LONGITUDES

Longitudes cuts across Latitudes’ projects and research with news, updates, and reportage.

Renewing our Active Membership 2024 with Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC)

Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna of Latitudes are among the 120 Members who have successfully achieved individual Active Membership 2024 with the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC). 

This marks the third consecutive year that Latitudes members have renewed their individual Active MembershipTo renew our individual Active status (guidelines here), we continued implementing environmental sustainability best practices in line with GCC’s guidelinesfocusing on near-term tangible actions, and met three of the following criteria:

1. Measure Impact: Submit a 12-Month Carbon Report, OR Major Project Carbon Report, OR Climate Impact Report. 

2. Take Action: Demonstrate Climate Action OR Environmental Responsibility Rider.

3. Publicly Commit: Sign and Publish an Environmental Responsibility Statement.

4. Review and Reflect: Submit a minimum 500-word narrative that elaborates on your application and your climate efforts from the past year.

Each of us completed a CO2e report. Our joint carbon emissions were 16.18 tCo2e in 2019 (our baseline year), progressively reducing to 3.66 tCo2e (2022); 1.91 tCo2e (2023) and 1.63 tCo2e (2024). Our carbon footprint reporting includes emissions across various aspects of our operations: air and surface travel (long-distance and regional trains, coach, taxi, car, metro, bus and ferry), accommodation (hotel, self-catered properties), energy consumption (electricity and gas), and, since 2024, digital usage (web hosting, cloud storage, sent emails and video calls). We use the GCC Carbon Calculator to conduct annual audits and ensure consistent and accurate reporting.

Year summary of Max's CO2 Annual Report

Year summary of Mariana's CO2 Annual Report

We took action by establishing and maintaining a Green Team. From 2022 to 2024, Latitudes served as a Founding Committee member of GCC Spain—one of the seven International volunteer teams based in Los Angeles, New York, London, Berlin, Italy, and Taiwan. In addition, we drafted our first Environmental Responsibility Rider, a tool that allows us to clearly communicate and align on environmental goals before embarking on any project.

Finally, we continue to update our Environmental Responsibility Statement, first published on 17 April 2023. You can explore the extended and illustrated version here.


Active Membership is not a certification of sustainability. Yet, it entails transparency in assessing, reporting, and reducing climate impact, setting targets aligned with science, and searching for working solutions. Active Membership badges are year-stamped, and members re-submit annually to retain the latest Active designation.


RELATED CONTENTS:


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Mariana Cánepa Luna in the 2024 Acquisition Committee of the Col·lecció Nacional d'Art Contemporani of the Government of Catalunya

At today’s press conference, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar, Ministre of Culture of the Government of Catalunya, presented the acquisitions made in 2024 by the Department of Culture to expand the National Collection of the Government of Catalonia.

The collection includes contemporary art, photography, cultural artefacts, comics, illustration, postwar art, and works from the second avant-garde. The announcement comes after an extensive review process that involved evaluating 434 applications over long spring days, followed by 8 in-depth online sessions—each lasting three to four hours—where the Acquisition Committee deliberated on the proposals.

First of several Teams meetings.

The 2024 Committee comprised Íngrid Llopart, Deputy Director General of Cultural Promotion; Manel Guerrero, a specialist in contemporary art at the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion and Libraries, and coordinator of the commission; Marta Gustà, Director of the Visual Arts Area at the Catalan Institute for Cultural Enterprises, coordinator of the commission; Joan Antoni Martínez, Head of the Dissemination and Artistic Cooperation Area; Sònia Blasco, Head of the Museums and Movable Heritage Protection Service; Antònia M. Perelló, Head of Collections at MACBA; Àlex Mitrani, Contemporary Art Curator at MNAC; Jesús Navarro, Director of Morera – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Lleida and representative of the Network of Art Museums of Catalonia; Christian Alonso, director of La Panera, Lleida, and representative of the Network of Art Museums of Catalonia; Frederic Montornés, independent curator, nominated by CoNCA National Council for Culture and the Arts; Álvaro Hernández, specialist at the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion and Libraries; and Mariana Cánepa Luna of Latitudes, “a person who is an expert in contemporary art, independent, and without economic interests in the sector, proposed by the Plataforma Assambleària d’Artistes de Catalunya (PAAC)”.

The 2024 acquisitions budget significantly increased, from 599,399.51 euros in 2023 to over 1 million euros. The Committee selected 40+ artworks, which were then reviewed by a qualification board before advancing through legal departments for contract drafting, financing, and final transportation. This thorough process ensures the works are delivered to their designated depository institutions across the region—a procedure that unfolds over a year.

View of Joan Morey, "COS SOCIAL (Lliçó d'anatomia)", 2017. MACBA Collection. Government of Catalonia long-term loan. National Collection of Contemporary Art. © Joan Morey. Photo: Gasull Fotografia

In 2024, several works acquired in recent years for the National Collection were presented in the three-part “MACBA Collection: Prelude. Poetic Intention” (2022–2025) at the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Such as Mireia Sallarès’ photographs that are part of her larger project “Las muertes chiquitas” (2006-16); Joan Morey’s multipart project “COS SOCIAL. Lliço d'Anatomia” (SOCIAL BODY. Anatomy Lesson) (2017); Regina Giménez’s large paintings “Geo-gràfics” (2021); Sinéad Spelman’s drawings “Venes” (2020); Pedro Torres’ video installation “House of the Sun” (2020); Daniel G. Andújar “Battle Cry” (2019-2020”; Eulàlia Valldosera’s “Construcció i deconstrucció (I-VIII) (El melic del món #1; El ventre de la Terra #29)” (1991-2001); Lara Fluxà’s glass installation “Delu” (2019)”; Lucía C. Pino’s sculptures “10 Amazon Quarterly vol 03. (content)” (2022); or Lúa Coderch’s “Estil Internacional (Mur d'Ònix)” (2013-14), to mention a few.


Eugènia Balcells, “FROM THE CENTER” (1982). Courtesy Fundació Eugènia Balcells.

Looking ahead, one of the most significant recent acquisitions of 2024, Eugènia Balcells’ 12-channel video installation “From the Center” (1982), will be presented this summer in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya’s Sala Oval, where it has been placed on deposit. The installation premiered at the 1983 Donostiako Nazioarteko Bideo Aldia, II Festival de Vídeo de San Sebastián. It was subsequently exhibited at Barcelona’s renowned Sala Metrònom (1985), Anderson Gallery in Richmond, Virginia (1986), and New York’s El Museo del Barrio (1987). 

From the Center” is a technically complex and conceptually profound video installation described by Balcells as an “electronic Stonehenge”. Featuring twelve monolithic screens arranged in a walkable circle, it presents fragmented yet unified views of the world, filmed over two years from a fixed Manhattan rooftop. Accompanied by a twelve-channel soundscape by Peter Van Riper (1942-1998), the installation blends technology and spirituality, echoing Romantic ideals of universal connection and inviting comparisons to the mystical vision of Romanesque paintings in the MNAC’s collection.


→ RELATED CONTENT:

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Text on Joan Morey in the publication commemorating the 10th edition of the Video Creation Award

Cover and text in the publication “Premi de Videocreació / 10 Edicions / 2014-2024”, edited by the Generalitat de Catalunya, November 2024. ISBN 978-84-10393-04-2.


In April 2024, Latitudes was commissioned to write a short text about Joan Morey’s film “SOCIAL BODY. Anatomy Lesson” for a forthcoming publication celebrating the 10th edition of the Video Creation Award co-production project. This Award results from the ongoing collaboration between the Territorial Centers of the Public System of Visual Arts Equipment in Catalonia, the Santa Mònica Arts Center, the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and Loop Barcelona.

In 2018, Latitudes curated Joan Morey’s multi-chapter solo exhibition “COLLAPSE,” which was held across three venues in Barcelona and L’Hospitalet, and a year later, in Palma (Mallorca). 

(Above and nine below) Installation view of Joan Morey, “COL·LAPSE. Cos social” at Centre d'Art Tecla Sala, l'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona). Courtesy of the artist. Photos by ArtWorkPhoto.eu/Tecla










COS SOCIAL. Lliçó d’anatomia” [SOCIAL BODY. Anatomy Lesson] was awarded the 2017 Premi de Videocreació of the Xarxa de Centres d’Arts Visuals de Catalunya, Arts Santa Mònica – Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya, and LOOP Barcelona.

In 2018, the Government of Catalunya acquired the work for its National Collection and deposited it in the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, where it was recently presented as part of their collection display titled “MACBA Collection. Prelude. Poetic Prelude”.


(Above and three below) Installation view of Joan Morey, “COL·LAPSE. Cos social” at Casal Solleric, Palma de Mallorca (31 January–6 September 2020). Courtesy of the artist. Photos by Roberto Ruiz.




Morey recently presented “VOT DE TENEBRES”, subtitled “Formation of the Canon, Erotic Concepts; The visceral and its (de)content; Haptic awakenings, stimulating the senses” at the Fundació Joan Brossa, and in 2025 will be in residence at the Restoration/Conservation department of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC) as part of their Projecte Empelt programme. 


→ CONTENIDO RELACIONADO:

  • Wakelet archivo redes sociales
  • Reseña exposición – ‘COLAPSO. Máquina Célibe’ de Joan Morey en Casal Solleric, Maria Muñoz, neo2.com, 3 agosto 2020
  • Performance ‘COLAPSO. Máquina posible’ de Joan Morey en Can Balaguer, 23 de julio 2020, 19h y 20:30h, 13 July 2020
  • Ressenya de Pere Antoni Pons, ‘L'Art provocador i litúrgic de Joan Morey’, El temps de les arts, 10 juliol 2020
  • Selección de reseñas, videos y entrevistas (31 Diciembre 2018)
  • Documentación de la exposición ‘COLAPSO. Máquina célibe’ de Joan Morey en el Casal Solleric, Palma de Mallorca, 7 February 2020
  • Exposición de Joan Morey ‘COLAPSO. Máquina célibe’ en el Casal Solleric, Palma de Mallorca, 31 enero–3 mayo 2020, 15 January 2020
  • December 13, 2018, 7pm: Performance reenactment of "TOUR DE FORCE. El cos utòpic" (2017) by Joan Morey 10 December 2018
  • “Joan Morey presenta "Col·lapse. Cos social”, programa Taquilla Inversa, L'Hdigital Mitjans de Comunicació de L'Hospitalet, 29 Novembre 2018
  • November 29, 2018, 5–8pm: Performance reenactment of "IL LINGUAGGIO DEL CORPO. Pròleg" (2015-16) by Joan Morey 26 November 2018
  • November 15, 2018, 7 pm: Performance reenactment of "BAREBACK. Fenomenología de la comunión" (2010) by Joan Morey 12 November 2018
  • October 25, 7pm: Performance reenactment of "GRITOS Y SUSURROS" (2009) by Joan Morey 22 October 2018
  • October 11, 2018, 7pm: Performance reenactment of ‘LLETANIA APÒRIMA’ [APORIC LITANY] (2009) by Joan Morey 8 October 2018
  • Performance programme in the context of Joan Morey's exhibition ‘COLLAPSE. Desiring Machine, Working Machine’ 24 September 2018
  • Maria Palau, "Contra l'abús de poder", El Punt Avui, p. 32, 23 Setembre 2018 (Catalan)
  • NOTA DE PRENSA: ‘Joan Morey. COLAPSO’, diversos espacios, Barcelona, 20 septiembre 2018–13 enero 2019, 19 September 2018


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Cover Story, December 2024: On the (Critical, Contextual) Rocks

December 2024 cover story on www.lttds.org

NEW
NEW MONTH
NEW MONTHLY COVER STORY

The December 2024 monthly Cover Story “On the (Critical, Contextual) Rocks” is now on Latitudes’ homepage.

“Last month, Latitudes facilitated three sessions for the new Master’s Degree in Critical Contextual Design at Elisava, directed by Cristina Goberna Pesudo. These sessions were part of a class titled “Environments: What Extraction? What Nature?” conceived by artist Lara Almarcegui, a long-time collaborator and friend.” Continue reading here (after Dec. 2024 it will be archived here).

Cover Stories are published monthly featuring past, present, or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects, or field trips related to Latitudes’ curatorial projects and activities.

→ RELATED CONTENT

  • Archive of writing (essays, exhibition reviews, features, artist profiles...) 
  • Cover Story, November 2024: Max Andrews on Robert Smithson’s text “Aerial Art” (1969), 1 Nov 2024
  • Cover Story, October 2024: Nancy Holt “Ventilation System”, 1 Oct 2024
  • Cover Story, September 2024: THE CREST OF A WAVE, 2 Sept 2024
  • Cover Story, July-August 2024: Rosa Tharrats, Curtain Call, 1 July 2024
  • Cover Story, June 2024: TERENCE GOWER—DIPLOMACY, URBANISM, URANIUM, 3 June 2024
  • Cover Story, May 2024: Richard Serra & Anne Garde—Threats of Paradise, 30 Apr 2024
  • Cover Story, April 2024: In Progress–Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum, 2 April 2024
  • Cover Story, March 2024: Dibbets en Palencia, 4 March 2024
  • Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 February 2024
  • Cover Story, January 2024: Curating Lab 2014–Curatorial Intensive, 2 Jan 2024 
  • Cover Story, December 2023: Ibon Aranberri, Partial View, 2 Dec 2023

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Cover Story, November 2024: Max Andrews on Robert Smithson’s text “Aerial Art” (1969)

November 2024 cover story on www.lttds.org


NEW MONTH
NEW MONTHLY COVER STORY

The November 2024 monthly Cover Story “Frequent Flyers: Robert Smithson’s ‘Aerial Art,’ 1969” is now up on Latitudes’ homepage (after November 2024 it will be archived here). Cover Stories are published monthly featuring past, present, or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects, or field trips related to Latitudes’ curatorial projects and activities.

Max Andrews was commissioned to contribute an essay on a work by Robert Smithson (1938–1973) for the Holt/Smithson Foundation’s Scholarly Text Program

→Read here

Max chose to write on Smithson’s text “Aerial Art” published in Studio International in February 1969. In the essay, Smithson presented proposals developed for Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport in 1966–67, in collaboration with Tippetts—Abbett—McCarthy—Stratton Architects and Engineers. His proposals envisioned extensive earthworks to be installed between the runways, created by himself, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, and Sol LeWitt.


Bound reproductions of slides accompanying early terminal planning concepts for the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport, presented by airlines to top management in December 1966 and January 1967. 
The first phase of the runway layout and master plan slide reproductions have been annotated with notes and drawings regarding earthworks by Robert Smithson. Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt papers, 1905-1987. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

The Scholarly Text Program regularly commissions thinkers from various disciplines to write 1,200 words on single artworks by Nancy Holt and/or Robert Smithson. These essays explore how Holt and Smithson’s ideas resonate through contemporary artistic and cultural production, covering topics ranging from geology to ecology, poetry, and beyond.

Read Mariana Cánepa Luna’s recently published essay on Nancy Holt’s site-responsive installation “Ventilation System” (1985–1992) also part of the Scholarly Text Programme’s Chapter 7.

Thank you to Lisa Le Feuvre, Executive Director of the Holt/Smithson Foundation, for the kind invitation to contribute to the foundation’s growing archive, and to William T. Carson, Program Manager and Assistant Curator, for the research assistance


Abstract

Max Andrews’ essay delves into Robert Smithson's seminal article "Aerial Art" (1969), which outlines his earthworks proposals for the Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport and those of Carl Andre, Robert Morris, and Sol LeWitt. Andrews examines the historical context, including the growth of air travel and global art networks. Importantly, the essay underscores the sustained multi-decade increase in CO2 emissions from air travel and its significant contribution to the climate crisis.

Keywords

Robert Smithson, Aerial Art, 1969, Studio International, Artforum, Anthropocene, Charles Jencks, postmodernism, Dallas-Fort Worth Regional Airport, Tippetts–Abbett–McCarthy–Stratton, earthworks, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, and Sol LeWitt, site-specificity, Boing 747, Spiral Jetty, CO2 emissions, frequent flying, transnational art world, contemporary art, decarbonization, exhibition-making, curatorial hypermobility, Harald Szeemann, air travel, global mobility, low-carbon footprint art production, multinational museum brands, biennial model, Fernand Braudel, Gustav Metzger, Reduce Art Flights, Paris Agreement, 2030, global warming. 

How to cite:

Andrews, Max, “Frequent Flyers: Robert Smithson’s “Aerial Art,” 1969”, Holt/Smithson Foundation: Scholarly Texts Chapter 7 (October 2024). ISBN: 978-1-952603-36-5


→ RELATED CONTENT

  • Other writing 
  • Looking back – Visiting Robert Smithson's “Spiral Jetty” (1970) on 7 September 2004, 7 Sep 2014
  • Publication “Robert Smithson: Art in Continual Movement” (Alauda Publications, 2012) includes an essay by Max Andrews, 28 Mar 2012
  • Lecture by Max Andrews "From Spiral to Spime: Robert Smithson, the ecological and the curatorial", 13 March, 2pm, Lecture Theatre 1, Royal College of Art, London, 12 March 2012
  • Robert Smithson's “Broken Circle/Spiral Hill Revisited” (1971–2011) and The Land Art Contemporary programme, 14 September 2011
  • Archive of Monthly Cover Stories
  • Cover Story, October 2024: Nancy Holt “Ventilation System”, 1 Oct 2024
  • Cover Story, September 2024: THE CREST OF A WAVE, 2 Sept 2024
  • Cover Story, July-August 2024: Rosa Tharrats, Curtain Call, 1 July 2024
  • Cover Story, June 2024: TERENCE GOWER—DIPLOMACY, URBANISM, URANIUM, 3 June 2024
  • Cover Story, May 2024: Richard Serra & Anne Garde—Threats of Paradise, 30 Apr 2024 
  • Cover Story, April 2024: In Progress–Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum, 2 April 2024
  • Cover Story, March 2024: Dibbets en Palencia, 4 March 2024
  • Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 February 2024
  • Cover Story, January 2024: Curating Lab 2014–Curatorial Intensive, 2 Jan 2024 
  • Cover Story, December 2023: Ibon Aranberri, Partial View, 2 Dec 2023 
  • Cover Story, November 2023: Surucuá, Teque-teque, Arara: Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, 2 Nov 2023

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Rasmus Nilausen’s “Theatre of Doubts” in Palma

(Above and below) Rasmus Nilausen, “The Theatre of Doubts” (2021). Installation view in “Especies de espacios. Una reflexión colectiva sobre qué pensar de este mundo” at Galería Pelaires in Palma, Mallorca. Photos: David Bonet. Courtesy of the artist.



Danish-born, Barcelona-based artist Rasmus Nilausen is presenting, until November 22, 2024, a version of his installation “The Theatre of Doubts” (2021) in the group show “Especies de espacios. Una reflexión colectiva sobre qué pensar de este mundo” at Galería Pelaires in Palma, Mallorca. 


(Above and below) Rasmus Nilausen, “The Theatre of Doubts” (2021). Installation view in “Especies de espacios. Una reflexión colectiva sobre qué pensar de este mundo” at Galería Pelaires in Palma, Mallorca. Photos: David Bonet. Courtesy of the artist.




The work was originally commissioned for MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona’s inaugural triennial “Panorama” titled “Notes for an Eye Fire” (October 2021–February 2022), curated by Hiuwai Chu (MACBA’s Head of Exhibitions) and Latitudes

For Galería PelairesNilausen selected a range of works from the original seven rows that composed the installation. The original version consisted of 49 paintings of varied sizes produced between 2014 and 2021, presented on wooden easels with a peculiarity that became one of the show's most beloved features: their cartoon-like feet. The installation filled the entire circular room of MACBA’s Meier building.

 (Above and below) Rasmus during the installation of “Theatre of Doubts” at MACBA; Installing the larger paintings at MACBA. Photos: Latitudes.


(Above and below) Rasmus Nilausen, “The Theatre of Doubts” (2021). Installation view in “Panorama. Notes for an Eye Fire”, MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, October 2021–February 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photos: Roberto Ruiz. 







The exhibition wall text in “Panorama 21. Notes for an Eye Fire” written by Max Andrews explained:

Rasmus Nilausen’s installation of paintings is a homage to philosopher Giulio Camillo’s sublime and ridiculous attempt to explain the entire universe and allow all its relations and meanings to be beheld at once. Camillo built his “Theatre of Memory” in Venice in around 1530. Inverting the perspective of classical theatre, a single spectator could stand on a central “stage” to look out at an auditorium of seven rows of seven pictures. An occult matrix of divine, celestial, and terrestrial knowledge, this mystical rhetorical device enabled the entirety of existence and its workings to be called to mind and read off. Evidently flawed and over-ambitious, Nilausen’s liberal revival of the memory theatre format draws on 49 works from his own painterly and allegorical universe. Visitors are invited to wander among images that seem to be going for a walk, adopt multiple viewpoints, see unfamiliar connections, and summon new memories. The first row takes on the seven planetary deities of Camillo’s Renaissance design: Diana (the Moon), Mercury, Venus, the Sun (represented by a banquet), Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

Produced by MACBA Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona with the support of the Danish Arts Foundation.

More about the work, here (pdf).

Giulio Camillo was a sixteenth-century Italian philosopher, most notable for conceiving “Theatre of Memory”.


Nilausen is also exhibiting “Fixed Ideas,” a solo show at EtHall Gallery in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, presenting new and recent works. The show will be on view until November 7, 2024. 

Rasmus Nilausen “Fixed Ideas” at EtHall Gallery in Barcelona. Photos: Latitudes.




RELATED CONTENT:


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Cover Story, October 2024: Nancy Holt “Ventilation System”

October 2024 cover story on www.lttds.org


NEW
NEW MONTH 
NEW MONTHLY COVER STORY

The October 2024 monthly Cover Story “Nancy Holt “Ventilation System” is now up on Latitudes’ homepage (after October 2024 it will be archived here). Cover Stories are published monthly featuring past, present, or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects, or field trips related to Latitudes’ curatorial projects and activities.

Mariana Cánepa Luna of Latitudes was commissioned to write an essay on a work by American artist Nancy Holt  (1938–2014) for the Holt/Smithson Foundation’s Scholarly Text Program.

→ Read it here.

Mariana focused on Holt’s “Ventilation System” (1985–1992), a site-responsive installation that celebrates air-conditioning infrastructures and draws attention to their ubiquitous, though often overlooked, presence in modern life. While such building components are typically concealed, Holt’s work ostentatiously showcases industrial ducts and fans, blending functionality with wry playfulness. This installation, part of her “System Works”, critiques humanity's dependency on technological infrastructures and subtly raises ecological concerns around energy use. It reflects Holt’s interest in connecting human experience to larger natural systems, akin to her most famous work, “Sun Tunnels” (1973–1976).

Graphics courtesy Holt/Smithson Foundation.



In today's context, “Ventilation System” resonates with a heightened sustainability awareness. Recent artworks, like Nick Raffel’s “fan (Wesleyan)” (2022) and “wind dial (Pied-à-Terre)” (2021), further explore air circulation in buildings, emphasizing efficiency and environmental literacy. Ghislaine Leung’s “Violets 2” (2018) explores related themes, using repurposed ventilation pipes to reflect on institutional conditions and artistic labour. 

[1 and 2] Nancy Holt, “Ventilation IV: Hampton Air”, 1992. Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York. Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York. Steel ducts, fans, turbine ventilators, shanty caps. Indoor section: 4.9 x 5.5 x 8.5 m. Outdoor section: 4.8 x 6.1 x 8.2 m. © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York. [2] Ghislaine Leung, “Violets 2”, 2018. Galvanised Steel Ventilation System, Brackets, Screws, Bolts, Dirt, Welcome Sign. Ventilation System removed from Network Aalst Bar during 2017 refurbishment. Commissioned by Network Aalst, Belgium. Score: All pipes removed for refurbishment reinstalled within the space of one room and bracketed fixed to the floor, using as much of the material as possible while keeping it all interconnected. Spare pieces that do not fit in this configuration are to be bracketed together in smaller formations. A welcome sign to be installed. Courtesy of the artist and Maxwell Graham, New York. [3] Nick Raffel, “Pied-à-terre”, San Francisco, 2022. Photo: McIntyre Parker. Courtesy of the artist.

Throughout her career, Holt presented four iterations of “Ventilation System”: at Temple Gallery, Philadelphia; and Palladium, New York (both in 1985); at the Tampere Art Museum, Finland; and at the Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton, New York (both in 1992). Posthumously, the installation has been presented on three occasions: at Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (both in 2022); and most recently at MACBA Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Spain (2023).

[Above and below] Nancy Holt, “Ventilation System” (1985-92). Installation view: Bildmuseet, Umeå, Sweden, 2022. Steel ducts, turbine ventilators, shanty caps, fans, air [materials are locally sourced with each presentation]. Overall dimensions variable [site responsive]. Photograph: Mikael Lundgren. Image Courtesy Holt/Smithson Foundation and Bildmuseet. © Holt/Smithson Foundation / Licensed by Artists Rights Society, New York


The Scholarly Text Program regularly commissions thinkers from various disciplines to write 1,200 words on single artworks by Nancy Holt and/or Robert Smithson. The authors explore how Holt and Smithson’s ideas resonate through artistic and cultural production in the present, exploring topics ranging from geology to ecology, poetry, architecture, science fiction, public art, sculpture, drawing, film, exhibition histories or philosophy. The Scholarly Text Program will publish two essays on each work, presenting differing opinions and approaches. Each new essay includes images selected by the author, a short bibliography, citation references, endnotes pointing to the author’s references and an ISBN. 

Stay tuned for Max Andrews’ upcoming contribution on Smithson’s article “Aerial Art” (1969) next month.

Thank you to Lisa Le Feuvre, Executive Director of the Holt/Smithson Foundation, for the kind invitation to contribute to the foundation’s growing Scholarly Texts Program archive and to William T. Carson, Program Manager and Assistant Curator, for the research assistance. Extended gratitude to Chicago-based artist Nick Raffel for the insightful online studio visit and to Maxwell Graham Gallery, New York.


Abstract
Nancy Holt’s “Ventilation System” (1985-92) is a site-specific installation that exposes the hidden infrastructure of air circulation in buildings. Holt celebrates and critiques human dependence on technology by using industrial-grade ducts and HVAC systems. The essay discusses the relationship between “Ventilation System” and environmental concerns. It highlights the tension between functionality and artistic playfulness, and how the work raises awareness of our reliance on energy-intensive systems. Finally, the essay connects Holt’s artistic intervention to current debates about sustainability in art, particularly regarding museum energy consumption.

Keywords:
Nancy Holt, ventilation systems, Site-specificity, HVAC systems, sustainability, ecological concerns, System Works, Land art, Conceptual art, Charlotte Posenenske, Post-pandemic world, climate change, Institutional critique, building efficiency, sustainability, air quality, Nick Raffel, Karen Archey, Third wave of Institutional Critique, HVLS fans, Ghislaine Leung, artistic labour, climate crisis, “Constitutional critique”, context-contingent art.   

How to cite
Cánepa Luna, Mariana, “Nancy Holt’s “Ventilation System” (1985–1992).” Holt/Smithson Foundation: Scholarly Texts Chapter 7 (October 2024). ISBN: 978-1-952603-35-8 


→ RELATED CONTENTS

  • Archive of Monthly Cover Stories 
  • Other writing by Mariana Cánepa Luna
  • Looking back – Visiting Robert Smithson's “Spiral Jetty” (1970) on 7 September 2004, 7 Sep 2014
  • Publication “Robert Smithson: Art in Continual Movement” (Alauda Publications, 2012) includes an essay by Max Andrews, 28 Mar 2012
  • Cover Story–September 2024: Cover Story, September 2024: THE CREST OF A WAVE, 2 Sept 2024
  • Cover Story–July-August 2024: Rosa Tharrats, Curtain Call, 1 July 2024 
  • Cover Story, June 2024: TERENCE GOWER—DIPLOMACY, URBANISM, URANIUM, 3 June 2024
  • Cover Story, May 2024: Richard Serra & Anne Garde—Threats of Paradise, 30 Apr 2024 
  • Cover Story, April 2024: In Progress–Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum, 2 April 2024
  • Cover Story, March 2024: Dibbets en Palencia, 4 March 2024
  • Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 February 2024
  • Cover Story, January 2024: Curating Lab 2014–Curatorial Intensive, 2 Jan 2024 
  • Cover Story, December 2023: Ibon Aranberri, Partial View, 2 Dec 2023 
  • Cover Story, November 2023: Surucuá, Teque-teque, Arara: Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, 2 Nov 2023
  • Cover Story, October 2023: A tree felled, a tree cut in seven, 2 October 2023

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Max Andrews’ Manifesta 15 highlights in frieze

The Three Chimneys in Sant Adrià del Besòs. Photo © Manifesta 15 Barcelona Metropolitana / Arnau Rovira.

Max Andrews from Latitudes (a frieze Contributing Writer) and Angel Lambo (Associate Editor of frieze) shared six highlights of Manifesta 15 for frieze.com 

The 2024 edition of the roving biennial spans 12 cities in and around the Barcelona Metropolitan area, making it one of the most ambitious in scale and reach. However, while its extensive geographical footprint is impressive, questions remain about whether the quality of the exhibitions lives up to its ambitious scope. A hotly debated topic during the opening days was whether the venues’ varying sizes complemented or engulfed the works on display, as is the example of the Tres Xemeneies (Three Chimneys), the colossal former thermal power station by the Besòs river. With over 90 participants and a wide array of interventions, events, and talks, an additional challenge lies in ensuring a cohesive experience across all locations.

Read more


RELATED CONTENT:

  • Other writing on Latitudes’ website.
  • Reviews, opinions, profiles and interviews published in frieze magazine. 
  • 20th and concluding dispatch of “Incidents (of Travel)” from Barcelona, Spain, 26 Oct 2022
  • Compositions 2015, five city-wide commissions conceived for the first Barcelona Gallery Weekend, various locations, Barcelona, 1–4 October 2015 
  • Compositions 2016, five city-wide commissions conceived for the first Barcelona Gallery Weekend, various locations, Barcelona, 29 September–2 October 2016
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Conclusion of the seven International Volunteer Chapters affiliated to Gallery Climate Coalition



Conclusion of Gallery Climate Coalition’s International Volunteer Chapter Programme

In 2020, as the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of dedicated arts professionals in London formed Gallery Climate CoalitionThe coalition’s primary targets were to facilitate a reduction of the visual art sector’s greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 50% by 2030. The first of GCC’s affiliated volunteer groups was formed soon after in Berlin. Following London and Berlin, groups were established in Italy, Taiwan, Los Angeles, Spain (in late 2022), and New York. 

These seven groups became known as the International Volunteer Chapter (IVC) programme, and each advocated for an environmentally responsible arts sector on their local level, either nationally or by being focused on specific cities. Each was composed of professionals from the arts sector volunteering their time to work collectively to develop localised content and resources in line with GCC’s guidelines. Each hosted events and engaged with their immediate networks on environmental issues within the arts sector. Their teams were self-organised and self-motivated whilst remaining closely aligned with GCC’s core targets and commitments. 

Four years later, and despite the intensive work carried out by the IVCs, the increasing funding needs of this ever-widening network, and the challenging funding landscape facing GCC and arts/non-profit organisations more generally, have led to the difficult decision to bring the IVCs programme to a close as of September 2024. 

The IVC programmes have provided invaluable insights over the past years and fostered a formidable international network of dedicated volunteers. Whilst GCC Spain ceases operations as a GCC International Volunteer Chapter (IVC), the committee members remain affiliated to GCC as members, and will continue to contribute to climate action in a more informal capacity.


GCC Spain’s Timeline

Laura Carro and Lucía Mendoza (Galería Lucía Mendoza), Carolina Grau (Independent Curator), Carmen Huerta (TAC7), María Gracia de Pedro (Badr El Jundi Foundation), Mariana Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews (Latitudes) and Nicky Ure (UreCulture) met online for the first time in December 2022. This group ended up founding the International Volunteer Chapter, GCC SpainFurther along, the Committee expanded to include Angela Costantino and Simone Sentall (Fundación TBA21), Miriam Torres and Paula Ráez (Estudio Jurídico Gabeiras & Asociados) and volunteers such as Miriam Callejo.

GCC Spain’s first physical meeting was at ARCOmadrid in February 2023, when it convened an open session at the art fair to inform professionals about GCC’s targets and commitments, advise on practical issues about enrolment in its membership programme, and use helpful tools and resources such as the Carbon Calculator

Meeting at ARCOmadrid in February 2023. Photo: Max Andrews

One of GCC Spain's first achievements was translating GCC’s 11-part Best Practice Actions into Spanish (Acciones Efectivas) and opening its Instagram account.

In June 2023, GCC Spain held its first online Introductory Event (pdf of the press release in Spanish here), presenting GCC’s overall aim and officially launching GCC Spain. The launch was featured in Revista Bonart.

June 2023: Online Introductory Event (press release here

In January 2024 GCC Spain had its first online Assembly to inform members and non-members about the past and future plans of the group.


In February 2024, in collaboration with GCC London and ARCOmadrid, a campaign for #ClimateConsciousTravel was launched through multiple displays at ARCOMadrid, encouraging visitors to take the #TrainToARCOMadrid instead of flying. Additionally, the Gallery Climate Coalition was featured in Exibart magazine, and Carolina Grau, a founding member of GCC Spain, was interviewed about her curatorial work.


Despite these changes, Latitudes remains steadfast in its commitment to GCC’s core activity and commitments. Latitudes remains committed to working with its international community of 1500+ across 50+ countries in reaching a shared goal of 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the visual arts sector by 2030 (compared to a 2019 baseline). This adherence is essential to maintaining our Individual Active Membership.

You can read a statement about the closure of the IVC programme from GCC Managing Director Heath Lowndes hereFor all other communications and enquiries regarding GCC, please contact info@galleryclimatecoalition.org




RELATED CONTENT:

  • Latitudes renew their Active Membership with Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), 9 Apr 2024
  • Gallery Climate Coalition en ARCOmadrid, campaña #TrainToARCOmadrid y artículo en la revista Exibart, 11 March 2024
  • Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 Feb 2024
  • Montse Badia sobre GCC Spain en la revista Bonart #198, 25 Oct 2023
  • Latitudes qualify as an Active Member of the Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), 10 May 2023
  • Latitudes’ (Full) Environmental Policy Statement, 17 April 2023
  • Cover Story, March 2023: Art, Climate, and New Coalitions, 1 Mar 2023
  • Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC) en el Estado español, 25 Jan 2023

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Cover Story, September 2024: THE CREST OF A WAVE

  September 2024 cover story on www.lttds.org


NEW MONTH 
NEW SEASON
NEW MONTHLY COVER STORY

The September 2024 monthly Cover Story “THE CREST OF A WAVE” is now up on Latitudes’ homepage: www.lttds.org (after September 2024 this story will be archived here).

“Sixteen years ago, the start of the new art season was given a sugar rush when 300,000 special sugar sachets mysteriously appeared in over 70 of Barcelona’s beloved bars, cafés, and restaurants. Printed on each of these sachets was a bold typographic statement: “A CLOTH OF COTTON WRAPPED AROUND A HORSESHOE OF IRON TOSSED UPON THE CREST OF A WAVE”, along with a diagrammatic emblem of a throw’s trajectory. → Continue reading 

Cover Stories are published monthly on Latitudes’ homepage featuring past, present, or forthcoming projects, research, texts, artworks, exhibitions, films, objects, or field trips related to our curatorial projects and activities.


→ RELATED CONTENTS

  • Archive of Monthly Cover Stories 
  • Cover Story, July-August 2024: Rosa Tharrats, Curtain Call, 1 July 2024 
  • Cover Story, June 2024: TERENCE GOWER—DIPLOMACY, URBANISM, URANIUM, 3 June 2024
  • Cover Story, May 2024: Richard Serra & Anne Garde—Threats of Paradise, 30 April 2024
  • Cover Story, April 2024: In Progress–Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum, 2 April 2024
  • Cover Story, March 2024: Dibbets en Palencia, 4 March 2024
  • Cover Story, February 2024: Climate Conscious Travel to ARCOmadrid, 1 February 2024
  • Cover Story, January 2024: Curating Lab 2014–Curatorial Intensive, 2 Jan 2024 
  • Cover Story, December 2023: Ibon Aranberri, Partial View, 2 Dec 2023 
  • Cover Story, November 2023: Surucuá, Teque-teque, Arara: Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, 2 Nov 2023
  • Cover Story, October 2023: A tree felled, a tree cut in 7, 2 October 2023
  • Cover Story, September 2023: The Pilgrim in Ireland, 6 September 2023
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