Rebuttal

As Stuart graphically described we became violently ill. A word to the wise; if you order a steak rare and it comes out an hour later tough and luke-warm don’t eat it. I imagine the cook set our steak aside after a quick flip on the grill. While waiting for the other orders something went wrong or was forgotten. Our steak sat impatiently breeding alot sorts of microbes before getting a quick reheat under a kitchen bulb.

We weathered the storm and awoke with steak in our sink.

 

 

Commentary will be my salvation and defense. Stuart’s limited description of our trip to the MALBA requires an explanatory rebuttal. Lets begin with a basic description of the MALBA. The Malba features Latin American art from the 20^th century. Their mission is preserve and study pieces from this era in order to understand changing perspectives and self identification of Latin America.

 

With this outlined purpose in mind it is fair to assume that most pieces in this relatively short collection express important ideas relative to this time period. Many pieces in the museum are captivating. Stuart and I both fell for Jorge de la Vega’s multimedia pieces.

 

The collection had two works by de la Vega which used a plaster mold to recast a mask or image repeatedly on one canvas. The artists made the original mask into a mould and set the image in raised plaster or used plastered pieces as a stamp. He filled the prints with different mediums such as broken glass or fabric. For me the theme of mass production is obvious. He may have simply been playing with new mediums or commentating on something deeper like the influence of industrialized society on individual identity, or lack there of.

 

I will admit some of this art goes over my head. In fact its way out there. But for me art is an expression of ideas in different mediums and usually sparks my interest to learn what the artist’s thought process may have been.

 

Sometimes when Stuart teases me about my nerdy interest in art I laugh along. Perhaps my education has trained me to read too deeply. For example earlier in the gallery we saw a modern cavernous wooden bench entitled “Meeting and Fossil”. Stuart seemed a bit disgusted when I replied “Of course!  First meetings and fossils are both leave impressions.”

 

I’ll admit the potatoes felt a bit out of place.  But, they downright offended Stuart. But as Stuart commented on their stupidity my connection to these potatoes strengthened ten fold. I offered my defense and burst into flames.

 

I will spare you the 4 hour debate which carried on late into the afternoon over some cold beer.I will try and simplify my interpretation. I feel the artists contrasted a representation of edible food with a plastic form to express the idea of consumption. Real potatoes or food are basic and necessary for sustenance. But modern society had gone beyond meeting our needs and created a new form of empty consumption; consumerism.

 

During the time when this piece was made Latin America further questioned its own identity.  Contrasting the two demonstrates the resentment felt by many Latin Americans toward capitalism at this time and its influence on Latin American culture. Like many of the other works in the gallery the piece is meant to question “Who are we in the context of a Global community?”, “How have other cultures influenced us and what sort of culture do we want to create?”.

 

Stuart felt that art should clearly express its idea and should in someway capture the viewer’s attention through aesthetics.  He felt the potatoes poorly rendered and uninteresting. I’d like to think the artist did this intentionally. During this time period many artists made non art or art that is not conventionally perceived as art. It is not that the artists can’t render or that they are lazy.

For example if we look at Picaso’s earlier work he can render as well as Rembrandt but adopted a simplified style. Those unfamiliar with his talent would perceive much of his work as a lack of skill. The potatoes are not a pretty painting someone could buy as commodity and forget about. They are ugly and require thought. New mediums, plastics, “happenings” and pop refrences allowed artists to coment on modern society. As evident by our afternoon they clearly stir up a strong debate about art and its purpose.

 

Forgive me for my over explanation. I realize I went into far too much. As a functionally illiterate person I read deeper into other modes of expression than most. Stuart is far better read than I and offers other sources of information I don’t. The point is our differences allow us to challenge each other, which we obviously both enjoy.

 

To elaborate on the wine shop we had been buying wine from the super market. This wine shop had reasonable prices included expert advice. So much of buying wine is building a relationship with a someone in the business. Getting to know a local wine shop or sommelier can help navigate the wine world. At the Vintage Cellar Stu and I had Trent. I told the clerk we wanted something in the 35 peso range, a malbec that didn’t need food and wasn’t too tannic. His recommendation of Tomerro fit our demands. He gave me his card and told me to contact him in February when the shop begins wine tastings.

~ by aedlund on January 8, 2009.