Exhibit Title: Sujeto (Subject)
Artists in Sujeto: Richard Avedon, Stephen Balkenhol, Jorge Bayo, Ricky Dávila, Rineke Dijkstra, Roland Fischer, Till Freiwald, Pere Formiguera, Carmela García, Pierre Gonnord, Félix González-Torres, Stefan Hablützel, Marie-Jo Lafontaine, Gilda Mantilla, Robert Mapplethorpe, JesÚs Micó, Pedro Mora, Berhard Prinz, Humberto Rivas, Daniel Rozin, Thomas Ruff, Do-ho Suh, Fiona Tan and Urraco
Venue: Exhibition Halls 1 and 3, MUSAC
Dates: September 10 to December 6, 2005
Curator: Rafael Doctor Roncero
Coordinator: Marta Gerveno
After the inauguration of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León last April, MUSAC presents three new self-produced exhibitions, among which is Sujeto, a collective show that gives another twist to the theme of contemporary portraiture, placing the representation of man in his absolute neutrality not only composition-wise, but on that which refers to behavior itself. An original idea by Rafael Doctor that gathers works from the MUSAC Collection as well as others from institutional and private collections. MUSAC is an initiative of the Junta de Castilla y León through the Fundación Siglo.
SUJETO (SUBJECT) stems from the idea of becoming a survey compilation of portraits on neutral background. Distributed in Exhibition Halls 1 and 3 of MUSAC, a selection of 40 portraits with a common denominator is shown: the presentation of individualities in the context of their nude existence, their - being there�, constituting a document on - the other� in various ways, the proof of existence and with it, a mirror of the existential uncertainties of the observer. Without doubt it proposes a journey to the interior of our - I� through our reflection on the - other�.
Through the works of 24 artists, among which prevail photography, but which also includes sculpture, installation or painting, a clear question is established: will we still be capable of looking at - the other� in the height of human dignity to see our very own nudity?
List of Artists in Sujeto, in alphabetical order:
RICHARD AVEDON: 1923 New York, USA - 2004 Texas, USA
STEPHEN BALKENHOL: 1957 Fritziar, Hessen, Germany
JORGE BAYO: 1964 Madrid, Spain
RICKY DÁVILA: 1964 Bilbao, Spain
RINEKE DIJKSTRA: 1959 Sittard, The Netherlands
ROLAND FISCHER: 1958 Saarbrucken, Germany
TILL FREIWALD: 1963 Lima, PerÚ
PERE FORMIGUERA: 1952 Barcelona, Spain
CARMELA GARCÁA: 1964 Lanzarote, Spain P
IERRE GONNORD: 1963 Cholet, France
FÉLIX GONZÁLEZ-TORRES: 1957 Güaimaro, Cuba - 1996 Miami, USA
STEFAN HABLÃœTZEL: 1964 Berna, Switzerland
MARIE-JO LAFONTAINE: 1950 Antwerp, Belgium
GILDA MANTILLA: 1967 Lima, PerÚ
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE: 1946 New York, USA - 1989 New York, USA
JESÚS MICÓ: 1962 Cádiz, Spain
PEDRO MORA: 1961 Sevilla, Spain
BERHARD PRINZ: 1953 Fürth, Germany
HUMBERTO RIVAS: 1937 Buenos Aires, Argentina
DANIEL ROZIN: 1961 Jerusalem, Israel
THOMAS RUFF: 1958 Zell Schwarzwald, Germany
DO-HO SUH: 1962 Seoul, Korea
FIONA TAN: 1966 Pekan Baru, Indonesia
URRACO: 1971 Madrid, Spain
Prints, shadows and reflections
Man understood very early that his identity was vulnerable, as it left traces of it wherever he went in the form of fingerprints, shadows and reflections. His corporal limits were overflowing uncontrollably, with strange apparent drifts. The modern semiotic raised this question in a different way and recognized that beings and objects manifest themselves through their prints, shadows and reflections. The last two mentioned evidences are of a luminary character, while the print is a corporal and volumetric evidence. Shadow and reflection require the co-presence of the reference in order to be perceived. While print has the status of a temporal or lasting sign: it is an imprint of the past. And while this evidence has sparked the interest most especially of detective literature (Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown), fantasy literature and art were interested, on the contrary, on the reflection in the mirror that lasts and acquires a life of its own and on the shadow that possesses a life independent from the subject.
Prints, reflections and shadows are here presented with the direct participation of the visitor/observer. Through the production of artists of different natures, an - un-attributed� subject is shown with one objective: the reconstruction through the reflection on the - other�.
In the - un-attributed� portraits in Sujeto (Subject) there is furthermore, another objective: to rebel against this easy consumption and create a space&or a refuge&for contemplation, memory, remembrance and empathy. Reflections of man in all his human vulnerability and dignity, the observer will never experience effectism nor voyeurism in any way, but a respectful complicity.
Jean-Paul Sartre made a blunt description of human relations, showing his complex, conflictive and ambivalent character. - The gazeâ€? is the experience in which the other makes himself present. It establishes a relation between a subject that looks at an object that is being looked at. With respect to things, this relationship is always one way and not reversible, but when the observed is another subject, another human being, the situation turns out to be more complicated. That which is looked at as object is, at the same time, a subject. The one that looks degrades the other to a mere object, seeing it as something more among everything that makes up its world, assigning it a place in its project. In doing so, he grants its - object-beingâ€?, something which it wouldn´t achieve without the other´s meditation. The subject, upon feeling observed, will feel as a mere object, will feel - degraded, dependent and fixedâ€?, and it provokes shame. It not only becomes a being - for itselfâ€?, it is also a being - for othersâ€? which converts it into a being - in itselfâ€?.
Catalogue of the exhibition
On the occasion of this show, MUSAC will publish a book entitled Sujeto, co-produced with ACTAR Publishing House (Barcelona). The said publication will include reproductions of the works that compose the show, as well as essays by the curator Rafael Doctor Roncero (MUSAC Director, León, Spain), together with essays by Alejandro Jodorowsky (Writer, tarot-reader, script-writer, Chile) and Marta Gerveno (Exhibition Coordinator, MUSAC). |
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