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Optic Nerve XIII

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:04:00 -0600

DEADLINE ENDED!

Submissions for MOCA's 13th annual Optic Nerve Film Festival have arrived from around the country in the past several weeks. For the first time, Optic Nerve is open to a national pool of artists, expanding what had been a local event for South Florida artists. The growth of the festival reflects the prevalence of video and film in contemporary art practice and the importance of Miami as a center for the circulation of new art. The wider pool of works brings local artists' work into a broader dialogue of video and film being produced around the country, and exposes the community to conversations in new media from diverse regions.

Artists were invited to submit up to 2 works made in the past 2 years and no more than 5 minutes long each. These works will be reviewed by a jury of film and art professionals before being screened at MOCA on Saturday August 27 at 7 and 9 pm. One work will be purchased to become part of MOCA's permanent collection. This year's judges are:

Shannon Stratton is co-founder and current Executive & Creative Director of threewalls Chicago, a not-for-profit residency and exhibition space. Stratton curates independently and in collaboration with Jeff M. Ward and Judith Leemann. Ward and Stratton's most recent project Ps & Qs was shown at The Glassel School of Art, Houston and The Hyde Park Arts Center in Chicago. With Leemann, she organized Gestures of Resistance: Craft, Performance, and the Politics of Slowness, a panel discussion and exhibition in Dallas, Texas, which later traveled to The Portland Museum of Contemporary Craft in 2010. She teaches a theory class on craft issues at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Stephanie Dodes is currently one of the curators for the BIG SCREEN PLAZA, a public video art, film, and collective culture project launched in October 2010 in New York City. Her film, video, installation and photographic work point to bizarre social codes, surreal absurdities and iconic relationships. She received her MFA in New Genres at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2010 and BA in Studio Art and Eastern Philsophy from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study in 2001. Her first solo exhibition was last March at Splatterpool Artspace in Brooklyn, NY.

Ibett Yanez has been Director of the de la Cruz Collection since 2008, and worked as assistant to the Director at the Moore Space from 2004-2008. She received a Bachelor's degree from University of Florida in Visual Arts with a Minor in Art History. Yanez has organized projects with artists including Allora and Calzadilla, Saâdane Afif, John Bock, Jeppe Hein, Jonathan Monk, Aida Ruilova and Tracy and the Plastics among others.

Justin Long was last year's Optic Nerve winner. Born in Miami, he returned after earning an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts seeking the tropical waters of the Caribbean that are his inspiration. Raised in a motorcycle shop with a lifetime working on boats and other vehicles, Long engineers and builds all of his own work. His videos have been displayed at the Fabric Workshop and Museum, Wight Biennial, De La Cruz Collection and MOCA.

Also judging from MOCA's staff are: Bonnie Clearwater, Ruba Katrib, and Jillian Hernandez

Written by Sebestian Duncan-Portuondo

MOCA Art Trips (NYC Summer!)

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:25:00 -0600

MOCA Members and Patrons Tour NYC!

MOCA Shaker Steven Bander, Lizzi Gorfaine of MoMA PS1, and artist Clifford Owens.

COLOR, TEXTURE, FUN AND SILINESS by Bernardo Ortiz, Leadership Circle member. Photos by Bernardo Ortiz.

Color, texture, fun and silliness...all checked. All this stimuli was part of the latest MOCA A La Carte experience in New York City. Our journey started upon joining a group of fellow MOCA Leadership Circle and Shakers members at the Gagosian Gallery with an illustrious conversation with director Bob Monk who highlighted his personal experiences with Cy Twombly. Bob Monk concluded the tour by showing the group a piece that is unbelievably special. A limited edition book by Ed Ruscha titled On The Road. This book includes hand-mounted photographs curated by Ed Ruscha. The rush we shared while the pages were flipping was indescribable. This book will be on view at MOCA as part of Ed Ruscha's exhibition of paintings and works on paper based on Jack Kerouac's classic novel of the same title On The Road. Ruscha's On The Road has a limited print run of 300 copies. Your search for that special gift is over!

We later went to lunch at "The Untitled" at the Whitney. This gave us the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet other members of the group from the Leadership Circle and MOCA Shakers, both New Yorkers and fellow Miamians, while we devoured our tasty lunch options. We then gathered in front of the vast industrial elevator doors inside the museum. When those giant elevator doors opened to the 4th floor Cory Archangel exhibit, I was speechless. Giant projections of video games ranging from Atari to Playstation displayed in a progression of graphics attempting to play the game of bowling. At first, I identified with the piece because I grew up playing the same kind of video games but then I noticed something unusual. No matter how many times the players threw the bowling ball, they always failed. Cory Arcangel achieves this goal by hacking into the video games to ensure failure is guaranteed. As Andrea H. Scott from The New Yorker says "Arcangel finds an abject beauty in the way that modern technology is doomed to obsolescence."

MOCA Shaker member Casey Herzberg and Bernardo Ortiz, MOCA Leadership Circle Member.

Cory Arcangel has no formal education in fine arts. He studied classical guitar and electronic music at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He comes alive as a contemporary artist with the play of tension between high-tech and do-it-yourself (DIY), professional and amateur tools, pop culture and fine art. These tensions are notorious in his Photoshop Gradient Series where through a "simple one-click" approach he gives life to the obvious as the Photoshop gradient by printing the gradients in large size and high-end production value. Arcangel's work is often compared to Marcel Duchamp for his approach to ready-made materials into artistic interpretations. "Appropriation, manipulation, and recontextualization of mass-produced objects that emphasized shift from finished art work to process...[and] the visual qualities of Abstract Expressionism's nonrepresentational, improvisational imagery" as Christiane Paul, Whitney's Adjunct Curator of the New Media Arts, explains in the Whitney brochure on the collection (which by the way is art in itself with the Photoshop gradients available on quality paper to be taken as a souvenir as instructed by the artist).

Later we passed Paganini "Caprice #5" (2011), a classic violin piece by Nicolo Paganini which was reconstructed by Arcangel from clips of YouTube videos of people playing heavy metal guitar. The metallic nature of the video drove us out into a room with linear plots and human-like palm tree drawings. Once again Arcangel pushes the limits of what is real and what is not; what is machine-made and what is semi-machine-made. He truly makes us think of our absurd fascination for the "latest technology" even though shortly after, this technology becomes obsolete.

Upon exiting the Whitney, the group divided into small-enough groups to take classic yellow cabs over the bridge to Queens. Greeted by a fairly large aged-structured, we walk up the stairs to MOMA PS1, a former school with corridors painted in white, large windows and squeaky wooden floors which is now a center of avant-garde art and artists with working studios. We soon moved into a freshly carpeted room with ambient music that rises in volume every so often. Yes, we arrived at the opening foyer of Ryan Trecartin's Any Ever. This exhibit is especially meaningful to the group as it is currently on exhibit at the MOCA Museum in North Miami. In contrast to Miami, the exhibition space seems more condensed. The viewing space is similar to Miami with elements such as couches, bleachers and school-like benches however extra of elements such as bookshelves and gym equipment, strategically placed pillows and other objects were added. The headphones helped the viewers feel as they are in their own world when they watched the videos throughout the different rooms of the exhibition. Any Ever is a series of videos displaying a cast of teenagers doing what teenagers do best: talk and text. In a composition of acid colors with wigs and clown make-up, in a chipmunk-like high-pitch tone, teenagers speak using "Corporate America" terms about what they love, what they hate, and the labels with which they identify. We then perused around the space to view the exhibition of Belgian artist, Francis Alys, residing in Mexico since 1986. This artist uses allegorical methods to explore the cyclical nature of change in modernizing societies, the urban landscape, and patterns of economic progress.

Thanks to one of our fellow patrons, we were invited to attend the in-house studio of Clifford Owens at PS1. He is a trained photographer with a grasp of performing arts interested creating photographic artwork born out of action in his current project at PS1 "Anthology." For this project, Owens explores the use of the "score" in performance with corresponding tensions between ownership and collaboration. The "scores", or instructions, written by African-American artists are intended to be followed by the performer with the inclusion of the audience as a key element. Owens is inspired by Fluxus ideals. The energy and participation of the audience is what makes the art in his works. The group viewed a trio of classically trained singers perforfm "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing Lyrics." The clever juxtaposition of Caucasian singers performing a historically significant African-American song was not evident until the history of the song was described. First recited as a poem in 1900 in honor of Lincoln's birthday by 500 students from the segregated school of Stanton, the poem which was written by James Weldon Johnson to introduce Booker T. Washington later became the "Negro National Anthem." Luckily for Miami, Owens is scheduled to visit Gallery Diet in Miami towards the end of this year. You will get to experience it for yourself.

NYC MOCA Leadership Circle members: Tim Dunfrey and Ashley Jackson

What an amazing way to end a culturally packed day. We met up for dinner at the Double Crown restaurant in the Bowery. We chatted with our new friends over a lovely dinner accompanied by a chilled white wine and a serious red wine. Closing our dinner with mini-brownies with cascading pecans we walked next door to The Hole to view "J" by Miami duo FriendsWithYou. In contrast to the cozy intimate dinner setting, this new space was bright filled with sculptural pieces all with a smile in bright colors, different shapes and materials. We all gathered for a group photo and then jumped around in silly poses.

What a memorable time! We enriched our cultural knowledge and also had fun. I hope to see some more you on our next trip.

MOCA ART TRIPS
Join us and experience art around the world with MOCA! Become a member today online at www.mocanomi.org/membership or further information about our upcoming trips, please contact Tracey Robertson Carter, Director of Membership at 305 893 6211 or trobertsoncarter@mocanomi.org.

October 2011
Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas
Benefactor ($2,500) members and above

January 2012
The New Dali Museum and New Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida
Associates ($1,000) and above

March 2012
The Armory Show, New York, NY
Leadership Circle ($500/$1000) and above

May 2012
Frieze Art Fair - New York, NY
Shaker ($150) and above
MOCA Travel A la Carte

June 2012
Art Basel, Switzerland and Documenta, Germany
International Collector's Circle ($5,000) and above

Ryan Trecartin Q&A

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:30:00 -0600

On June 27, MOCA celebrated the opening of Ryan Trecartin's Any Ever with a reception in the museum and after party at The Standard on Miami Beach. Guests explored the seven videos and installations and gathered in the courtyard to share refreshments while playing ping pong and listening to an energetic mix playing on the speakers. We had the opportunity to sit down with Trecartin before guests arrived to ask a few questions about his work:

Q: Your work is staged in suburban and domestic environments, and involves collaboration with a cast of characters that reappear throughout various projects. How do you think your work responds to the family as a cultural force?

Ryan Trecartin: I think of family as being alive and constructive. It can be edited and created or abandoned. It is a form of perception; most of the characters I work with have histories that are constructed and chosen.

Q: Moments of collision feature prominently in the videos and installations; the characters appear to be continuously crashing into the world. Why is this kind of energy so important in your work?

RT: Every moment within the work is a linguistic moment. It is constantly in a state of becoming, there is no real or fake because it is not fixed. It tries to occupy an open space of agency. Expressing that moment of becoming involves an editorial process of keeping all doors open. Articulating that place can feel like a collision when the "doors" are closing; no one wants to solidify, no one wants to be pinpointed.

Q: Do you think that is because we live at a time that involves so much instability?

RT: I don't think so; we are in a strange period of time where it is up to us to determine where we are going. Are we going to be people who have agency, or are we people who will become a structure? Stability is something we create.

Interview by Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo. Photos by Steven Brooke.

A Conversation with Pablo Cano

Tue, 24 May 2011 10:42:21 -0600

This May, MOCA hosted The Seven Wonders of the Modern World, Pablo Cano's 12th collaboration with the museum. A clanking modest shopping cart rolls into the theater to a triumphant musical score, marking the start of the show. Once the cart reaches the stage, a marionette of President Obama emerges and greets the audience; he introduces the rest of the show's cast. The performance as a whole is marked by elegant choreography and a gentle approach to ideas of "human thought,hope, and change" as mentioned by Cano at the close of the performance.

The following is an interview with Pablo Cano to gain a closer understanding of the methods behind his wondrous shows:

Q: What do you think is the role of story telling in contemporary art and society?

PC: The ancient Greeks knew how important it was for human beings to express and entertain with story telling and theater. It is a spontaneous and beautiful way to imagine. I miss the days of radio plays. Today the role of story telling is in the hands of Hollywood and television. With my marionettes I want to offer
an alternative way to tell a story in real time.

Q: What characteristics do you look for when choosing a story?

PC: I need to have characters that will inspire me to create interesting sculptural marionettes.

Q: How does history and tradition playa role in your creative process? Are their any particular aspects of history that you want to explore?

PC: The human condition is my source of inspiration. Nothing is taken for granted. I study the history and tradition of sins, virtues, good, evil, politics, love, religion, men, women, young, elderly, war and peace, life and death. This why I create with junk and discarded materials. The found object provides the personal touch.

Q: In Seven Wonders, many of the characters emerge from boxes or containers. How does the box function in your works and has this always been a tool you use?

PC: The Box is the theater. The container is the ship of fools or planet Earth.

Q: When collecting materials for your work, do you look for items intended for particular characters or do you allow the materials to change the characters?

PC: The transformation is key. I try to do very little to the found object. Not interested in changing anything. It is more a process of enriching the Materials and coaxing them to transform themselves.
*Look at Pablo Picasso's head of a bull made of an old bicycle seat and handle bars.

Q: What are a few of the strangest objects you have used in a puppet construction?

PC: Once I used a real prosthetic glass eye in one of my marionettes. Another time I used a refrigerator and transformed it's interior into a Romanesque Basilica.

Q: During the show, the children respond with a lot of excitement, especially when performers bring the puppets into their laps. How do you think entering audience space changes the dynamic of the show?

PC: This attention to audience participation has always intrigued me. Especially with children. It is a kind of break through in space allowing an almost friendship to start between the marionette and the child.

Q: How did working with a team of writers, performers, choreographers and lighting designers change your working process?

PC: I learned to be less self absorbed and took time to really listen to other artists who offered their time and talent to help me create and complete a concept.

Q: What memories from your childhood inform your work?

PC: The memory of being intensely loved by my sister , mother, father and family. The love and caring I felt in my childhood is transferred to my art work and back to me and I hope to my audience.

- Interview by Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo (Communications Assistant)

New Methods Blog: Session V

Fri, 06 May 2011 16:06:47 -0600

Session 5: What Do We Need to Know?

Moderator: Ruba Katrib

Panelists: Helmut Batista, Stefan Benchoam, Yoshua Okón, Michy Marxuach, Judi Werthein

Educational initiatives provide a basis for structuring many of these organizations, engaging the development of artist practice and participation with public audiences. It is central to the current mode of thinking that pedagogical approaches not be predetermined but move into the unknown. Through an open-ended approach, research can fluidly meet the needs of the situations and participants, introducing new ways of knowing and experiencing the world.

The degree to which these organizations are structured varies and adaptability is primary. More formal class and critique sessions become a part of their programs, yet many of the institutions emphasize the kind of growth that occurs through social gatherings and communal experiences. The panel also discusses the way the traditional discourse surrounding academic learning closes off certain audiences and creates false expectations of predetermined routes for what it means to be an artist.

Engagement with the world outside the local context is also an important aspect of the pedagogical models. To address this problem, several organizations bring artists from abroad to share their experiences and knowledge, expanding the conversations that occur within these communities. Digital, open source archives are possible solutions to reaching outside audiences for some of these organizations.

Approaching the expectations that are set up between a "student-educator" relationship, the panel talks about getting outside of the traditional role of academic institutions that produce pre-formed art subjects. Judi Werthein, of C.I.A., says: the academic model is far from what we are doing, we create points of encounter that encourage interdisciplinary conversations engaged with the development of society. The idea of results-driven programming was also questioned, experience and personal growth are greater objectives.

New Methods Blog: Session IV

Fri, 06 May 2011 08:40:00 -0600

Session 4: How Long is the Dance? Thinking about Sustainability.

Moderator: Anders Smenbye
Panelists: Helmut Batista, Tony Evanko, Roberto Jacoby, Sally Mizrachi, Amilcar Packer, Raquel Schwartz

A primary challenge for many of the organizations is to find partners to work with that will allow them to move beyond initial funding sources. New organizers are being solicited through open calls to fill residency positions that help consider approaches to finding means of continuation.

Capacete proposes a radical re-thinking of the notion of sustainability that does not seek to replicate neo-liberal institutionalization. They emphasize the importance of trying over succeeding; sustainability thus finds a way forward through fragmentary, non-linear moments that unite like minded people. They created a hotel which is known through word of mouth, and operates along a sliding payment scale based on the ability and need of the people who stay there. This becomes a form of sustaining the residency program and forcing philanthropy while bringing people into a loose network of shared experience.

Lugar a Dudas, approaches their project in a different way by focusing on the development of collective memory through the creation of an archive. This arose out of a need expressed by the local arts community for a place of research and community engagement; the only libraries were in academic institutions.

Kiosko Galeria and Casa Tres Patios both discuss the fact that governmental support is not really desired in the search for sustainability. There are great needs that must be filled by the government and there are often too many guidelines surrounding this money that it doesn't fit the goals of the projects. C.I.A., in Buenos Aires, pulls together different funding sources through international grants that support individual projects, event sales, tax-exempt status, and donations by community members, artists and collectors.

Panelists agree that part of the beauty of their organizational schemes is that they mvoe into the future without primary concern for sustained institutionalization; they are more interested in the future attitudes created through shared experience and discourse.

New Methods Blog: Session III

Fri, 06 May 2011 08:37:00 -0600

Session 3: Operating in the Real and Imagined Latin American Contemporary Art Context

Moderator: Rina Carvajal
Panelists: Eduardo Abaroa, Pablo Helguera, Raquel Schwartz, Roberto Valcárcel, Judi Werthein

Director and Chief Curator Bonnie Clearwater: It is appropriate that MOCA play host to this kind of symposium as the museum itself started as an alternative art space. MOCA is also unique in its ability to fund new and emerging arts projects through a sustainable grant program.

Pablo Helguera began the conversation by raising several questions regarding the establishment of alternative art spaces in the Latin American context: he questions what is an alternative art space, especially when most will be consumed by the art world?

what is the role of education; and what is the relationship to history? He suggests looking towards the informal economy as a model that exemplifies fluid organizational systems that adapt to particular situations; this would include a privileging of social and time-based space rather than physical institutional space.

The panel investigated the relationship between art and politics and the ability of art to effect political change. For the most part, panelists recognized the limited ability of art to revolutionize society. This is largely because of the distance between communities where art is created and the oppressed who live without access to resources. Nevertheless, they emphasized the cultural space that art can carve out of society and the ability to respond sensitively to the human condition. Rather than push specific ideological points, these institutions believe that art can raise questions and serve as a catalyst for new thought.

The discussion surrounding the reality and imagination of a Latin American sphere of art production agreed on the difficulty of labeling the region as a coherent unit. The differences that mark the particular situations in each country fail to conform to a neat definition. Eduardo Abaroa of SOMA brought up a wise point saying: the problem is that people think you can address new problems the way they have always been addressed; you can't respond to the reality facing Latin America without also addressing the mythology, they inform each other.

New Methods Blog: Session II

Thu, 05 May 2011 12:00:35 -0600

Session 2: Friends & Acquaintances: Who is this for?

Moderator: Gean Moreno
Panelists: Stefan Benchoam, Michy Marxuach/Tony Cruz, Sally Mizarachi, Yoshua Okón, Emiliano Valdés

Today's conversation addressed the challenges and value of establishing vibrant centers of community participation in cities where art is often tied to market forces or isolates itself from social minorities. The panel emphasized the importance of horizontal organizational schemes that privilege the voices of artists, collaboration and the needs of disenfranchised people in opposition to traditional hierarchies in the dispersal and control of art production. Seeking ways of reaching the public that bypass the traditional gallery route was mentioned as a significant aspect of this shift as well as emphasizing communication and debate as part of the creative process.

While acknowledging broad similarities, the panel began by locating the differences that mark the particular contexts giving rise to each organization: Proyectos Ultravioleta is responding to great social and economic inequality that affects separation between classes of people and often leaves art in the hands of the elite. The integration of a bar is an important tool for both introducing new audiences to contemporary art and as a means of funding the institution.

Lugar a Dudas and Beta-Local both seek to fill a void left by a lack of contemporary art institutions. In Puerto Rico, Beta-Local is working to counter-act the effects of immigration that lead many artists to seek communities abroad through the creation of a program that responds to the specific needs and realities of the local community. Lugar a Dudas faces a public that is slowly emerging from the position of a passive audience and a lack of resources to aid the growth of arts institutions - there is only one family of art collectors in Cali and the government takes a hands off approach.

SOMA addresses a well established museum and gallery environment that has a tendency to gentrify arts communities in the service of business interests. It thus seeks to re-establish artists' agency through community participation and educational opportunities directed by the needs of its constituent participants. SOMA is also unique in that it can respond to the experiences of previous community arts institutions, like the Panadería, which emerged in the 90s. The Panadería was a loose organization of young artists that sought to create spaces appropriate to the needs of changing arts practices and Mexico City's growth as an art center; it served as an influential precursor and reference for several of these institutions.
Overall, these organizations hope to work alongside and compliment current cultural institutions in their countries. They see culture as political, and one of the most fertile spaces to challenge societal norms. A broad sense of experimentation, education, and engagement with the public sphere form the core of their practice.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/moca-new-methods

New Methods Blog

Wed, 04 May 2011 12:24:00 -0600

Session 1: Introduction to New Methods & Participating Organizations

Introduction by associate curator Ruba Katrib: Organizing this symposium was a means of pursuing interests started in Chicago with her participation in the creation of the Three Walls Residency Program; institutions like this highlight the importance of bringing artists and communities in conversations and debates. While they may not produce discrete, tangible results, they become a nexus for new ways of thinking, producing and engaging the world through art.

Participants present their institutions:

Beta-Local, San Juan, Peurto Rico
Michy Marxuach and Tony Cruz - Three constituent programs: La Practica, 10 individuals come together from different disciplines to strengthen each other through drawing on the particulars of each field and bringing them into dialogue. The Harbor: providing a space for artists in exchange for guiding and teaching participants in La Práctica. Ivan Illyich, an open school, is a program of free lectures, workshops and critiques that emerge from projects at the center as well as ideas from the community.
During the formation of Beta-Local, concerns for the public became central; first to utilize the public that already exists, and then use this community to attract a larger audience. The institution also seeks to establish itself through minimal means and the structures that are in place.

Capacete, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Helmut Batista - Galleries and Museums in Rio were empty and rare, despite the size of its population and economic importance; violence also played a role. The place of the Sao Paolo Biennale drew Brazilian artists to that city. In 1997 Capacete was created to fill this hole in Rio's cultural infrastructure. It is based in a research residency program where artists, curators, and other arts professionals come to Capacete for 6 months in order to introduce themselves to the city. Emphasis is placed on the act of slowing down and absorbing information, rather than working through a predetermined project. The institution has become a center where artists return, or never leave. The residency is the first step in the this process and acts as an introduction to the community; however, it is not until a future, second visit that artists flesh out a project, be it the creation of a house for 2 people, a book, or other ideas.

Casa Tres Patios, Medellín, Colombia
Tony Evanko - Medellín has grown to a population of 3 million people, drawing people from the surrounding countryside affected by violence. The threat of violence caused the biennales that had been organized through the 60s, 70s and early 80s to shut down, nevertheless artists continued creating important work in the city. In 2006 Casa Tres Patios was created to serve as an exhibition space and place to encourage new and experimental work in the local arts community. The three patios in the name of the organization refer to a structural division created by the patios of thought, learning, and work.

Centro de Investigaciones Artisticas, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Judi Werthein - Centro, started in 2009, is a space for debate and dialogue between artists and thinkers from around the world. Buenos Aires was dominated by gallery spaces and this was to be an alternative space for thinking about new ways of producing; the objective is not exhibitions but discussions. Centro includes residency programs, artist workshops, courses, seminars, and public conferences. Associated projects include: Southern Conceptualisms which is aimed at describing developments in conceptual art from a specifically Latin American context and way of thinking; a program where artist agents go teach classes on the arts in low-income communities like a high school in Villa Fiorito. Centro has been successful with attracting a range of eminent artists/thinkers from around the world, though primarily from the Americas, who create workshops and lectures based in their research and projects. Centro is currently working to make the programs and research available through an online database.

Kiosko Galería, Santa Cruz, Bolivia
Raquel Schwartz - As a new and growing city, Santa Cruz has become an economic power of Bolivia. Nevertheless, arts institutions did not keep pace with the growth of the city, and Kiosko Galería and Simple studios were created by a group of artists to encourage contemporary work. Other than the residency, participants work here to support themselves and the center. The institution includes exhibition spaces and seeks to form a base for artists choosing to work outside of the traditional forms that predominate in the artistic output of the country. An international artist is placed with a Bolivian artist for 2 months, since it is difficult to participate in international dialogues; the country does not have an art school. Kiosko promotes their artists through international art fairs as a means of showing Bolivian work that has gone largely unrecognized. Vamos was a magazine published by the graphic design members of Kiosko, and is now changing to a blog. Sonidos de Acá is a program that supports experimental and new music in the city. They will be opening a new house in the coming year as the institution expands.

Lugar a Dudas, Cali, Colombia
Sally Mizrachi - Started in 2003 as an Oscar Muñoz project, Lugar a Dudas is based in a house that constantly changes to reflect the needs of particular situations. Cali has no contemporary art museums and one commercial gallery, making the presence of an institutionn like this necessary for the growth of local work. Research and investigation is the core of the space, and a documentation center became a large aspect of the project. The house also includes an exhibition space which often becomes a projection space for local film projects, as video is a growth area in what is coming to be known as "Caliwood". Many of the projects in this space highlight the political complexities of a country at war as well as questioning engagement with public space. A curatorial program invites national artists to create shows. Lugar a Dudas houses a library for documentation and research, which is the core of the institution's program; they also have started an archive for national artists. They are also connected to arts institutions in England, Spain, Brazil and throughout the Americas.

Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Stefan Benchoam - In 2009, four artists responded to a culture that was dominated by materialism and elitism by creating Proyectos Ultravioleta. The space aims to be an open place for thought that would not exclude traditionally "othered" people and encourage a sense of experimentation and play within the creation of art. They found a space which included a gallery hall for exhibitions and experimental projects. They decided to open a bar as part of the institution to draw new audiences and allow the space to grow as a gathering space. The institution's projects include workshops, seminars, residencies, public interventions, happenings, exhibitions, unusual parties as well as a range of other actions.

SOMA, Mexico City, Mexico
Eduardo Abaroa and Yoshua Okón- Now running for a year and a half, SOMA is the initiative of a group of artists which includes: a school, a residency, and a location for events. The spectacle of art has become prevalent in the contemporary art atmosphere to the detriment of content and discussion, and the institution seeks to create more spaces for debate and community investigation. Renowned Mexican and international artists and arts professionals come to present lectures and give critiques to help the participants develop their work. Every wednesday multi-disciplinary speakers come to give lectures on topics from science to literature, among others. Three kinds of courses include: group conversations with a curator, with an artist, and individual reviews for participating artists. SOMA encourages erasure of the frontier between students and teachers. They offer a summer institute as a 6-week program for artists which includes workshops, critiques, and visits to Mexico City's arts and culture institutions.

Latest Research for New Methods: Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:22:15 -0700

It’s been a busy last couple of months of travel in preparation for the New Methods symposium. In December, I went to Brazil and Argentina to continue my research. I was able to catch the last week of the 29^th Sao Paulo Biennale and met with Helmut Batista from Capacete in Rio de Janeiro. We discussed the residency program that he has been successfully operating since 1998. The program enables international artists to spend time in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and commissions artworks, publishes books, and organizes engaging public discussions. Capacete has had an impressive history and is looking towards its future, a topic that will be discussed during the symposium.

In Buenos Aires, I was able to visit a very interesting exhibition at the Centro Cultural Recoleta of the fellows at the Centro Investigaciones Artisticas (CIA), organized by New York-based curator Dean Daderko. It was very informative to talk to Dean about the process of working with the fellows at CIA, who are primarily emerging artists based in Buenos Aires who apply to join the program. Daderko’s presence in Buenos Aires shows how CIA is dedicated to create exchange between international artists, curators and critics and the local community.

I just returned on Monday from Mexico City where I met with Yoshua Okon from Soma. I also went to Soma to do studio visits with a few of the students who have been enrolled in the program in its inaugural year. I was also able to attend the Sitac conference, held annually in Mexico City focusing on different themes around contemporary art and theory; this year’s theme was “catastrophe.” It was a great time to gain a sense of the dynamic art scene in the city and the role that Soma plays by creating a space of discussion and critique for working artists.

New Methods / Nuevos Métodos

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:13:00 -0600

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), North Miami will host a three-day international symposium titled New Methods / Nuevos Métodos from May 4 - 6, 2011, examining the boom of independent artistic activity in Latin America. The symposium will focus on artist-run organizations from throughout the region that have emerged from the need for independent education for working artists.

Associate Curator Ruba Katrib keeps us "posted" on her travels preparing the research for this symposium:

Bogotá and Medellín, Colombia
October 2010

One of the exhibition spaces from Casa Tres Patios.

The first on-site research endeavor for New Methods / Nuevos Métodos (the new symposium about innovative art spaces in Latin America at MOCA this May) began with a trip to Colombia. I was generously invited to Bogotá by ArtBo, ArtNexus, and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia to speak about contemporary art collections. I was involved in a very energetic panel conversation with Angela Maria Perez Mejia and Maria Willis from the Banco de Republica and Maria Belen Saenz de Ibarra from the University about collecting contemporary. Also, I was very impressed with ArtBo and the alternative fair La Otra, which both hosted many exciting artists.

View from the kitchen of Casa Tres Patios.

From Bogotá I traveled to Medellín where I met with Tony Evanko who started the residency and exhibition space Casa Tres Patios in 2006 with help from a Fulbright Grant. Coming from New Mexico and a trained architect, Tony noticed a gap in the arts community in Medellín and sought to create an interdisciplinary space where artists could congregate for lectures, workshops, and exhibitions and to create exchange between locals and the resident artists who originate from cities all over the world. The space is complex with an incredibly beautiful exhibitions/work area with plenty of natural light and three cozy bedrooms for guests.

Tony's office at Casa Tres Patios.

There is a communal kitchen area with a balcony that overlooks the mountains surrounding the city. Casa Tres Patios has been engaged in an active program for four years now and embarks on exciting new chapters, perhaps opening up a library or resource center for the community of Medellin and bringing in a slew of new residents coming from places such as Bolivia and Australia. In my conversation with Tony, he brought up the importance of sustainability and the importance of finding inventive ways of supporting these types of spaces that develop out of the needs of the community. This is certainly a topic that will be discussed during New Methods / Nuevos Métodos.

Pivot Points IV

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 08:49:19 -0600

The eternal struggle between man and nature is a theme not only perpetuated in today’s society, but also a concern further explored in the work of Melanie Schiff. Photographs by Schiff titled Ramped (2009) and Circle and Branch (2009) are among the works from MOCA’s permanent collection featured in Pivot Points IV, opening on September 16. Both Ramped and Circle and Branch exemplify Schiff’s ongoing interest in the parallels between the destructive nature of human existence and allure of the natural world. This deliberate coupling of antithetical subjects provokes a commentary on the detrimental effect humans can have on nature.

As in many of her photographs, Schiff encompasses graffiti, an art form commonly associated with vandalism, to refer to the disregard brought on by human nature. In Ramped, the graffiti appropriately captures the invasive qualities of man on nature. However in Circle and Branch, we are reminded of the sheer power the natural world possesses in the engulfment of the man-made metal object by branches and trees. The puncture of the branch through the metal wheel particularly suggests violence indicative of this fight to coexist. Please join us in viewing these pieces by Schiff along with all the works on view in Pivot Points IV.

East of Paradise Film Screening

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 08:44:25 -0600

On Wednesday, August 18, at 7 pm, MOCA will host a screening of “East of Paradise,” a film that inspired Claire Fontaine and their “Economies” exhibition. Directed by Lech Kowalski, the film makes a powerful statement about the human condition and explores the extremeness of our experiences. “East of Paradise,” is the last of four films to be screened at MOCA as part of Claire Fontaine’s Moving Image Toolbox. The film incorporates poverty, sex, Rock’and’Roll and death in a (political) commentary on today’s reality. If you never thought a Polish Holocaust survivor could bare bear any similarity to a punk or junkee, Lech Kowalski will tastefully disprove you. Do we really “live in a lie?” And is that lie really “forced upon us by people with power?” Please join us on Wednesday evening. We encourage you to share your comments.

MOCA Summer Journalism Institute

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:58:50 -0600

Students in the MOCA Summer Journalism Institute for Teens are wrapping up their experience this week. Highlights of the program include a trip to FIU's communication's department and a visit from Miami Herald staffers. Students wrote profiles of each other. They are working on feature stories that include a number of interviews. Yesterday they went into the galleries of MOCA for a tour and then wrote about some of the pieces.

Cory Arcangel's Internet Portfolio Website and Portal

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 08:50:00 -0600

Visit Cory Arcangel's website, www.coryarcangel.com, to learn more about his work. Then, join us at MOCA on Saturday April 3 at 2 pm for a special screening of selections from his personal archive of video and film footage. The screening is free with museum admission. Tell us what you think.

New BlogEntry

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:39:00 -0700

On Wednesday, January 27, MOCA is highlighting Polish artist Artur Zmijewski's video Them in the exhibition The Reach of Realism by creating a special screening time at 7:30 pm. Zmijewski takes several different Polish social and political organizations, from the young communists to a church group comprised of old women, and asks each to create an artwork emblematic of their beliefs. The groups are then allowed to adjust each other's artworks however they wish. What starts as polite editing turns into an explosive situation. We invite your feedback on this video.

New BlogEntry

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:38:00 -0700

Wednesday, January 20, MOCA will highlight London-based Emily Wardill's video, Game Keepers without Game in the exhibition The Reach of Realism, by creating a special screening time at 7:30 pm so you can watch it from start to finish. The video is inspired by Pedro Calderon de la Barca's play La Vida es Suena (1635) and follows a contemporary British family in a dysfunctional drama of abandonment and attempted reconciliation. The video is shot against a stark white background, pushing all the characters and props to the fore. They are not grounded in the same reality, but float within it and never touch. Wardill uses innovative narrative techniques, and plays with the construction of a story through precise attention to images and sound. Please join us for the screening and respond here with questions and comments.

Link to Arthood.com interview with Reach of Realism Curator Ruba Katrib

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:33:00 -0700

http://www.arthood.com/profiles/blogs/arthood-interviews-mocas-ruba

JANUARY 13 VIDEO HIGHLIGHT : LARS LAUMANN

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:18:00 -0700

This Wednesday, January 13, MOCA will highlight Norwegian artist Lars Laumann’s video, Shut up Child, this ain’t Bingo, in the exhibition The Reach of Realism, with a special screening time at 7:30 pm so you can watch it from start to finish. The video is shot in a loose documentary style and follows Laumann’s friend and fellow Norwegian artist Kjersti Andvig, who had been working on a collaborative art project with a death row inmate named Carlton Turner. For several months, Andvig moved to Texas where Turner was incarcerated and Laumann captured what unfolded between Andvig, Turner, and the woman with whom Andvig was staying. Without giving the work completely away for those who will attend Wednesday’s screening, Shut up Child, this ain’t Bingo provides a compelling examination into the precarious lines between art, fantasy, and reality. If you’ve already seen the video or plan to view it on Wednesday, please comment with thoughts and questions about this work.

January 6 Video Highlight: Phil Collins

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 08:25:00 -0700

This Wednesday, January 6, MOCA is highlighting British artist Phil Collins' video, "Soy Mi Madre "in the exhibition "The Reach of Realism," by creating a special screening time at 7:30 pm so you can watch it from start to finish. The video follows the fomat of a Mexican telenovella with a plotline filled with deceit and drama inspired by Jean Genet's radical play "The Maids." While Collins maintains the class struggle that Genet used to incite his audiences in the 1940s, today the story fits perfectly well in its telenovella structure. Telenovellas are a huge phenomenon and while primarily originating out of Latin America, they have an extensive global reach. Why is it that the telenovella is so popular and why do you think that Collins has created an artwork borrowing its conventions to adapt a play written in the 1940s? We would love your feedback if you already seen the video, and if not, please respond when you check it out on Wednesday.