Tag: reconocimiento
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The museum pavement
There is a detail in this story that explains it entirely, and it is advisable to begin with it. On 24 July, a United States executive order mandated the installation of signs warning visitors to the National Museum of American History that its exhibitions should be renewed and directing them to other locations where they might find truthful information regarding the…
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Changing the past by decree
Between 2005 and 2009, two Chinese artist brothers, Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang, produced a series of sculptures concerning Mao Zedong. In one, Mao appears kneeling, repentant. In another, seven Maos aim their rifles at the figure of Christ. A third series depicts him with breasts. These are satirical, irreverent and recognisable works…
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The museum that is not seen
When one traverses a great museum, one has the impression of viewing its collection. One is not viewing it. One is viewing a minuscule selection, and the remainder—the vast portion—resides elsewhere: in climate-controlled warehouses, in numbered crates, on grid racks where paintings hang on edge like folders in a filing cabinet. The…
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Authenticity does not reside in the material
A painting from four centuries ago has been relined, its varnishes removed and replaced, its frame altered on several occasions, its fissures stabilised, and certain areas repainted by hands other than those of the author. If one were to count the atoms, perhaps very little of the material that emerged from the original studio would remain. And yet…
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The trajectory that cannot be commenced
Para constituir una fundación en España basta, en la práctica, con treinta mil euros: la ley presume suficiente esa dotación. Es una cifra alta para un particular y baja para una institución, y ese equilibrio es deliberado. Lo que la ley no dice, porque no le corresponde, es lo que pasa el día siguiente. Al…
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That which returns
En los últimos años hemos visto algo que parecía impensable hace una generación: objetos que regresan. En 2021 Francia devolvió a Benín veintiséis obras del tesoro real de Abomey, tomadas como botín en 1892. En 2022 Alemania firmó la transferencia a Nigeria de los mil ciento treinta Bronces de Benín identificados en sus museos públicos,…
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Architecture is not neutral
The debate regarding technological sovereignty is frequently framed incorrectly, as though it consisted of possessing 'European' artificial intelligence models in contrast to American or Chinese counterparts. That is merely the surface. The fundamental question is different: who controls the entire stack upon which everything else relies. Not merely the models, but the...
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One criticises what one cares for
Acabo de cerrar una serie de nueve textos sobre arte y sociedad. Los escribí a lo largo de semanas, cada uno sobre un asunto distinto —el impacto, la buena conciencia, el patrimonio, el trabajo, el territorio, la financiación, el acceso, el reconocimiento, lo digital—, pero al mirarlos juntos veo que hacían todos el mismo gesto,…
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The access promised by the screen
Cuando una institución cultural sube su colección a internet, hace un gesto que parece de justicia: lo que antes exigía viajar, pagar, saber que existía, ahora está a un clic para cualquiera. La promesa es hermosa y la repetimos mucho —lo digital democratiza, derriba barreras, abre la cultura a todos—. Trabajo con lo digital y…
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How a reputation is manufactured
Tendemos a pensar el reconocimiento como una consecuencia natural: el talento existe, tarde o temprano se nota, y el reconocimiento llega detrás como quien recoge algo que ya estaba ahí. Es una historia reconfortante y casi siempre falsa. El reconocimiento no se recoge: se fabrica, mediante dispositivos concretos que conviene conocer, sobre todo si uno…