placed on buildings, as in the area of the Obelisco. " ”Publicidad es el resultado de un largo proceso dedecantacion que se inicio en1995 mientras fotografiaba en la calle las cosas que llamaban su atención… a partir de ese concepto, Macchi reprodujo esos mensajes escuetos….y poco después se intereso por la teatralidad en la iluminación de los mega carteles, estratégicamente 15 colocados sobre los edificios, como sucede en la zona del Obelisco” 15
17 Eva Grinstein, para la Nación, 24 de diciembre del 2000. http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=185124
Eva Grinstein says the interesting thing about advertising is that in a single piece combines two concepts of advertising: the craftsmanship of those who promote their services and products the way they can, and the "glitz of big business" which uses spectacular ways to attract customers. What I find interesting about the work of Jorge Macchi is proposing a remark about what we are accustomed, and on the other hand, the detail in the gimmick. These two aspects explain the reason for my interest in his work as one hand in my work working with the marking, and on the other hand, in summer in Buenos Aires, 2009, in some way I use the language of advertising ie daily use marketing code, mostly from an aesthetic impact from the use of public space.
Jorge Macchi Advertising installation 1995 16 Recoleta Cultural Center, Room 18 Cronopios
After performing the operation and performance in Buenos Aires Summer, 2009 I finally decided to make the Memory of a pothole. A bump next to the original would be chosen that would allow me to empty memory I wanted to point out. Thanks to the advice of the English artist Patrick Michael Coombs and Larrambebere, guardian of this thesis, I could successfully make the copy. Anyway, before I get to do some tests to make sure that the technique was correct.
16
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=185124
Pothole selected and varnish painted to get a copy. Location: Corner of Avenida Federico Lacroze and Conesa Time reference: year 2009 Photographic Record: Fernanda Vilella
After performing in Buenos Aires Summer, 2009 I finally decided to make the Memory of a pothole. A bump next to the original would be chosen that would allow me to empty memory I wanted to point out. Thanks to Michael Coombs and Larrambebere, guardian of this paper, I could successfully make the copy. Anyway, before I get to do some tests to make sure that the technique was correct. Michael suggested to me the best technique for memory bump. The first step to take was to varnish the selected sector. Once the layers of varnish applied, covering the surface was coated with industrial grease. Then add the clay in sectors where I don麓t wish to make a copy because the idea was to obtain a copy of the missing tiles. In turn, the clay would allow the material was going to pour all this fails, stuck like a solid block. Once this phase of the process, we proceed to fill the gaps with the prepared mixture (cement, water, sand and ferrite) and allowed to dry. Finally, remove the memory copy and getting over the hump.
Drawing the lines with clay and filling the shapes with concret and pain them with yellow ferrite. Location: Federico Lacroze Avenue And Conesa Street. Time reference: 2009 year Photografic register: Trinidad L贸pez Rosende
Drawing the lines with clay and filling the shapes with concret and pain them with yellow ferrite. Location: Federico Lacroze Avenue And Conesa Street. Time reference: 2009 year Photografic register: Trinidad L贸pez Rosende
After a day of dryingi could get “Memory of a pathole�. Cement, sand, water, ferrite Location: Corner of Federico Lacroze avenue and Conesa. Time reference: Year 2009 Photographic record: Fernanda Vilella
Once the Memory of a bump, let it dry in the sun on the sidewalk, and that's when an event occurred simple but interesting. A girl walked by with his mother and stepped on a piece of copy that had not yet finished drying. As can be seen in the photo top right, the small print of her shoe was also recorded in memory. The Memory of a slump is the memory of a vacuum and the mark of the child, the imprint of a latent presence in the emptiness. After this action, I thought that if after Summer in Buenos Aires intervention was still not repaired I could represent the four seasons. That is, show the passage of time through different scenarios. Same time I was selected to exhibit in Expotrastiendas (art fair) and images that had been submitted in Summer in Buenos Aires, 2009 were presented and published in different newspapers. During the days of exposure several people contacted me. One of them told me she worked for the government and would report this patch. I asked her to reclaim all the bumps that were in the neighborhood but as the slump remained the same after a few months I made another performance: Winter. When I made Winter, the owner of the deli was angry with me even though I set out to make the performance during the time that his shop was closed. He said he believed that what I was doing was for fun, they would never fix the pothole and that I have to lift the entire facility because he was going to call the police. I explained that I was not doing it for fun, and I thought that I wasn´t bothering him because he had not yet opened their local. Anyway, I apologized and asked if he left me to finish the action quickly. He finally agreed but after 10 minutes the police arrived with sirens and two patrolmen. They came, I explained what happened and they told me I was not really doing anything wrong, but that ended quickly so the owner of the deli did not get angry. I thanked them and promised to end in a few minutes. During this conversation they received an emergency call, so the talk was very brief. They went fast again, with sirens blaring.
Winter 2009 Intervention and performance Location: Federico Lacroze and Conesa. CABA. Argentina Time reference: year 2009 Photographic Record: Mercedes Cabrera Castilla Collaborators: Mercedes Cabrera Castilla, Trinidad and Victoria L贸pez Cornejo Rosende.
Winter 2009 Intervention and performance Location: Federico Lacroze and Conesa. CABA. Argentina Time reference: year 2009. Photographic Record: Mercedes Cabrera Castilla Collaborators: Mercedes Cabrera Castilla, Trinidad and Victoria L贸pez Cornejo Rosende.
I have managed to make the performance, but I was worried about the anger of the owner of the deli more than anything, I had been thinking about what I had said that the hole they were not going to fix ever. I told him I was sure it would be repaired. That pothole was arranged in early 2010, the government fixed the entire corner.
Fixed corner Location: Corner of Av.Federico Lacroze and Colegiales.CABAArgentina Conesa.Barrio Time reference: year 2010 Photographic Record: Fernanda Vilella 4.2 Conclusion Stage No. 4 The result of the intervention was very positive in my work. Mainly because I decided to work and I really felt and that in turn forced me to expose myself. It made me feel safe, even though at first I have a lot of shame. I do not care if my action was articulated with the responsibility or irresponsibility of a particular government, but simply knew that it bothered me a lot and I needed to show in a way my discomfort, but not to broadcast violence. I liked knowing I could manifest in a different way, and could generate curiosity, laughter, anger, reflection. First of all, I was interested in the reaction of those who lived in the neighborhood and they knew very well what I was doing. On the other hand, the memory of a bump was a necessity, and corresponded to an intimate moment. Now that I see the reconstruction of the corner I can say that the "memory of a bump" is a fact. I was relieved when I saw that they had arranged that corner, I do not know if it happened in response to interventions or not. All I know it is fixed and that was one of my goals. Similarly, there are still many holes to fix.
CHAPTER 5 4.1 Step No. 5. Year 2009 - 2010 In September 2009 along with Lucila Gradin we traveled Montevideo, Uruguay to see if we could make an exhibition with ALA project (Artists in Latin America). On this trip I could observe that as in Buenos Aires, on the walkside of the neighboring country also had potholes. I took some pictures because I knew that within months had to return to exhibit in the Municipal Cultural Art Center SUBTE exhibition and the idea was to work on them on my return. To my surprise, when I returned in September, many of the holes were being refurbished at the same time. Coincidentally, at that time Uruguay was on the eve of the presidential election.
Pothole in the repair process. Location: July 18, 1245. Montevideo. Uruguay Time reference: year 2009 Photographic record: Fernanda Vilella Finally, we returned to Montevideo in September and although the work I presentes in the Municipal Center SUBTE exhibition was unrelated to the holes, I could not stop paying attention to them. It is worth clarifying that many of the potholes I had observed on my first trip were being fixed. But in the hostel where we were staying I found one pothole that was in the middle of the sifewalk that I really wanted to intervene before returning to Bs As, so I did.
Selected Pothole Location: 128 San JosĂŠ Strret, Montevideo. Uruguay. Year 2009 Photografic register: Fernanda Vilella
Intervention in the Pothole Dyed pale blue colored water and paper boats. 128 San Jose Street. Montevideo. Uruguay Location: San Jose 128. Montevideo. Uruguay Time reference: year 2009 Photographic record: Fernanda Vilella
I did not feel comfortable, happy, or made with the result of my action. I felt I was highlighting a problem that was not very serious in Montevideo, the bumps were arranged much faster than in my own town. Also, since my foreign eyes, I felt that the socio-cultural Uruguay, or perhaps only in Montevideo, was much better than argentineans. I must say that the Uruguayans are much more informed, educated, more cultured, there is less poverty than what is currently happening in my country. And above all they respect each other. I felt I was invading their property and had moved maybe a problem without much justice itself out. In 2010 we continue with ALA project and had the opportunity to travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to exhibit in the gallery Barrancao Maravilha, in Lapa neighborhood. Barrancao Maravilha is a space created by artists to support colleagues and provide a space to make presentations. There I made an intervention in a pothole. Again I was a city that was full of holes in the sidewalks. Near where I lived, I found a deep rectangular pit that was supposed to be used to plant a tree. The particularity of this slump was that the sidewalk was approximately 1.5 meters wide, and the hole, 1.1 meters, leaving a space of 0.4 cm for the crosswalk. Nearby there was a lot of potholes filled with rocks, making it nearly impossible to walk with relative ease. The sidewalks were very narrow, and in front of their deplorable state, pedestrians had no other choice but to walk down the street. On the trips I did I had seen a great variety of holes, but I decided to make an intervention in this particular one, because it had something of the ridiculous. Here you can see the photographic record of this action:
The Bath Location:Rua Monte Alegre. Río de Janeiro. Brasil. Time reference: year 2010 Photografic register: Lucila Gradín Collaborators: Belén Romer Gunset and Luciana Lamothe Pereformance and Intervention : Fernanda Vilella
The Bath Location:Rua Monte Alegre. Río de Janeiro. Brasil. Time reference: year 2010 Photografic register: Lucila Gradín Collaborators: Belén Romer Gunset and Luciana Lamothe Pereformance and Intervention : Fernanda Vilella
The Bath Location:Rua Monte Alegre. Río de Janeiro. Brasil. Time reference: year 2010 Photografic register: Lucila Gradín Collaborators: Belén Romer Gunset and Luciana Lamothe Pereformance and Intervention : Fernanda Vilella
CONCLUSION Regarding the development of the work presented in this paper, we can see that the process is first and foremost, a flow often contradictory in search of finding the appropriate language. In this work, I tried to appropriate a public space, think of the street a bit like mine. As argued by Doris Salcedo Shibboleth said, "If I, as an artist of the third world, I am invited to build a work in 17 this space, I have to bring what I am and the prospect of what I am ' . That is, assuming our reality, not only personally but also from a community perspective, and show the tension that lies dormant in the habituation of those who live immersed in a particular situation. To do this, we must take our experience, appropriate for ourselves and find the most authentic way to show it. Hegel expresses this concept as follows: “Por eso apropiarse quiere decir fundamentalmente manifestar ante las cosas la grandeza de mi voluntad y mostrar que éstas no son en y por sí, no tienen un fin propio. Esta manifestación acontece cuando doy a la cosa un fin diferente del 18 que tiene inmediatamente: en cuanto es mi propiedad le doy a lo viviente otra alma que la que tenía, le doy mi alma”
In this process of appropriation, I realized I needed to remark the emptiness, to the trace of an absent presence. I looked different languages, and at each stage the motivation was different. I experienced the humor, irony, action in public space and sociability consistent, but I also needed a more intimate search which ultimately seeks to develop in Memory of a pothole, the negative of a vacuum .. In many stages of the development of this thesis I refer to external events, but despite this I believe are fundamental to the work itself while through them today I can have a greater understanding of my research, and about the motivations and concerns that crossed and actually cross too. For now, my interest in the holes responds not only to personal and intimate issues that are linked to the vacuum and all the questions it generates in me, but also with the need to create a space of sociability, that is, to create inserts in an area primarily characterized by specific relation to another one. The choice of public space and the theme I am trying to allude through my work allowed me to create paintings in a different context, build on another type of canvas that was used, a canvas by which the public passes without you even as summoned. Over time, the bumps became an excuse to observe, study and meet people who live in different places and from which I can compare, understand a little society that are part and on a journey of personal growth. From my point of view, art is a universal language, as the context may be perceived in different ways. In my opinion, is essential to find a link between the work and the public, because I firmly believe that art has to be open to all audiences, regardless of whether they "know" or "know" about art, because they are often the latter who can best understand, read and appreciate a work of art. To conclude, I believe that this work is an open project, yet aimless way, but with potential for further unfolding.
17
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/misc/newsid_7035000/7035694.stm Hegel, Principios de la filosofía del derecho, Ed A. Wood (Cambridge, Reino Unido: Cambridge university Press 1991), p.76. 18
Special Thanks I should like first of all thank the collaboration of Patricio Larrambebere who was who guided and supported me throughout the development of this work and especially all my training. I would like to thank Mercedes Cabrera Castilla for her help and suggestions throughout the writing of this work. In step No. 1, I would like to especially thank Nicolas Novali, Florencia Almiron, for helping me and accompany me in the photographic record and, once again, to Patricio Larrambebere for recording and editing videos. I have to thank many people at this stage of the project. Who helped me a lot to achieve it. Summer in Buenos Aires, 09: Julieta Morano made a photographic record, Agustina Rosembaun in the atmosphere. Memory of Pothole thanks to Martin Guerrero who taught me the technique of cement and to Michael Coombs. Trinidad Lopez Rosende for taking photos and accompanied me at all times. Winter:Thanks to Mercedes Cabrera Castilla, Trinidad and Victoria LĂłpez Cornejo Rosende who helped in the atmosphere, and in the registration. The Bath: thanks to Lucila Gradin, BelĂŠn Romero, Luciana Lamothe Gunset. And also: Cecilia LarroudĂŠ, Jose Chouhi, Lu Larroude, Lucia Sufritti, Agustina Damia, Maria Bidondo, Marina Murcho and my family.