Videoexchange 2010-2012

Videoexchange 2010-2012
sharing videopolitical manifestos between Germany and Mexico
A project by Isaac Torres
Edgardo Aragón
Cristian Franco
Rubén Gutiérrez
José Jiménez Ortiz
Miguel Rodríguez Sepúlveda
Aisha Serrano
Isaac Torres
[email protected]
0152+55 55294760
2010 was taken since many time before as a year of hope and celebration
for Mexico. During the last years the markers have pointed the deficit in economical growth, the country have suffered drastic changes at a political level
and is living one of its worst attacks against a listing of problems related to the
violence of criminal groups and poverty increase.
Finally 2010 has converted into a contradiction between celebrating a nation
project that lives in a permanent questioning with a gradually disappearing
tendency against the pressure of the International Market and the particular
interests of the dominant class in Mexico.
The current exhibition is a video demonstration of the work realized by a young
generation of artists whom have been conscious witnesses of the changes
suffered in the country for the last years. In the else projects of each artist an
implicit political gene is noticed and in the presented video show is revealed.
It is important to specify that 2010 show has been conceived from the video
platform in order to its nature as a mean of instantly mechanical reproduction,
converted into a political denounce weapon and as a medium to manifest
positions and enunciations.
Video-art in Mexico is today acquiring the position and the importance that
popular graphics had once at 1910, the age of Mexican Revolution, as a social cohesion tool, testimonial register and denounce. The project intends to
stand as the bridge between graphical denounce in 1910 and contemporary
video in 2010, as a potential supporting to its constant practice. Nowadays,
the video is one of the most used modes by the recent generations of young
artists in Mexico.
Isaac Torres
México DF. August 12th, 2012
Note: It must be said that until this moment there have not been any show dedicated exclusively to
Mexican video art in Germany.
The first interest of the project is to bring together a representative generation of Mexican artists with
international rename/recognition, diffusing their work in other contexts and promoting knowledge interchange with new publics. That’s why I’m interested in increase dialogue by selecting German video-art,
to exhibit, below the same principles, in Mexico on August 2012.
Edgardo Aragón
Ley fuga (Flee Law)
Link: http://youtu.be/PuKAaxcBw8I
Video / Color / 1’ 25”
Technical requirements: 1 flat screen / Headphones / 1 DVD player
Brief description:
In his work, Aragon retakes some family memories and local myths from his own location (Oaxaca, Mexico)
related with histories of “narcos” and the cultural practices involved with this phenomena like the popular
music and the deep relationship of the inhabitants of this region and the narcoculture as a way of life on
some of the poorest communities of the country. His videos are realized taking beautiful landscapes that
evokes the classical images from the films of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema.
Cristian Franco Martín
Víctor Huerta
Link: http://vimeo.com/14092982
Video / Color / 3’02”
Technical requirements: 1 flat screen / Headphones / 1 DVD player
Victor Huerta is a man who lives in Guadalajara, Mexico. Victor assumes the creation of a new
language, understood just by him. As a series of exercises, Franco tried to establish a coherent dialogue with Huerta, in order to develop the ideas manifested by him through this weird language
practice. The closest interpretation of the dialogue has an excerpt from Ricardo Flores Magón, an
emblematical anarchist from the early XX century on Mexico; retook by Franco to “illustrate” the
meaning of the dialogue that Huerta tries to tell us.
Rubén Gutiérrez
Welcome to New America
Link: http://youtu.be/vlfFLhRusoo
Video / Color / 2’ 53”
Technical requirements: 1 flat screen / Headphones / 1 DVD player
Brief description:
New America is a fiction story created by Gutiérrez, based on a certain real settlement located
in a rural-urban area on some dusty plain fields. A group of local football clubs took the identity
of different countries from America to create a football field where each country has their own
representation. The video is an ambiguous document where the images of this non-place leave a
doubt about the veracity of New America land.
Jose Jiménez Ortiz
A map is not the territory
Link: http://youtu.be/0ZuTPajtcnE
Video / Black and white / sound / 6’ 59”
Technical requirements: 1 Video projector / D-print, 90 x 30 cms / 1 DVD player / 2 speakers
Brief description:
Produced at Torreón, an industrial city in the north of Mexico, shows a series of abandoned places
after recent violent events, leaving totally empty huge areas in several points of the city. This work
develops how the mapping of a city is destroyed by events that occur on it. Each of the sites routed
on this piece, has witnessed the violence caused by the operations of many criminal groups in
Mexico.
Miguel Rodríguez Sepúlveda
Estrella de plata (Silver star)
Link: http://youtu.be/WiXshqf1sVQ
2 channel videoinstallation / Color / 5” Loop
Technical requirements: 2 videoprojectors / 2 DVD player / 2 speakers
Brief description:
In the recent years Rodríguez Sepúlveda produced a huge series of works using the relationship
between the materiality of the money and the political use of the coins as an element to embrace
the Nation discourse in the context of the Bicentennial Celebrations 2010 in Mexico. Through a series
of exercises he modifies the shape of silver coins using as a drawing tool. This video is an installation
that forms part of that series.
Aisha Serrano
Más educación / Menos futbol (Less football, more education)
Link: http://youtu.be/KvgNTY2cz-I
2 channel Videoinstallation / Color / 14’
Technical requirements: 2 video projectors / 2 DVD player / 2 speakers / 1 spotlight
Brief description:
The “Zocalo” is the Main Square of Mexico and the traditional political agora for the people. This place is the stage
of the most diverse events, since political events, official celebrations, concerts, festivals and permanent protests. On
2010, the square was taken by FIFA and Coca Cola as a petition of the local government to show the football matches of the World Cup in gigantic screens. Serrano takes this unique chance to make a group of political performances,
sometimes with violent irruptions on the public, or in other cases, a really silent and punctual intervention involving
spectators, police guards, demonstrators and football fanatics. The video is a short document of the incident to be
presented as a video-installation.
Isaac Torres
2010
Link: http://youtu.be/f8uusmT-nC0
Video / Color / 3:30’
Technical requirements: 1 Video projector / 1 DVD player / 2 speakers
Brief description:
In a poor and small town named La Gloria in the south of the country, the artist found a broken
Mexican flag, waving over the roof of a Church, just tied to the Crux. The town was the stage of the
first appearing of the Influenza epidemics on 2009. The video was recorded in 2010, the year of the
Bicentennial Celebrations of Mexico.
Responsible for the project:
Isaac Torres (Mexico City, 1982) Lives and works in Mexico City
He studied a Master’s Degree in Urbanism: theory, history and analysis at the UNAM (National University
of Mexico) He has two Bachelor’s Degrees: one in Arts and Humanities at the Fine Arts National Institute
of Mexico (INBA), and another in Social Communications and Media Production at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM -X) in Mexico City. He also studied Photography and alternative media at
Centro de la Imagen (CONACULTA - National Arts and Culture Counsel, Mexico) as well as many production, video, photography and art history workshops
In 2007 he was selected in the Young Creators Program of the National Found of Arts in Mexico (FONCA)
in the field of Visual Arts/Alternative Media. Also he won the artist residence in the Kunstlerhauser Worspswede in Germany on 2009 in the field of visual arts.
He has exhibited his work in solo shows at Gallery 13 (Mexico City), Kunstverein Gottingen (Germany)
and Alexandra Saheb Gallery (Berlin) and in collective shows in many galleries, art fairs and museums in
Mexico, USA and Germany. Some of these exhibitions were at Centro de la Imagen, X Teresa Arte Actual,
Museo Universitario del Chopo, Instituto Cultural de Aguascalientes, Emergent Art Biennal Monterrey 08,
Galería José Ma. Velasco, Galería 13, ArtBridge Fair Miami, ZonaMaco Mexico City (2008,2009) Kunstlerhäuser Worpswede and Altes Rathaus Gottingen, among others.
He was the founder of the Novantro Lounge Collective, oriented to the promotion of youth artistic proposals in Mexico City during the late 1990’s, and collaborated in the coordination and production of different exhibitions. In 2004 he found and directed a collective initiative group called Chicos de Hoy, an
organization with many members in Mexico City, which works in projects about media and design with art
disciplines.
His works was published in several magazines and articles like Taxi Art Magazine, RIM Magazine (Mexico),
Arte al Día (Latin America), Parteaguas (Mexico), Artists (Bremen, Germany) Kunst Bulletin (Suiza), Polar
Politiks Kunst und Theorie (Berlin) and the books New Faces of Contemporary Art (Miami, USA) and mART
Emergent Art Cathalogue 2009 (Mexico), as some interviews for TV, Radio and Newspappers like Reforma,
El Universal, Tomo/Excelsior, Canal 22, Ibero 90.9 and the NDR TV of Hamburg. In 2009 he published the
book “Kopiersklaven” as a part of the series Kunst und Theorie by Argobooks-KHW.
In 2010 he was selected for a group of exhibitions named The Change as a part of the World Bank Art Program and he won the Young Creators Program of Mexico for the period 2010-2011. Also he has selected
for the second generation of Arte Actual Program 2010-2012 sponsored by BBVA-Bancomer Foundation
and MACG (Carrillo Gil Art Museum).
Recently he has the invitation for Kunstitftung Baden Württemberg in Sttutgart, sponsored by the Arts and
Culture National Fund in Mexico.
Artist bio’s
Edgardo Aragón (Mexico City, 1985)
Lives and work in Oaxaca and Mexico City.
Bachelor in Fine Arts on ENPEG La Esmeralda on Mexico City. He wons the Young Creators Program
of FONCA Mexico on 2008 and 2010. In 2009 he is part of the Bancomer- MACG Art Program and
the 8th Program of Multimedia in CENART Mexico.
Solo exhibitions: 2010, Ley Fuga, Proyectos Monclova Gallery, Mexico City, 2010 Family effects, curated by Guy Ben-Ner, in Hamidrasha Gallery. Tel-Aviv.
Group Exhibitions: 2010 Disponible: A kind of Mexican show. PAPIAM, Centro Multimedia, CENART,
Mexico City. Oficial selection FID Marseille, France. Programa Bancomer-MACG Museo Carrillo Gil,
Mexico City. The Mole´s horizon, BOZAR, Brusels. Injerto/Ambulante Tour de Documentales, Mexico.
2009 Beyond guilt, Tina B Art Festival, Prague. One foot apart, Leme gallery, Sao Paulo.
Cristian Franco (Mexico City, 1981)
Lives and works in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. Graduated from the University of Guadalajara.
Member of Colectivo de Acción y Creación Artística and co-founder of the Homeless project. In
2010 won the grant of Young Creators of the Arts and Culture National Fund.
Solo exhibitions: Pinturas, Museo de las Artes, Gdl, México, 2006 and, Greatest hits, Clemente Jacqs
Laboratorio, Gdl, México, 2005.
Group exhibitions: Firulais, Museo de la Ciudad, Guadalajara, México; Standing on one foot, Proyect
Space, San Antonio, Texas; Honk Kong Syndicate, Piso dos (alternative space) Guadalajara, México; Vacíos urbanos, Mexican Pavillion, Bilbao Arquitecture Triennall and Asimetrics, affinities and
discrepancies, Instituto Cultural Cabañas, Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Ruben Gutiérrez (Monterrey, 1972)
Lives and works in Monterrey, N.L. Mexico
Since 1993 has shown his works and curatorial projects in Mexico, USA, Spain, Cuba, Argentina, Ecuador,
Perú, Puerto Rico, The Netherlands, France, Czech Republic, China, Japan, India and Iran. He represented
Mexico at 7th Havana Biennal, Cuba 2001, First Buenos Aires Biennal, Argentina, 2001, IX Bienal Internacional de Cuenca, Ecuador, 2007 and Prague Biennale 4, 2009.
Has participated in artist in residence programs in: Fundación Ludwig (Havana, Cuba, 2001), International
Studio and Curatorial Program, (NYC, USA, 2003) Art Omi (Omi, NY, USA, 2004), Art dans l’ ville (Saint Ettienne, France, 2004), CRIC, Centre de réflexion sur l’image et ses contexts (Sierre, Swiss, 2006), Cite Internationale des Arts (Paris, France, 2007), Soma, (Mexico city, 2010) Cero Inspiración (Quito, Ecuador, 2011)
and The Bag Factory, (Johannesburg, Southafrica, 2011). He is the founder of ObjectNotFound.org an
independent non-profit space of contemporary art and forms part of the National Creators System, sponsored by the Arts and Culture National Fund.
José Jiménez Ortiz (Torreón, Mexico 1980)
Lives and works in Torreón, Coahuila.
Bachelor in Sociology at UAC, on Torreón, Coahuila. He wons the acquisition award in the VII Art Biennale
of Coahuila and in the First Installation Art Contest of ICOCULT.
He had won the State Journalism Award (2004 and 2006) and the State Youth Award (2004) in Coahuila.
He has part of the Young Creators Program of the Arts and Culture National Fund in 2008 and 2010 and
Fellowship Art Grant of the State of Coahuila in 2004. He forms part of the second generation of the Contemporary Art Program Bancomer-MACG. He has exhibited his work in Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom,
Germany, Argentina and Finland. He is also a DJ and a columnist. His current project is based on the social networks and the relation with the sense of dead, memories and rituals in the age of the social web
media.
Miguel Rodríguez Sepúlveda (Tampico, Mexico, 1971)
Lives and work in Mexico City
He coursed studies in architecture, photography and arts. In the last 10 years he presents more than 15
solo exhibitions in Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and Cuba and several group shows
in Latin America and Europe. His work is based on scientific fundaments and its parallel with politics, art
and society.
He is co-founder of Taller Multinacional, and non-profit art initiative, to education, discussion and production of art and theory, creating an artists network in Latin America. He has received many art fellowships
in México from the Arts and Cultures National Fund and Colección Jumex Foundation among others, and
the Prince Claus Foundation in Netherlands.
Aisha Serrano (Mexico City, 1983)
Lives and work in Mexico City
Dance Movement Therapist, Professional Dancer and Choreographer. Since 2000 she is participating with
different Companies, in encounters and festivals on Spain, Perú, México and Guatemala. Realized studies
on videoart, stage and light design and performance.
In recent years she is been exploring the field of visual arts realizing projects that involve video, dance,
multimedia and performance. Nowadays she is working on a project in public spaces using experimental
dance and video tools.
Isaac Torres (Mexico City, 1982)
Lives and work in Mexico City.
He studied a Master’s Degree in Urbanism at UNAM (National University of Mexico) He has two Bachelor’s
Degrees: one in Arts and Humanities at the Fine Arts National Institute of Mexico (INBA), and another in
Social Communications and Media Production at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM -X) in
Mexico City. Since 10 years ago he produced, curate and direct several events like forums, workshops,
artist residencies, exhibitions and cultural projects on different places, mostly in Mexico City. He has exhibited his work in solo shows at Gallery 13 (Mexico City), Kunstverein Gottingen (Germany) and Alexandra
Saheb Gallery (Berlin) and in collective shows in many galleries, art fairs and museums in Mexico, USA and
Germany. Reciently he was selected for a group of exhibitions named The Change as a part of the World
Bank Art Program. Also he has selected for the second generation of Arte Actual Program 2010-2012 sponsored by BBVA-Bancomer Foundation and MACG (Carrillo Gil Art Museum).
List of links on Videochannels
Edgardo Aragón
videowork: http://youtu.be/PuKAaxcBw8I
portfolio:
http://www.ars-tesauro.com.mx/artista.php?artsub=2&searchletter=&user=33&artist=26
Cristian Franco / Victor Huerta
videowork: http://vimeo.com/14092982
portfolio: http://es.curroyponcho.com/artistas/cristian-franco/
Rubén Gutiérrez / New America
videowork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlfFLhRusoo
portfolio: http://www.rubengutierrez.net/
José Jiménez Ortiz / A map is not the territory
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZuTPajtcnE
portfolio: http://www.jimenezortiz.info/
Miguel Rodríguez Sepúlveda
videowork: http://youtu.be/WiXshqf1sVQ
portfolio: http://www.miguelrodriguezsepulveda.com/
Aisha Serrano / Football
videowork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvgNTY2cz-I
Isaac Torres / 2010
videowork: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8uusmT-nC0