Latitudes

Hans Schabus project for 'Portscapes': 'Europahaven, Port of Rotterdam, 17 Juni 2009'

2009-07-03T17:53:00.005+02:00

Hans Schabus’ project for Portscapes is the next chapter in his ongoing series of ‘arrival photographs’ featuring the sailing boat Forlorn. The artist has produced a new photograph which can be seen on a roadside 5 x 9 metre billboard on the way to Maasvlakte (1km before reaching the visitor centre Futureland -- satellite view here), and is also distributed as a postcard. A presentation of Forlorn, the film ‘Western’ (2002), a series of photographs and the postcard will be on view at Futureland until 15 August, a presentation that has been conceived in collaboration with the artist to give further insight into the context of this extraordinary image – below the billboard presentation (photo: Jurjen Semeijn) followed by production shots (all images: Freek van Arkel).

The Forlorn (2002) is a wooden-hulled ‘Optimist’ class sailing dinghy designed for a crew of one; in fact it is intended for children. The project of the ‘arrival photographs’ started with Western (2002), a film in which we see Schabus navigating through the sewers of his native Vienna in the self-built boat. He paddles through several sewage tracts until reaching a canal, a one way trip through a sinister labyrinth, a dark and obscure underground world. The film makes reference to Orson Welles’ 1949 film The Third Man through the use of the original score – at the film’s climax, Harry Lime flees from the authorities through the same sewers.

Since then the Forlorn has emerged into the light to undertake an unexplained and pitifully lonely global journey in which its single sailor is seen apparently arriving for the first time at different locations. First to a very foggy New York, a city which evoked a more radiant promised land for those many immigrants who arrived there by sea. Then onwards to Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Lake Constance, Bregenz, Austria; and Venice, Italy. The existential journey comprises a seemingly endless quest or escape, a migration voyage seen only at moments of hope and promise in making safe landfall. Will the migrant receive a warm or hostile reception on each new territory?

In the new image 'Europahaven, Rotterdam, 17 Juni 2009', the sailor navigates towards the huge container terminals of the Port of Rotterdam and a vast cargo ship. Sailing at a point which will become the new entrance to Maasvlakte 2, the simplest of water vehicles and a single man appear in stark contrast to an overwhelmingly modern manifestation of seafaring trade. Despite the speed, scale and efficiency of the port, the image seems to indicate that on a human scale the vastness of maritime space nevertheless remains a vulnerable and mythologically rich territory.

Hans Schabus’ (1970 Watschig, Austria. Lives in Vienna, Austria) sculptures and interventions often refer directly to his mental and physical surroundings, particularly to his studio and also by exploring excavation, transportation and engineering. His work embraces ecological cycles of construction, destruction and renewal – elements that were present in the 2004 exhibition at Kunsthaus Bregenz, where the artist transformed the entire building into a complex and convoluted architectonic and mental path of discovery. The show included large-scale videos of train journeys to visit the venue during preparations, as well as flooding the ground floor and encompassing an imaginary tunnel to the basement of the building. In 2006 he produced the ‘Book of Ballast’ in which he explored a mostly forgotten sea connection between Liverpool and the US city of Savannah. Schabus documented numerous stones which made their way as ballast on ships to ports on the east coast of America, where they were put to use to pave streets and build houses. The artist became more widely known when he represented Austria at the 2005 Venice Biennale with the project The Last Land, whereby he created a maze inside a ‘mountain’ that completely covered the pavilion building.

Schabus’ solo projects include: Next Time I’m Here, I’ll Be There, The Curve, Barbican Gallery, London (2008); Deserted Conquest, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico (2007); Kasseler Kunstverein, Kassel, Germany (2006); Kunsthaus Bregenz, Bregenz, Austria (2004); and Secession, Vienna, Austria (1996 and 2003). Group exhibitions include: Revolutions – Forms That Turn, Biennale of Sydney (2008); Turin Triennial (2005); and Manifesta 4, Frankfurt (2004).

'Portscapes' is a series of newly commissioned public projects taking place alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2 – the extension to the Port of Rotterdam. www.portscapes.nl

An initiative of the Port of Rotterdam Authority with advice from SKOR (Foundation for Art and Public Space). Curated by Latitudes, www.LTTDS.org

[All images: Freek van Arkel]

Jornadas entorno al Canòdrom, el futuro Centro de Arte en Barcelona, 6–7 Julio 2009

2009-07-03T12:16:00.001+02:00

Los próximos 6 y 7 de julio tendrá lugar en el Auditorio del MACBA (Plaça Joan Coromines, s/n) las 'Jornadas Internacionales de Debate para un Nuevo Centro de Arte en Barcelona' - véase programa a continuación.

Latitudes participará en la mesa redonda 'El Canòdrom, un nuevo equipamiento en Barcelona visto por artistas, críticos y comisarios' que tendrá lugar el Lunes 6 Julio, 18–20h (seguido por un debate de 20–21h).

Entrada gratuita – Plazas limitadas – Inscripción previa (hasta el 4 Julio) a nuriagregori@yahoo.es o llamando al 676 135 250

Organiza: Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts, Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació, Ajuntament de Barcelona, Consell de la Cultura de Barcelona.

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Programa CANÒDROM’09. Jornadas internacionales de debate para un nuevo Centro de Arte en Barcelona

Descargar programa completo (pdf)

Desde la proliferación de centros de arte en Europa a principios de los años 80 hasta la actualidad, el concepto de centro de arte se ha modificado y ha evolucionado, siguiendo patrones distintos adaptados a cada contexto y a la evolución de la tecnología y de la comunicación, así como a la convivencia con la industria cultural, al carácter multidisciplinar del arte, a las nuevas prácticas curatoriales, al ejercicio de la mediación social y a la labor educativa y de formación en el marco de una sociedad global.

Con el fin de dar impulso al nuevo proyecto del futuro Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Barcelona, con sede en el edificio del Canòdrom de la Meridiana de Barcelona, se organizan unas jornadas internacionales de debate y discusión que cuentan con la participación de los directores de varios centros de arte europeos ejemplos de diversos de los modelos existentes. Asimismo se hace un llamamiento al sector de las artes visuales —artistas, críticos, comisarios, galeristas, estudiantes de arte, gestores culturales y demás agentes y emprendedores artísticos— para que formen parte de este debate.

Lunes, 6 de julio
Mañana 10.00 h – 10.30 h
Apertura de las jornadas a cargo de Pilar Parcerisas, Vicepresidenta Primera del Consejo Nacional de la Cultura y de las Artes, y Daniel Giralt-Miracle, miembro del Comité Ejecutivo del Consejo de la Cultura de Barcelona.

10.30 h – 12.00 h
El Canòdrom, un edificio para el arte contemporáneo Xavier Monteys y Josep M. de Lecea, arquitectos. Autores de la restauración y remodelación del Canòdrom

12.00 h – 12.30 h Pausa

12.30 h - 14.00 h
Los centros de arte en Europa, hoy. Especificidad y límites frente a los museos.
Dirk Snauwaert, Director del Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wiels, Bruselas
Nicolaus Schafhausen, Director de Witte de With, Rotterdam
Modera: Roberta Bosco, periodista de arte de El País, Barcelona

14.00 h - 14.30 h Debate

16.00 h - 17.30 h
El modelo inglés y su relación con los consejos de las artes. La tradición de la Cornerhouse.
Dave Moutrey, Director de la Cornerhouse, Manchester

17.30 h - 18.00 h Pausa

18.00 h - 20.00 h
El Canòdrom, un nuevo equipamiento en Barcelona visto por artistas, críticos y comisarios.
Carles Guerra, Director de La Virreina. Centro de la imagen, Barcelona
Amanda Cuesta, crítica de arte y curadora de exposiciones
Jorge Luis Marzo, miembro del grupo de debate Centro de Arte Barcelona
Latitudes (Max Andrews y Mariana Cánepa), curadores independientes
Joan Fontcuberta, artista y Presidente de la Asociación de Artistas Visuales de Cataluña (AAVC)
Daniel García Andújar, artista y presidente de la Asociación de Artistas Visuales de Cataluña (AAVC)
Modera: Mercè Alsina, crítica de arte y curadora de exposiciones, Secretaria de la Asociación Catalana de Críticos de Arte (ACCA)

20.00 h – 21.00 h Debate

Martes, 7 de julio
10.00 h - 11.30 h
El flujo del arte contemporáneo en los centros de arte: producción, presentación, difusión
Bartomeu Marí, ex Director de Witte de With y actualmente Director del Macba, Barcelona

11.30 h - 12.00 h Pausa

12.00 - 14.00 h
En red. El Canòdrom desde el territorio.
Oriol Gual, Director del espacio La Capella, Barcelona
David Santaeulària, Director del espacio Zero 1, Olot
Glòria Picazo, Directora del Centro de Arte La Panera, Lleida.
Rosa Pera, Directora de Bòlit, Centro de Arte, Girona
Anna Capella, Directora del Museo del Ampurdán, Figueres
Jordi Abelló, Coordinador de los espacios de arte del Ayuntamiento de Tarragona
Víctor Sunyol, Presidente de H. Asociación para las Artes Contemporáneas, Vic
Clara Garí, Directora de la Nau Côclea, Camallera
Modera: Oriol Picas, Subdirector General de Equipamientos del Departamento de Cultura y Medios de Comunicación de la Generalidad de Cataluña.

14.00 h - 14.30 h Debate 16.00 h - 17.30 h
Los retos de futuro de los centros de arte
Susanne Pfeffer, Curadora del KW Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo, Berlín
Kestutis Kuizinas, Director del Centro de Arte Contemporáneo (CCA), Vilnius, Lituania
Francis McKee, Director del Centro de Arte Contemporáneo, Glasgow
Laurence Rassel, Directora de proyectos de la Fundación Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona
Modera: Rosario Fontova, periodista de arte independiente, Barcelona

17.30 h - 18.00 h Pausa

18.00 h - 20.00 h
Espacios de producción y creación con relación al Canòdrom
Víctor Lobo, co-director de Experimentem amb l’art, Barcelona
Pep Dardanyà, director de Can Xalant, Mataró
Tere Badia, investigadora y coordinadora de Xarxaprod
Pedro Soler, director de Hangar, Barcelona
Sergi Díaz, coordinador de Fabra i Coats, Barcelona
Modera: Ramon Parramon, director de Idensitat y jefe de estudios de posgrado de Elisava

Cierre de las jornadas a cargo de Lluís Noguera, Secretario General del Departamento de Cultura y Medios de Comunicación de la Generalidad de Cataluña, y Jordi Martí, Delegado de Cultura del Ayuntamiento de Barcelona.

'NO SOUL FOR SALE': Press Coverage

2009-07-01T19:00:00.005+02:00

Below a selection press articles, blogs, announcements and slideshows links related to 'NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival of Independents' which took place between 24–28th June in New York (if we missed any materials, please do share the link with us!).

p.s. Some sources are confused about the nature of Latitudes' space in the festival. Just to clarify, we didn't built a faux Burger King, the 'scenario' – assembled entirely thanks to The Bruce High Quality Foundation – comprised real dining furniture from the abandoned 1983 Burger King from Governors Island (see photo-documentation of the original site taken by two photographers invited in 2003 by Public Art Fund – images 2 and 3 of the slideshow).

e-Flux, June 15, 2009
http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/6898

Holland Cotter, 'Restoring the ‘Eek’ to Eking Out a Living', New York Times, 24 June 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/25/arts/design/25soul.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=restoring%20the%20eek&st=cse
and slideshow here http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/06/24/arts 20090625_SOUL_SLIDESHOW_index.html

Jerry Saltz, 'Saltz: Glimpse Art’s Near Future at No Soul for Sale', 24 June 2009
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2009/06/saltz_glimpse_arts_near-future.html

Laura Meli, 'The Anti-commerce, Pro-art “No Soul for Sale” Festival', 25 June 2009
http://www.nyartbeat.com/nyablog/2009/06/the-anti-commerce-pro-art-no-soul-for-sale-festival

Time Out Art, 25 June 2009
http://www3.timeoutny.com/newyork/tonyblog/2009/06/no-soul-for-sale-at-x-initiative

William Pym, Artforum Scene & Heard, 'Whatever Works', 26 June 2009
http://www.artforum.com/diary/#entry23170 (text)
http://www.artforum.com/diary/id=23170#readon23170 (more images)

Sunday, 28 June, 2009 (images)
http://www.16miles.com/2009/06/no-soul-for-sale-festival-of.html

23 June 2009, www.designboom.com
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/6793/no-soul-for-sale.html

Ceci Moss, 'Dispatches from No Soul For Sale: More Highlights!', 29 June 2009
http://rhizome.org/editorial/2732

Materials presented at 'NO SOUL FOR SALE'

2009-06-25T19:26:00.004+02:00

During 'NO SOUL FOR SALE' we are presenting several publications and paraphernalia related to our projects, including:

– Compendium of essays, artists' projects, etc. 'Land, Art: A Cultural Ecology Handbook' (Royal Society of Arts/Arts Council England, 2006)
– Magazine UOVO #14 'Ecology, Luxury and Degradation' (The Bookmakers Ed., Summer 2007)
– Exhibition catalogue 'Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities' (The Bookmakers Ed., February 2008)
– Artist book by Simon Fujiwara 'The Museum of Incest: A Guide' (Archive Books, May 2009)

We also have DVDs of Jan Dibbets' recent film '6 Hours of Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' (as part of Portscapes) and a public sculpture produced in October 2008 by Lawrence Weiner on occasion of his exhibition 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' at Fundació Suñol, Barcelona (we also have the exhibition booklet available).

The Bruce High Quality Foundation also have a computer available from where visitors can burn DVDs for $5 as well as some of their publications.

Latitudes' temporary office in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE' with a 'scenario' by The Bruce High Quality Foundation

2009-06-24T23:35:00.007+02:00

Transposing our daily operations from Barcelona to New York's 22nd Street, Latitudes is presenting its recent publications, project-related paraphernalia and documentation. The office ‘scenario’ is conceived by the artist group The Bruce High Quality Foundation, incorporating dining furniture from the abandoned 1983 Burger King from Governor’s Island (see images above and below), where they have recently filmed 'Isle of the Dead'. This zombie movie about the death of culture in New York will be premiered during Creative Time’s ‘This World & Nearer Ones’ (opening June 27,2–4pm). Latitudes first collaborated with Bedford-Stuyvesant-based The Bruce High Quality Foundation for the group exhibition ‘Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities’ (Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, Italy, February–May 2008). Touching on themes such as gentrification and public space, satire and self-promotion, its activities have included reality TV, films, tableaux vivants, photography, protests, installations, merchandising and a production based on the musical Cats.

During NO SOUL FOR SALE we are also showing Jan Dibbets’ 6 Hours Tide Object with
Correction of Perspective (1969/2009) (8 mins.) as well as the 'making of' the film (20 mins). Shot in February 2009 and premiered on 14 June in Rotterdam, this Dibbets work is the inaugural project of Portscapes, the Latitudes-curated commission series taking place throughout 2009 in and around Maasvlakte 2, a 5000 acre extension to the Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

NO SOUL FOR SALE: 24–28 June, 1–9pm. Free admission.
28 June, 6–7pm: Screening three films by The Bruce High Quality Foundation

X INITIATIVE: 548 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011 (former Dia Center)
GETTING THERE: C or E train to West 23 Street station, and walk west on 22nd towards X

All images: Latitudes | www.lttds.org

Participation in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival of Independents', New York, 24–28 June

2009-06-14T16:54:00.008+02:00

Latitudes will be soon participating in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival of Independents' (24–28 June, 1–9pm, free entrance) an event hosted by X initiative which will bring together 38 not-for-profit centers, alternative institutions, artists’ collectives and independent enterprises from Berlin, Milan, Dublin, Lisbon, Paris, Reykjavík, Hong Kong, Rabat, Trinidad, New York, Los Angeles, etc. that contribute to the international art scene by generating a diverse cultural programme.

Latitudes will set up a temporary office-base camp, transposing our daily operations while presenting our publications (exhibition catalogues, guest-edited magazines, artist books and anthologies) and other paraphernalia. The office-'scenario' will be conceived by the artist group The Bruce High Quality Foundation, incorporating dining furniture from the abandoned Burger King facility on Governor's Island, where they have recently shot 'Isle of the Dead', a zombie movie to be premiered in Fort Jay Theater during Creative Time’s 'This World & Nearer Ones' (opening June 27, 2–4pm) as well as in the X Initiative screening & performing area on Sunday 28th from 6pm.

During 'NO SOUL FOR SALE' Latitudes will also premiere the 8 minute film '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective', the new version of a 1969 film by Dutch Conceptual artist Jan Dibbets (1941) and the inaugural project of Portscapes, the public commission series taking place throughout 2009 in and around Maasvlate 2, the 2,000 hectare extension to the Port of Rotterdam.

Participants: Artis Contemporary Israeli Art Fund (New York and Tel Aviv), Ballroom (Marfa), BizArt/Arthub (Shanghai/Hong Kong), DISPATCH (New York), Empty Purse Publications (New York), Filipa Oliveira + Miguel Amado (Lisbon), FLUXspace (Philadelphia), Galerie im Regierungsviertel / Forgotten Bar Project (Berlin), Hermes und der Pfau (Stuttgart), K 48 (New York), Kadist Art Foundation (Paris), Kling&Bang (Reykjavík), L’Appartement 22 (Rabat), Latitudes (Barcelona), LAXART (Los Angeles), Light Industry (Brooklyn), Lucie Fontaine (Milan), Migrating Forms (New York), Mousse Magazine (Milan), Next Visit (Berlin), Not An Alternative (Brooklyn), Office for Contemporary Art Norway (Oslo), Participant Inc. (New York), Rhizome (New York), STARSHIP (Berlin), Storefront for Art and Architecture (New York), Studio Film Club (Trinidad), Supportico Lopez (Berlin), Surasi Kusolwong (Thailand), Swiss Institute (New York), TART (San Francisco), The Mountain School of Arts (Los Angeles), Thisisnotashop (Dublin), Transformer (Washington, D.C.), Via Farini (Milan), Vox Populi (Philadelphia), WAGE Artists (New York), White Columns (New York).

Latitudes' participation is partly supported by the Institut Ramon Llull

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X INITIATIVE, 548 West 22nd Street (former Dia Center), New York, NY 10011, USA [MAP HERE]
Opening Reception: June 23, 6-9 pm with a performance by Martin Soto Climent.
Opening Hours: June 24–28 2009, 1–9 pm. FREE ENTRANCE

Overview of the 53rd International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennial: 'Making Worlds // Fare Mondi'

2009-06-14T13:16:00.016+02:00

GIARDINI - All images: Latitudes (unless credited otherwise)

Daniel Birnbaum's 'Making Worlds' felt less melancholic though still very much in keeping with his recently-curated '50 Moons of Saturn', the 2nd Turin Triennial (see post 10 November 2008). Both exhibitions shared several artists (Ulla von Brandenburg, Koo Jeong-A, Pietro Roccasalva, Spencer Finch, Ceal Floyer, Lara Favaretto, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Haegue Yang, Paul Chan, Tomás Saraceno, Wade Guyton, Keren Cytter and Rosa Barba), while Venice included several students (including Att Poomtangon) or professors (Simon Starling, Wolfgang Tillmans) from the Birnbaum-directed Staedelschule in Frankfurt, and the support of curator Jochen Volz in the artistic organization (additional advice was provided by a team of 'correspondents': Savita Apte, Tom Eccles, Hu Fang and Maria Finders). In contrast with the 2007 biennial by Robert Storr it felt less painterly and more sculptural and with a notable lack of 'black boxes' with film and video work.

There seemed to be however, a certain self-reflexivity with regard to the biennale context: several works referred to the winter life of the Giardini venues (Steve McQueen's film in the British Pavilion; Haegue Yang's video in the Korean Pavilion) and the challenge artists face when asked to present work for the Venice. This was most evident in Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's video in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni (formerly named 'Padiglione Italia'), a touching exorcism of artistic exhaustion. During the last twenty years she has been asked to participate in the Biennale not less than five times, and she speaks about the pressure of expectation in creating something new every time.

Elsewhere in Venice the Biennial threatened to be overshadowed by the opening of François Pinault’s über-collection hosted in the recently renovated Punta della Dogana (the former customs house). The spectacular triangular building has undergone a speedy renovation by Japanese architect Tadao Ando (see video here) and the inaugural exhibition's sombre atmosphere is much in contrast to the über-kitch displays at Palazzo Grassi.

ARSENALE - All images: Latitudes (unless credited otherwise)
Without trying to be at all comprehensive (with almost one million square feet of exhibition space, more than ninety artists, seventy-seven national contributions, forty-four collateral events that seem increasingly impossible) here are some highlights in no particular order of the Giardini (see first slideshow with 111 images) and Arsenale (slideshow above with 49 images):

Roman Ondák’s 'Loop' contribution in the Czech/Slovak pavilion: a walk-through pavilion with a path running from the entrance to the back door that has been landscaped with exactly the same greenery that exists in the Giardini – it was executed with such precision that some visitors asked the artist if his work was the pavilion building itself as they could not find the 'art' anywhere.

Haegue Yang's 'Condensation' (Korea Pavilion) atmospheric assemblage of Venetian blinds, lamps or bulbs, scent atomizers, infrared motion detectors and crochet.

'The Collectors' in the Nordic and Danish pavilions, taken over by artists invited by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset which included exquisit works by Pepe Espaliú's ('Carrying Project') and Simon Fujiwara.

Lara Favaretto's 'Momentary Monument (Swamp)' at the Giardini delle Vergini as well as the three minute man-horse-motorbike film by David Bestué & Marc Vives, which together with their 'Acciones en casa' presented in the Arsenale, gave one of the only humorous notes in the exhibition.

Finally the biennial at last has a decent cafeteria! Tobias Rehberger was given the Golden Lion for the Best Artist for his neo-pop environment. It could well have been recognised along with another new facility previously in dire need of a revamp: the bookstore, which was designed by Rirkrit Tiravanija and hosted a comprehensive collection of monographs and catalogues.

EVENTI COLLATERALI – All images: Latitudes (unless otherwise credited)

Off-Giardini highlights (slideshow above with 41 images):

Joao Maria Gusmao & Pedro Paiva's 'Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of Air' (Portugal) which included five 16mm films, a mixture of humour and magical realism (a sunset with three suns, a man lifting a bucket filled with water by grasping the water...)

Teresa Margolles (Mexico) showing 'What else can we talk about?'. An traumatised and almost empty Palazzo Rota Ivancich highlighted the many Mexicans who have recently died in a violent manner. Margolles and her collaborators gathered blankets with blood and mud where victims fell. That mud and that same blood is slowly moistened in the ground floor and later used to mop the main floor. A decadent palazzo in almost complete silence combines personal dramas and national sorrow. As the artist put it 'we live in a country that cries' (La Jornada, 10 June). This, perhaps alongside Taiwan ('Foreign Affairs'), was by far the most self-critical national representation.

At Isola di Certosa: 'Animated Scene' by Irish artist John Gerrard: an amazing three-screen real time computer-generated projection of the American West: a reconstruction of a 1935 Texas dust storm, a year in the life of an automated pig production facility in the Great Sothern Plains and a man blacking out the facade of a white silo in Kansas – see images here.

Disappointments:

The Golden Lion for Best National Participation going to Bruce Nauman's 'Topological Gardens'. Yes, indeed a great artist but partly agreeing with Harry Bellet and Philippe Dagen from Le Monde: 'a retrospective without any new work is far away from the very principle of the Biennale: to reveal the present'. It also presented very familiar work from the 1960s until today from museums and private collections. His presentation did however come more to life in IUAV Tolentini and Ca'Foscari yet the need to crame three venues seems questionable.

Steve McQueen's ticketed entry to the British pavilion, showing a double-screen film portraying the off-season of the Giardini during the winter months: insects silently making their way through the vegetation, rain drops, Venetian bells ringing in the mist, greyhounds scavenging a trash-scattered Giardini, gay cruising in the small hours of the night. One cannot argue against the evident beauty of the piece, yet its impact quickly wore off.

Miquel Barceló representing Spain: not only because the choice of the project didn't follow any semblance of a democratic or juried selection (as did the Catalan Pavilion) but also the frankly flatfooted delivery: a hagiographic mini-retrospective complete with reading area.

Italian Pavilion in the Arsenale curated by Luca Beatrice and Beatrice Buscaroli: an embarrassingly poor exhibition, doing no justice to the tremendous artistic talent in the host country.

The sudden cancellation of Emily Jacir's project 'Stazione' for the Palestinian Pavilion (to display the names of each vaporetto station along the Grand Canal in Arabic alongside the Italian). It would have been a telling reference to the cross-cultural exchange between Venice and the Arab world and a great addition to the very little public-space work produced for this Biennale.

'In-Finitum' at the Palazzo Fortuny included some great works (include those by Anselmo, and a room with Lucio Fontana) although the exhibition felt much less compelling than 2007's 'Artempo: Where time becomes art'. This year it seems to include more 1950s-1970s work, more monochromes (Gutai group, Antoni Tàpies, Robert Ryman, James Turrell, Mark Rothko, Hiroshi Sugimoto...) and did not exactly run with the concept of 'the infinite'. The strength of this curatorial exercise lies in widening the timeframe while building a link between Fortuny's legacy and 'anonymous' work (e.g. Egyptian ancient sculpture) with contemporary works (on this occasion John Gerrard, Michael Borremans, Berlinde Bruyckere et. al.), which failed to spark this time.

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53rd International Art Exhibition: Making Worlds // Fare Mondi // Bantin Duniyan // Weltenmachen // Construire des Mondes // Fazer Mundos…
Artistic director: Daniel Birnbaum
Giardini della Biennale / Arsenale

Open 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Giardini closed on Mondays / Arsenale closed on Tuesdays

http://www.labiennale.org

Redesigned Portscapes website + images of Maasvlakte 2 under construction

2009-06-11T18:49:00.007+02:00

Below is the new website design of Portscapes (www.portscapes.com), an accummulative series of newly commissioned projects curated by Latitudes in and around Maasvlakte 2, the extension of the Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, throughout 2009. (+ info ) If you would like to receive Portscapes newsletters, please subscribe here.

Following the news on the extension process of the Port of Rotterdam, which will become the Maasvlakte 2, the Port has just announced that after months of dredging vessels spraying sand (‘rainbowing’) 3km away from the present coast line (see image above) the first bulldozers are driving around on an island in the North Sea to make sure that the sand is distributed correctly amongst the islands (see image below). Slideshow of aerial images of the rising island here.

[Images (top to bottom): Portscapes website; Photo: Eric Bakker; Photo: Ben Wind. All photos © Port of Rotterdam Authority; Thanks to Ria Haagsma and Sjaak Pope.]

Screening of Jan Dibbets' film '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective', every Sunday between 14 June and 5 July, FutureLand, Rotterdam

2009-06-09T18:55:00.005+02:00

We are pleased to announce the presentation of Jan Dibbets' film '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' (2009) which will take place on Sunday 14 June, in FutureLand, the visitor center of the Port of Rotterdam Authority [MAP HERE].

Screenings of '6 Hours Tide Object...' will take place on Sunday 14 June and will be repeated on Sunday 21 June, Sunday 28 June and Sunday 5 July at 13.00, 13.30, 14.00, 14.30 and at 15.00 (a special screening preceded by the 'The Making of...').

First realised in February 1969 as part of Gerry Schum's seminal Fernsehgalerie I ‘Land Art’ series of films screened on German TV, the 2009 realisation of '12 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' was filmed forty years later to the month (see our 10 February post with production stills), on the beach of the Maasvlakte. The resulting film titled '6 Hours Tide Object...' is the first commission of Portscapes, an accumulative series of newly commissioned projects that will take place throughout 2009 alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2.

For more details on the screenings please check www.portscapes.com | www.portscapes.nl
If you would like to receive Portscapes' newsletters, please subscribe here

FutureLand is situated on the edge of the current Maasvlakte, in Europaweg 902 (500m from the Routiers restaurant). Free admission.

Portscapes is commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam Authority with advice and financial support from SKOR (Foundation for Art and Public Space, Amsterdam) and is curated by Latitudes.

Film credits:
Jan Dibbets '6 hours tide object with correction of perspective', 1969-2009, Maasvlakte beach, Rotterdam

Camera: Fijko van Leeuwen
Montage: Rutger Hesseling
Recording: 8 February, 2009
Film duration: 8 minutes

Film commissioned by the Port of Rotterdam, www.maasvlakte2.com with advice and financial support from SKOR (Foundation Art and Public Space), www.skor.nl

This project was realised as part of 'Portscapes' a series of newly commissioned art projects realised alongside the construction of Maasvlakte 2 - the extension to the Port of Rotterdam. Curated by Latitudes, www.lttds.org

With thanks to: Jan Vader, Jan Willem Stoof and PUMA Extension Project Organisation Maasvlakte

[All images: Film stills of '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' (2009), courtesy of the artist, Port of Rotterdam Authority and SKOR]

Newsletter #13 June 2009 | Junio 2009

2009-06-01T16:28:00.004+02:00

We have just circulated our #13 newsletter (read English version or Versión española). If you would like to subscribe to our mailing list please fill your data on this contact form (see left) and choose one language. If you would like to read previous newsletters, click here.

In June we are presenting the film programme 'What are we going to do after we’ve done what we’re doing to do next?' in the context of 'The Uncertainty Principle', Capella MACBA, Barcelona (1–7 June, 11–17.30h, closed tuesdays) with films by Jordan Wolfson, Mariana Castillo Deball, Neil Cummings & Marysia Lewandowska, Chris Marker and Marjolijn Dijkman.

We are also participating in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival of Independents, a four day festival where over 30 independent centers, alternative institutions, artists’ collectives and independent enterprises from around the world present their activities (see list of participants here). The festival will take place in X initiative's spaces in 548 West 22nd Street, New York (24–28 June, 1–9pm. Opening: 23 June, 6–9pm with a performance by Martin Soto Climent. Free admission.) + info...

Group exhibition 'The Garden of Forking Paths', MAISTERRAVALBUENA, Madrid, until 18 July

2009-05-31T16:32:00.005+02:00

We have uploaded installation images [PHOTO GALLERY] of the group exhibition The Garden of Forking Paths, which opened last Thursday at MAISTERRAVALBUENA in Madrid and presents the work of Eric Bell & Kristoffer Frick; The Infinite Library (Daniel Gustav Cramer & Haris Epaminonda); huber.huber; Leslie Hewitt & Matt Keegan and Nashashibi/Skaer.

The exhibition considers duality, simultaneity, saturation and proliferation. The exhibition pursues, on the one hand, the implications of two individuals working together as a single author-function and, on the other, operates alongside artwork concerned with the reproducibility of images. In part a hermeneutical maze – itself curated and hosted by duos (Latitudes and MAISTERRAVALBUENA, respectively) The Garden of Forking Paths highlights a condition where decisions and imagery are at least twice mediated.

The duos of the exhibition are each composed of different personal and professional dynamics – the artists are variously exclusive collaborators, related by birth, occasional accomplices, couples in life, and so on. Distinct from both generalised collaborative practice and the notion of the singular artistic genius, the duos’ model of creative production implies a constant state of questioning and a mistrust of consistency that is nevertheless a formalised partnership. Comprising works using editorial, photographic, sculptural, procedural, collage and appropriation techniques, The Garden of Forking Paths is concerned with such conditions in the context of the synthesis, modulation and reuse of images over time. + info...

Press release in Spanish and English the documentation archive.

MAISTERRAVALBUENA, Doctor Fourquet 1, 28012 Madrid
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 10-14;15.30-19.30; Sat 10-18pm

[IMAGE CAPTIONS: Top and second: general view of the exhibition; Bottom: Detail of Book #7 of The Infinite Library by Daniel Gustav Cramer & Haris Epaminonda. All photos: Latitudes]

Slideshows of two projects: 'Provenances' at Umberto di Marino and 'Nothing, or Something' at SUITCASE Art Projects Beijing

2009-05-25T16:18:00.011+02:00

We have updated our web and uploaded images of two recent projects: 'Provenances' an exhibition at Umberto di Marino, Naples, and 'Nothing or Something', SUITCASE Art Projects, Beijing:

'Provenances' [PHOTO GALLERY] opened on May 14th at Umberto di Marino, Naples, and is composed of three specially-commissioned solo presentations by Erick Beltrán, Simon Fujiwara and Jordi Mitjà. The exhibition reflects on the heritage industry and the museumification of history, as well as the creation, transmission and fidelity of cultural worth. On view until 14 September. + info

UMBERTO DI MARINO, Via Alabardieri 1, Piazza dei Martiri, 80121 Napoli, ITALY
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 15–20h

Ignasi Aballí's new project [PHOTO GALLERY] for the eight windows of SUITCASE Art Projects responds to the retail context of the Yintai Centre as well as an artistic history of absence, nothingness and invisibility. + info

Suitcase Art Projects, Park Life, Beijing Yintai Centre, No. 2 Jianwai Dajie, Chaoyang District, Beijing, CHINA. Opening Hours: 10am–10pm, Monday–Sunday

Please join us on Thursday 28th, 20h, at the opening of 'The Garden of Forking Paths', a group exhibition at Maisterravalbuena, Madrid. The exhibition brings together the work of Eric Bell & Kristoffer Frick; The Infinite Library (Daniel Gustav Cramer & Haris Epaminonda); huber.huber; Leslie Hewitt & Matt Keegan and Nashashibi/Skaer, five artist-duos to consider duality, simultaneity, saturation and proliferation. On view until 18 July 2009. + info

MAISTERRAVALBUENA, Doctor Fourquet 1, 28012 Madrid
Opening: Mon-Fri 10-14;15.30-19.30; Sat 10-18pm

[Photos: Simon Fujiwara, 'The Museum of Incest', installation at 'Provenances', Courtesy of teh artist. Photo: Simon Fujiwara; Visitors seeing 'Scenic Views' by Ignasi Aballí and Daniel Gustav Gramer & Haris Epaminonda 'Book #7: Walther Haage, 'Das praktische Kakteenbuch in Farben', Neumann Verlag, Radebeul, 1966 & Tibor Déry, 'Der Balaton', Druckerei Kosuth, Budapest, 1968' Courtesy the artists. Below: huber.huber, 'Mikrouniversum und andere kleine Systeme IV', 2009. Courtesy the artists]

2009 Cartier Award winner: Jordan Wolfson

2009-05-15T17:26:00.003+02:00

Frieze has announced the 2009 Cartier Award winner: New Yorker Jordan Wolfson (New York, 1980. Lives in New York and Berlin). The 2008 winner was Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto, see Latitudes' post here and artist profile here).

In 2006 Latitudes collaborated with Wolfson in the production of the sound piece 'Day' (2006) for an exhibition in Barcelona. In 2008 his film 'Landscape for Fire' was exhibited in different venues as part of the touring film programme 'A Stake in the Mud, a Hole in the Reel. Land Art's Expanded Field 1968–2008' (Museo Tamayo, Mexico City and other venues, April–October 2008) and will soon present the film 'Untitled (the nothing)' (2005–9, 4mins) as part of the cinema, performance and lectures programme 'The Uncertainty Principle' at Capella MACBA. Furthermore, Max Andrews' of Latitudes is currently editing a monograph of Wolfson's work soon to be published by Archive Books, Turin/Berlin (publication date TBA).

Read more about Jordan Wolfson: download a 2006 interview in the writing archive and a May 2005 exhibition review in Frieze Magazine here.

[Image: Jordan Wolfson, still of 'Perfect Lover' (2007). Courtesy of the artist, Johann König, Berlin, and T293, Napoli]

Simon Fujiwara, Frame, Frieze Art Fair 2009, London

2009-05-07T18:46:00.002+02:00

Frieze Art Fair, London (15–18 October 2009), has just announced part of their 2009 programme (+ info...). Galerie Neue Alte Brücke, Frankfurt, will be part of Frame, a newly introduced section dedicated to solo artist presentations. The gallery will present 'The Museum of Incest' by Simon Fujiwara, a version of which will soon be exhibited as part of 'Provenances' a Latitudes-curated exhibition at Umberto di Marino, Naples. + info...

'Provenances' opens Thursday 14 May, 20h. On the opening evening, the artist will present the lecture-performance 'The Museum of Incest: A Guided Tour' (starting 20.30h). For the occasion a guide of the museum has been published by Archive Books (in English with Italian translation). The guide is the first publication by Turin/Berlin-based publishing house Archive Books (formerly known as The Bookmakers Ed.).

Fujiwara (1982, London, UK. Lives in Berlin and London) has recently been artist in residence at the MAK Center for Art & Architecture, Schindler House, Los Angeles (2008–9) and participated in the exhibition 'Office of Real Time Activity', curated by graduating students of the MA Curating Contemporary Art, Royal College of Art, London (2009). Forthcoming projects include: 'The Collectors', Danish and Nordic Pavilions, 53rd Biennale di Venezia.

Newsletter #12, May 2009

2009-05-04T19:07:00.005+02:00

We have circulated our Newsletter #12. If you would like to read it, please click here for English version or here for Spanish version.

In our forthcoming Newsletter #13 (June–July 09) we will inform you about a video programme to be screened daily at Capella MACBA (1–7 June); our participation in the festival of independent and non-profit art organisations in New York hosted by the X initiative (24–28 June) and the exhibition 'Sequelism. Episode 3: Possible, Probable, or Preferable Futures', to open at Arnolfini, Bristol on 17 July.

In the current issue of frieze (Issue 123, May 2009) you will find a review by Max Andrews on the 2nd Canary Islands Biennial of Architecture – read short report and images of the exhibition in our 8 March 2009 post.

You can also follow us on facebook.

Exhibition 'Martí i la fàbrica de farina' (Martí and the flour factory), 24 April–31 May 2009, Can Palauet, Mataró (Barcelona)

2009-04-23T19:49:00.004+02:00

'Martí i la fàbrica de farina' opens tomorrow 24 April at Can Palauet, Mataró [See installation photos at the end of this blog]. This solo exhibition by Martí Anson (Mataró, 1967) will present work related to his long-term project around the 'afectado' (meaning 'zoned') site of the flour factory Can Fàbregas i de Caralt in Mataró (recent image below), near Barcelona (campain to save the 1879 building here (in Catalan)).
Last year, Anson participated in Lucky #7, the SITE Santa Fe 7th International Biennial in New Mexico where he built a 1:25 scale copy of the factory (see first image). As is often characteristic of Anson's work, the important factor lies in the construction process, rather than in obtaining a pre-ordained final product. The mini building has in fact only two fully-rendered façades, as if a film set. He documented each day of the construction by setting up a video camera as well as through photo documentation, which was recently presented in ARCO'09 replicating the shape of the building (see image below).

Below an abstract of a text by curator Ferran Barenblit on Anson's work:

Martí Anson's work typically involves generating expectations in the viewer that are subsequently not fulfilled. (...) Time becomes an integral part of this process. For Anson, things do not change, but rather are constantly recomposed. Many of his works illustrate precisely this: a dislocation of time, of how events transpire – sometimes, to the point of ridicule. On other occasions, Anson demonstrates how, after patiently waiting and using that period of expectation for analysis, nothing happens. (...) A meticulous observer of reality, for him, the process is more important than the result, championing above all the value of work in art.

Installation photos of 'Martí i la fàbrica de farina' at Can Palauet and of the site where the flour factory stands (photos taken on the 24 April 2009):

Images of 'Martí and the flour factory' piece commissioned for SITE Santa Fe 7th International Biennial 'Lucky Number 7' here.

'Martí i la fàbrica de farina'
24 April–31 May 2009
Sales d'exposicions Can Palauet
c/ d'en Palau, 32 – Mataró (Barcelona)
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 6–9pm; Sat-Sun 11am–2pm and 6–9pm. Mondays closed.

[Images from top to bottom: Martí Anson, Installation view of 'Martí and the flour factory', 2008. Photo: BayAreaEventPhotography.com ; Image of the Can Fàbregas i de Caralt factory in Mataró from the flickr album' Salvem Can Fàbregas' photostream,http://www.flickr.com/photos/salvem_can_fabregas;Photo installation at Galeria Toni Tàpies stand, ARCO 09, Photo: Latitudes]

Jornadas comisariado: 'PRODUCIR, EXPONER, INTERPRETAR Estrategias y conflictos en la práctica curatorial hoy' 22–24 Mayo (MUSAC) 25–27 Sept (MATADERO)

2009-04-21T14:10:00.007+02:00

PRODUCIR, EXPONER, INTERPRETAR es un encuentro nacional de comisarios de arte contemporáneo, vinculados generacionalmente, cuyo objetivo es, por un lado incentivar la creación de redes sociales entre profesionales del sector; y por otro lado, poner de relieve una serie de cuestiones en torno a la redefinición de la práctica curatorial.

Latitudes participará en las jornadas en Matadero en Septiembre. Véase programa completo aquí.

Lugar: MUSAC de León (22, 23 y 24 de mayo) y Matadero Madrid (25, 26 y 27 de septiembre)

Dirigen: Tania Pardo (Comisaria MUSAC); Manuela Villa (Responsable de contenidos de Matadero Madrid y Coordinadora general de La noche en blanco)

Presentan las Jornadas: Agustín Pérez Rubio (Director en funciones, MUSAC); Pablo Berástegui (Coordinador General Matadero Madrid); Cristina Conde (Directora General de Proyectos Culturales del Ayuntamiento de Madrid)

Participan en el panel: David Arlandis / Javier Marroquí (Comisarios independientes, Valencia); David Armengol (Comisario independiente, Barcelona); María Bella (Comisaria de Intermediae, Madrid); Álex Brahim (Comisario independiente, Barcelona); Amanda Cuesta (Comisaria independiente, Barcelona); Beatriz Herráez (Comisaria, Centro Cultural Montehermoso Kulturunea, Vitoria); Latitudes (Comisarios independientes, Barcelona); Iván López Munuera (Comisario independiente, Madrid); Manuela Moscoso (Comisaria independiente, Madrid); RMS La Asociación (Comisarios independientes, Madrid); Manuel Segade (Departamento de exposiciones, CGAC, Santiago de Compostela); Virginia Torrente (Doméstico, comisaria independiente, Madrid); Leire Vergara (Comisaria-Jefe de Sala Rekalde, Bilbao).

Para asistir a las Jornadas de MUSAC inscribirse en: www.musac.es
Para asistir a las Jornadas de Matadero Madrid inscribirse en: info@mataderomadrid.com

Matadero Madrid
Paseo de la Chopera 14, 28045, Madrid
T: 915 177 309
info@mataderomadrid.com
www.mataderomadrid.com

MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León
Avda. Reyes Leoneses, 24, 24008 León
T.: 987 09 00 00
musac@musac.es
www.musac.es

Latitudes' Projects Timeline

2009-04-18T18:07:00.003+02:00

We have introduced a new feature with Dipity on www.lttds.org: a timeline (viewable also as a flipbook or map) to browse our projects since 2005 – find it on our website here.

New blog design | Nuevo diseño del blog

2009-04-05T18:53:00.006+02:00

_ENG_
As you might have noticed we have updated the look of the blog introducing a new commenting system (Disqus) and the possibility of logging in and commenting with your facebook identity. As always, there are three ways to keep up-to-date with our projects: keep an eye on this blog (see Site Feed link to the right) and website (www.lttds.org), sign up for our email newsletter (see form here) or via our facebook group.

We look forward to reading your comments!

_ES_
Como habreis notado, hemos actualizado el diseño del blog introduciendo nuevos elementos como un nuevo sistema para realizar comentarios (Disqus) y la posibilidad de acceder y dejar tus comentarios a través de facebook. Las tres vías para mantenerse al día con nuestros proyectos siguen siendo: leyendo este blog (véase link al Site Feed a la derecha) y la web (www.lttds.org), subscribiéndote a nuestra newsletter (véase formulario aquí) o a través de nuestro facebook group.

Esperamos vuestros comentarios!

ACCA premia el ciclo de exposiciones de arte contemporáneo del Nivell Zero-Fundació Suñol

2009-04-03T17:09:00.008+02:00

Ayer noche tuvo lugar la 25a edición de los Premios ACCA de la Crítica de Arte otorgados por l'Associació Catalana de Crítics d'Art (ACCA) a las exposiciones, iniciativas y publicaciones que marcaron la temporada artística 2008.

El Nivell Zero de la Fundació Suñol recibió el premio al ciclo de exposiciones de arte contemporáneo. El director de la Fundació Sergi Aguilar (véase foto 2 abajo) recogió el premio y agradeció al Sr. Suñol la confianza depositada en él, así como a la Associació y al público por el apoyo ofrecido a una "iniciativa privada que trabaja con vocación de ofrecer una programación pública".

Durante la temporada 2008, el Nivell Zero acogió dos proyectos comisariados por Latitudes: la proyección del ciclo itinerante de video y film 'Una estaca en el lodo, un hoyo en la cinta. El campo expandido del Land Art, 1968-2008' (Julio) y la exposición y proyecto público 'Lawrence Weiner: La cresta de la ola' (Octubre–Noviembre) (véase foto 3 abajo).

FUNDACIÓ SUÑO L
Passeig de Gràcia, 98
08008 Barcelona
www.fundaciosunol.org

Latitudes' 4th anniversary

2009-04-02T21:07:00.000+02:00

This April marks four years since we started working as Latitudes. Coinciding with next year 5th anniversary, we will produce a small booklet comprising a selection the projects we've been involved in.
We would like to thank our families and friends for their ongoing support and for offering a spare room whenever needed ;-)

Max & Mariana

Catalan Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale: "Venezia-Catalunya 2009. La Comunitat Inconfessable"

2009-03-24T20:57:00.018+01:00

Press conference images Courtesy Latitudes

'Venezia, Catalunya 2009. La Comunitat Inconfessable'
Curated by: Valentín Roma
Participating artists: Sitesize (Joan Vila-Puig and Elvira Pujol), Technologies to the People (Daniel G. Andújar) and Archivo F.X. (Pedro G. Romero)
Location: Magazzini del Sale #3, Dorsoduro, Venice
Support: Institut Ramon Llull (overall production & coordination), MACBA (executive production) as well as the Kunstverein Stuttgart (production of Daniel G. Andújar's work), Ateneu Obrer Popular de Barcelona, ZEMOS98, Repensar Barcelona, DPC estudi and ACTAR who will co-publish and distribute the publication, amongst others.

As announced previously (see post 1 October 2008), Catalunya will have its first pavilion representation within the Eventi Collaterali in the forthcoming edition of the Venice Biennale titled 'Fare Mondi/Making worlds' (7 June–22 November 2009). The first press conference (see slideshow above) took place yesterday evening at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Barcellona, with Josep Bargalló (director, Institut Ramon Llull); Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira (Vice-president of the Catalan Government and on the directing board of the Institut) and pavilion curator Valentín Roma.

The Catalan Pavilion will open during the first week of June with 'La Comunitat Inconfessable' a project curated by Roma (read about the selection process here) and including Sitesize (Joan Vila-Puig and Elvira Pujol), Technologies to the People (Daniel G. Andújar) and Archivo FX (Pedro G. Romero). The project will be shown in the 600 square metre space of the Magazzini del Sale #3, which is normally assigned by the Venetian townhall to the nearby Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia.

'La Comunitat Incofessable' takes its title from Maurice Blanchot's 1983 book 'La Communauté inavouable' (The Unavowable Community), and from Blanchot's inquiry into the nature and possibility of community and interpreting communism as 'that which creates community'. The thread between the three projects is the questioning of the single authorship, as the artists constantly appropriate preexistent materials (photographs, data...) and reconfigure new archives, new readings of these materials. The project is divided into three parts: the exhibition taking Blanchot's reference to the library as a space for knowledge; the catalogue (with reprinted texts by Blanchot, as well as Jean Luc Nancy, Giorgio Agamben, Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, etc.) as well as essays and interviews related to the artists projects by Gerard Horta, Iris Dessler, Jacob Lillemose, Manuel Delgado amongst others) and a website which will host a vast archive around the notion of communality.

During yesterday's press presentation, Roma briefly presented the conceptual lines and academic aspirations of the exhibition. Curiously, considering that the project reflects on the use and reuse of images, archives and libraries – whether concerning territory and landscape (Sitesize), geopolitical changes between the fall of the Berlin wall and 9-11 (Daniel G. Andújar) or information about iconoclasm in Spain (Pedro G. Romero) – there was no visual material shown during the presentation, and no photo documentation related to the artists in the press packs. We will have to wait for the artists' presentations in a month's time at MACBA, as announced yesterday (date TBC).

Roma also commented on the challenges in presenting ongoing research and extensive archival materials in an attractive exhibition format – those who saw Pedro G. Romero's 'F.X. Archive: The Empty City' at the Fundació Tàpies in 2006 might remember a huge scaffolding structure filled with the buzz of printers, flashing TV monitors, wires and stacks of paper. Josep Bargalló (director of the Institut Ramon Llull) and Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira's speeches predictably praised the historical role of Catalunya as a center of debate, innovative cultural society and the pavilion's aim to make the take note of Catalan cultural production.

Why is it that in every such press conference the first question from the floor always related to the budget? In this case the exhibition's coffers total €500,000, plus a exceedingly generous €200,000 for the publication (in Catalan, Italian, Spanish and English) plus c. €5,000 for a website. The agreement with the city of Venice is that they could use the Magazzini del Sale #3 for no rental fee but, according to Bargalló, they would contribute towards the restauration of the spaces to the tune of €40,000, adding up to €745,000. On top of that are curatorial and artists fees, press & marketing, flights, accommodation, opening events, invitations, etc. A hearty budget.

More info: www.veneziacatalunya2009.cat

RELATED LINKS:
Click here to read the full list of participating artists in 'Fare Mondi/Making Worlds';
Here to read the 53rd Venice Biennale Press Release (dated 23 March 2009);
Here to read the full list of Eventi Collaterali
Here to read about the Catalan project

SAVE THE DATE: 14 and 28th May 2009, exhibitions in Naples and Madrid

2009-03-15T19:54:00.014+01:00

In May 2009 Latitudes is curating two exhibitions: 'Provenances' (14 May–14 September) at Umberto di Marino in Naples and 'The Garden of Forking Paths' (28 May–18 July) at Maisterravalbuena in Madrid.

'The Garden of Forking Paths' will present the work of five artist-duos: Eric Bell & Kristoffer Frick (1985 St. Catharines, Canada. 1985 Nuertingen, Germany. Both live in Frankfurt, Germany); Haris Epaminonda & Daniel Gustav Cramer (1980 Nicosia, Cyprus; 1975 Düsseldorf, Germany. Both live in Berlin, Germany); huber.huber (1975 Münsterlingen, Switzerland. Both live in Zurich, Switzerland); Leslie Hewitt & Matt Keegan (1977 Saint Albans, New York, USA; 1976 Manhasset, New York, USA. Both live in New York, USA) and Nashashibi/Skaer (1973 Croydon, UK; 1975 Cambridge, UK. Both live in London, UK). 'The Garden of Forking Paths' considers duality, simultaneity and proliferation in a context where the exhibition will be hosted and curated by duos (Maisterravalbuena [Pedro Maisterra & Belén Valbuena] and Latitudes [Max Andrews & Mariana Cánepa Luna], respectively).

'Provenances' will consist of three interlinked solo presentations with works by Erick Beltrán (1974 Mexico City, Mexico. Lives in Barcelona, Spain), Jordi Mitjà (1970 Figueres, Spain. Lives in Lladó, Spain) and Simon Fujiwara (1982, London, UK. Lives in Berlin, Germany/London, UK), and act as a reflection on the present and the past, the heritage industry and the museum-ification of culture.

MAISTERRAVALBUENA
Doctor Fourquet 1
28012 Madrid, SPAIN
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 11-14;16-20.30; Sat 11-14pm
www.maisterravalbuena.com

UMBERTO DI MARINO
Via Alabardieri 1, Piazza dei Martiri
80121 Napoli, ITALY
Opening hours: Tue-Sat 10.30-13.30;16-20h; Monday: 4-8pm www.galleriaumbertodimarino.com

Report from the 2nd Canary Islands Biennial of Architecture, Art and Landscape

2009-03-08T19:54:00.014+01:00

[All images: Courtesy Latitudes, www.lttds.org]

'Silencio' (7 March–3 May 2009), the recently-inaugurated 'exhibition phase' of the 2nd Biennial of the Canary Islands, unfolds in various venues in both capitals of the archipelago: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (with the sub-theme 'Inmersions. Landscape of Networks: Systems, Meshes and Structures') and in Santa Cruz de Tenerife (with 'Scenes and Scenarios. Paradoxes of the wellbeing: The Consumption of the imaginary and the imaginery of consumption'). The exhibitions follow the 'documentary phase' that took place between the December 08 and February 09.

Directed by Canarian architect Juan Manuel Palerm Salazar, the exhibition takes as its starting point 'silence' "as the profound instant in which we can discover and analyse the noises of contemporary society". Dispersed through the many venues in Las Palmas (SEE SLIDESHOW ABOVE: INFECAR, Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno (CAAM), CAAM San Antonio Abad, Casa de Colón, Gabinete Literario, Sala de Arte Regenta) and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (SEE SLIDESHOW BELOW: Tenerife Espacio de las Artes (TEA), Espacio Cultural El Tanque, Sala de Arte Contemporáneo del Gobierno de Canarias, Museo de Bellas Artes, Sala Mac, Círculo de Bellas Artes de Tenerife and COAC Canarias), the biennial mostly spoke in architecture terms to the visitor, by means of maquettes; lightboxes filled with renderings of landscaping projects in sites including Porto, Salerno, Benidorm or Venice; slideshows in fancy flatscreens; A1-sized boards with drawings, photographs, data, etc. Each of the venues welcomed the visitor with a white board containing a seemingly complex diagram with interlinked key words (landscape, perception, island, system, use/abuse...) that mapped out the core concepts intended to be developed throughout the sixteen venues – see image 4 of slideshow above.

The Biennial also hosts three linked exhibitions organised by external curators: "Periferia" by Rosa Olivares at CAAM (including slick photographic works from the 1990s and early 2000 by Olivares' favourites such as Montserrat Soto, Sergio Belinchón, Francesco Jodice, Gabriele Basilico...), "Coexistencias" by Orlando Britto at La Regenta (with Grego Matos, Moataz Nasr, Javier Caballero, Eberhard Bosslet and a clumsy piece by Antonio Díaz Grande including 45 portraits of people doing the slitty-eyed gesture accompanied by 100 chinese lucky cats waving their arms) and "Plain Air. Paisajes Extra-Ordinarios" by Christian Vivero-Fauné (with works by Ivan Navarro, Patrick Hamilton, Jota Castro, Graham Dolphin...).

The strength of this year's Biennial lies in nine specially commissioned works, which include the 5-screen video 'Sin Límite' (2009) by Julian Rosefeldt (though poorly installed at TEA) and the 2-screen video 'Maspalomas' (2008-9) by Dias & Riedweg (though only one screen worked at the opening), as well as a 3-screen video 'Atlántida' (2008) by Olga Mink + Scanner (images here).

The exhibition opening is followed by an impressive calendar of public programme with one or two-day seminars (15 in total), keynote presentations (9 in total, including Kengo Kuma, Peter Greenaway, James Turrell, Paolo Burgi, Mark Gisbourne), workshops, theatre performances, open-submission competitions and round tables, mostly aimed at involving the architecture practitioners and students.

RELATED LINKS

Read of the Second Biennial here (Elena Vozmediano, 'Contradicciones y confusiones de la bienal de Canarias, El Cultural, 20.03.09); here (Fietta Jarque, 'Cacofonía del Paisaje', suplemento Babelia, 21.03.09) and here (Fredy Massad, 'Buscar su lugar', ABCD, 22.03.09).

Click here to watch a 30' documentary broadcasted on the Spanish TVE 2's programme Metrópolis on 30.03.09

[All images: Courtesy Latitudes, www.lttds.org]

Artículo sobre Simon Fujiwara en 'Descubrir el Arte'...la versión íntegra

2009-03-01T15:34:00.016+01:00

En ocasión del 10º aniversario de la popular revista 'Descubrir el Arte', Rafael Doctor (director del MUSAC, León, hasta hace unos días) invitó a 10 comisarios, incluyendo Latitudes, a escribir un perfil de 750 palabras de un 'artista emergente' de su elección.

Tres meses después de enviar nuestro texto sobre el trabajo del artista inglés Simon Fujiwara, y sin haber tenido contacto alguno con el/la editor de la revista, la hemos comprado y comprobado que el texto publicado ha sido reducido más de un 50% sin nuestro conocimiento y/o consentimiento. Hubiésemos estado más que dispuestos a reducir su longitud si hubiese sido necesario con el fin de lograr coherencia y evitar sacrificar partes fundamentales del texto que han sido eliminadas sin más. Desafortunadamente, el texto resultante no refleja ni el profundo trabajo narrativo de Simon ni nuestra labor como escritores, sin olvidar el respeto a los derechos de autor.

A continuación presentamos las dos versiones: el texto original (no publicado) y la versión que aparece en la revista. Asimismo, podeis descargar el texto completo con imágenes en nuestro archivo de textos (en español o inglés).

Como 'happy ending', nos complace anunciar que Simon Fujiwara es uno de los tres artistas que hemos invitado a la exposición 'Provenances' que inaugurará el 14 de Mayo en Umberto di Marino, Nápoles. Más detalles aquí.

Simon Fujiwara

Abarcando varios formatos – performances/conferencias, publicaciones ficticias y colecciones de diversos artículos y objetos – los recientes proyectos del artista berlinés Simon Fujiwara (1982) se forman a partir de la recolección de evidencias más o menos plausibles. Cada una de ellas desentierra un mito implícito de los orígenes humanos y una arqueología sexual explícita, tejiendo un conjunto de narraciones que nos llevan desde el pasado común de los hombres, hasta al tiempo reciente y personal de Fujiwara y su historia familiar. Hijo de madre británica y padre japonés, el artista ha desarrollado una práctica artística entorno a su propio origen y a la cuidadosamente construida frontera límite entre la etología, el erotismo, la arquitectura y lo ancestral, mediante la escritura y re-escritura de historias, biografías y cuentos porno gay que tienen la misma credibilidad y artesanía que un tratado paleontológico.The Museum of Incest (El museo del incesto) (2007–) es un proyecto que gira entorno al yacimiento la Garganta de Olduvai, en el norte de Tanzania, a menudo referido como la 'cuna de la humanidad' debido a su importancia para la comprensión de los orígenes del hombre. La Garganta ha dejado al descubierto algunos de los primeros restos de homínidos de más de 2 millones de años de antigüedad, y mediante el análisis de sucesivos depósitos se ha podido estudiar la evolución del hombre moderno. Fujiwara ha tomado este significativo emplazamiento para ubicar un museo ficticio dedicado a un tema poco prometedor: las prácticas incestuosas. Dividido en tres escenas – 'Antiguo', 'Moderno' y 'Edad Media' (donde una serie de actores interpretan los últimos días de Sodoma y Gomorra) – y completado por una galería subterránea y un café, el absurdo edificio propone lo ancestral y la sexualización de la familia como los temas centrales para la educación y el entretenimiento del visitante, mediante unas instalaciones que estimularián la economía local. El pícaro museo de Fujiwara es deliberadamente espúreo, una atracción museística donde la identidad y la sexualidad se mantienen ambiguos.

Tras un viaje a Tanzania en 2007, Fujiwara produjo Ancestral Grave Dig – A Site Survey for the Museum of Incest (Excavación de una tumba ancestral – Estudio del emplazamiento para el Museo del Incesto), una instalación que parecía imitar el escenario de una conferencia interrumpida o de un archivo disfuncional que parecía encontrarse medio terminado o que había sido parcialmente vandalizado. Diapositivas de la supuesta expedición se dispersaban por el suelo o se proyectaban sobre una pantalla y varias vitrinas contenían artículos ilegítimos etiquetados desordenadamente ('fragmentos no utilizados por nuestros antepasados homínidos'). Mapas, dibujos, recortes de periódico que destacan titulares como 'Cráneo de 600,000 años de antigüedad es desenterrado' y resbaladizas pistas (una piel de plátano) se presentan junto a la maqueta del polémico museo. La propuesta de la forma del museo en sí (tres ámbitos esféricos interrelacionados) se tomó como si se tratase de un acto creativo endogámico, a partir de un diseño concebido por el padre del artista para una pecera.

Fujiwara presentó una visita guiada al museo como parte de una instalación que realizó en la galería Limoncello en Londres, en abril de 2008. Detallando su inspiración para la disposición del museo a través de un pase de diapositivas complementado con fotografías familiares, la presentación tuvo lugar enfrente de una reproducción de un mural que representa una escena familiar, otro de los diseños de su padre. Complicando aún más este extenso proyecto, el artista ha publicado un texto en forma de diario supuestamente escrito por el renombrado arqueólogo Louis Leakey (quien descubrió la importancia de la Garganta de Olduvai entorno a 1950), en las que el trauma de la revelación de los orígenes de la humanidad parecía precipitar conflictos incestuosos.

The Erotics Project (El proyecto de la erótica) (en curso) es en su mayoría textual, parte de la imaginación del artista sobre la vida de sus padres durante los años setenta, antes de que él naciese, como dos extranjeros que dirigían un hotel turístico cerca de Sant Feliu de Guíxols (Costa Brava) durante los últimos años de la dictadura franquista. Esto es lo que sabemos con certeza. Sin embargo, Fujiwara ha convertido esta realidad en el escenario de una serie de cuentos basados en hechos reales que ha publicado en la revista erótico-homosexual Straight to Hell Magazine: The Manhattan Review of Unnatural Act. Ambientado en el contexto de la supresión sexual, militar, social y política forzada por el régimen franquista, 'Paquito: Egg White Jack-Off', por ejemplo, relata las exploraciones eróticas entorno a los ingredientes de la famosa tortilla que se cocinaba en el Hotel Munber – famosa entre turistas y militares – mientras que fantasea entorno a Paquito, la 'mano ingeniosa de la cocina'.

Recientemente el comisario y crítico Nicolas Bourriaud, en ampliación a las reflexiones por Peter Osbourne y otros, ha declarado que en lugar de tratar la historia como un catálogo o un repertorio como se hizo en el Posmodernismo, uno de los ejes principales del arte actual tiene que ver con "el pasado definido a través de territorio y uso, articulado en y a través del espacio"1. En la producción de un arte que despliega signos, historias y lugares, y articulada a través de diversos modos y secuencias, Fujiwara parece ejemplar de este modo de pensamiento a través de la arquitectura y del erotismo: el pasado no es asimilado en el presente como un hecho, sino que se despliega como una ficción.

– Latitudes (Max Andrews & Mariana Cánepa Luna)

[1] Nicolas Bourriaud, entrevista con Aude Launay, O2, número 47, Otoño 2008, p. 43

A continuación el texto publicado en 'Descubrir el Arte', Marzo 2009, pág. 72 (haz click sobre la imagen para ampliar su contenido).

[Imágenes (de arriba a abajo): Instalación de Museum of Incest: A Site Survey (2008, Frankfurt am Main); detalle vitrina de la misma instalación; instalación de Welcome to the Museum of Incest: A guided Tour (2008, Limoncello Gallery, London). Cortesía del artista]

Latitudes

Hans Schabus project for 'Portscapes': 'Europahaven, Port of Rotterdam, 17 Juni 2009'

Jornadas entorno al Canòdrom, el futuro Centro de Arte en Barcelona, 6–7 Julio 2009

'NO SOUL FOR SALE': Press Coverage

Materials presented at 'NO SOUL FOR SALE'

Latitudes' temporary office in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE' with a 'scenario' by The Bruce High Quality Foundation

Participation in 'NO SOUL FOR SALE – A Festival of Independents', New York, 24–28 June

Overview of the 53rd International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennial: 'Making Worlds // Fare Mondi'

Redesigned Portscapes website + images of Maasvlakte 2 under construction

Screening of Jan Dibbets' film '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective', every Sunday between 14 June and 5 July, FutureLand, Rotterdam

Newsletter #13 June 2009 | Junio 2009

Group exhibition 'The Garden of Forking Paths', MAISTERRAVALBUENA, Madrid, until 18 July

Slideshows of two projects: 'Provenances' at Umberto di Marino and 'Nothing, or Something' at SUITCASE Art Projects Beijing

2009 Cartier Award winner: Jordan Wolfson

Simon Fujiwara, Frame, Frieze Art Fair 2009, London

Read more about Simon Fujiwara: Download a profile text from Latitudes' writing archive (pdfs in Spanish and English).

Newsletter #12, May 2009

Exhibition 'Martí i la fàbrica de farina' (Martí and the flour factory), 24 April–31 May 2009, Can Palauet, Mataró (Barcelona)

Jornadas comisariado: 'PRODUCIR, EXPONER, INTERPRETAR Estrategias y conflictos en la práctica curatorial hoy' 22–24 Mayo (MUSAC) 25–27 Sept (MATADERO)

Latitudes' Projects Timeline

New blog design | Nuevo diseño del blog

ACCA premia el ciclo de exposiciones de arte contemporáneo del Nivell Zero-Fundació Suñol

Latitudes' 4th anniversary

Catalan Pavilion, 53rd Venice Biennale: "Venezia-Catalunya 2009. La Comunitat Inconfessable"

SAVE THE DATE: 14 and 28th May 2009, exhibitions in Naples and Madrid

Report from the 2nd Canary Islands Biennial of Architecture, Art and Landscape

Artículo sobre Simon Fujiwara en 'Descubrir el Arte'...la versión íntegra