Third International
Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory 
January 22 - 24, 2004
Teatro de los Insurgentes
Mexico City
advisory comittee: ery camara, guillermo santamarina, patricia sloane, osvaldo sánchez
visual project: erick beltrán
sitac is an anual project by patronato de arte contemporáneo (pac)
Thursday, January 22
09.30
10.00
11.30
15.30
Presentation of SITAC III
Opening Lecture by Hal Foster
Archives and Utopias In Contemporary Art
Discussion panel I: Resistance
as possibility
The first discussion panel focuses attention on those spheres in which
resistance may be an underlying structure for discourse and action. It
attempts to establish reasons for which resistance is necessary from a
political perspective -understood in the sense of social action- and from
different cultural viewpoints as well. This first approach to the subject
seeks to detect social dynamics of negotiation that serve as the basis
for further discussion, while at the same time evaluating the ways and
terms under which some dynamics of resistance of recent years have been
integrated into institutional and media discourse. A highly important
aspect of this first block is related to the need to understand resistance,
no longer exclusively as a vertical dynamic --that is to say ideological--
but rather also as a series of practices that develop horizontally within
concrete social spheres.
Ma Inés García
Canal. Resistance: Between Memory and Oblivion
Resistance is dealt with on the basis of Michel Foucault's reflections
as a component of the power relation, inasmuch as it is a relation of
forces in ongoing tension. Resistance is an act of intervention in a strict
sense of the term: a violent act that comes without due warning, extrinsic
to the monotonous continuity of habits and routines. It is an act of rupture
with learned memory and an act producing new visibilities, of making "visible
the invisibility of what is visible." It is, by the same token, an
act of interpretation producing new meanings, by making something thinkable
out of the unthinkable, by being capable of extracting time from its hinges,
shattering memories, making what has been forgotten memorable. Resistance
is a memory of what has been relegated to oblivion; it endeavors to join
the past in the present to make this time a counteraction, a counter-fact,
a future act.
Boris Groys. The Logics
of Equal Rights
Art and politics are connected in one fundamental respect: both are realms
in which a struggle for recognition is being waged. As defined by Alexander
Kojève in his commentary on Hegel, this struggle for recognition
surpasses the usual struggle for the distribution of material goods, which
in modernity is generally regulated by market forces. What is at stake
here is not merely that a certain desire be satisfied but that it is also
recognized as socially legitimate. Whereas politics is an arena in which
various group interests have, both in the past and now, fought for recognition,
artists of the classical avant-garde have always contended for the recognition
of all individual forms and artistic procedures that were not previously
considered legitimate. In other words, the classical avant-garde has struggled
to achieve recognition for all signs, forms and things as the legitimate
objects of artistic desire and, hence, also of social representation in
art. Both forms of struggle are intrinsically bound up with each other,
and both culminate in a situation in which all people with all their varied
interests, as indeed also all forms and artistic procedures, will be granted
equal rights. Today, the artist is trapped in the gulf between the perspective
of achieving equality for all images, a vision that was opened up for
him by radical modernism, and the hierarchies, privileges and norms that
still prevail in the finite representational spaces our culture. At issue
here is an emancipatory vision that is truly artistic, that has not been
imposed from the outside and yet nonetheless makes it possible to call
into question and modify the character of every concrete field of imagery
-- including all those fields of imagery with which present-day politics
identifies itself.
Ole Bouman. Don't Save
Culture, Spend It
In contrast to economics, politics and social structures, the realm of
culture seems the most appropriate means with which to probe new worldviews,
new techniques and new forms of organization. It also seems to be the
field in which people can most easily (and safely) express forms of resistance
to the status quo, to vested interests and to a pervasive ugliness and
injustice. In principle, culture is the perfect source for any renewal.
However, this is not a world of principles. Not only is culture hardly
acknowledged as a hotbed of innovation and criticism, it also denies itself
the right to be so, sticking to an uncanny freedom that renders it both
charming and irrelevant. And nowhere has the paradox between creativity
and irrelevance paralyzed our critical faculties as much as in architecture
and urbanism. Spatial design was once conceptualized as a vehicle of intervention.
Today, it seems to be avoiding that intervention at any cost.
Giuseppe Patella. Resistance
as the (Art of) Difference
Speaking of resistance means confronting the problem of opposites,
that is to say of answering the question of conflict, going to the issue
itself of how opposition can be thought. First and foremost, it is necessary
to recognize the existence of an opposition, avoiding any attempt at reconciliation
and harmony between opposites, something inherent to any ideological construction,
whether it be political or aesthetic. Beyond the logic of identity and
the logic of dialectic contradiction, what is lacking is thinking about
a deeper experience of conflict that implies thinking of resistance as
the articulation of difference. Difference conceived from the logic of
identity and contradiction does not mean absolute foreignness, total opposition
that frequently forms part of the same system. We must abandon the illusion
of a pure theory of alterity and think instead of a species of familiar
strangeness, an ambivalence that inextricably links identity and alterity.
The model of this familiar strangeness may be the so-called "formation
of the compromise" dealt with in psychoanalysis. Freud speaks of
the aesthetic category of z, Witz, of wit, as of a formation of the compromise
between terms in strong opposition and between which there is an unsalvageable
difference. Wit is an aesthetic mode of thinking difference that gives
rise to cultural productions endowed with a great refinement in which
the opposites are conceived of in a manner non-symmetrical in relation
to each other, but rather recognizing them and maintaining them within
their alterity without conciliating, canceling, assimilating or exchanging
one for the other. Therefore, difference is an art. Our challenge today
consists of refining our sensitivity to difference and of imagining a
strategy of resistance conceived of as difference, as an art of lightness
and speed, of precision and multiplicity (Calvino). Thus, resistance does
not mean immobility, nor defense of the status quo, nor conservatism,
but rather a slow, almost imperceptible although continuous, insistent
movement of transformation, of differentiation of planes and reality,
always keeping in mind the knowledge-power link embedded in each theory.
Yves Michaud. Art,
Politics and Resistance To-Day
It is part and parcel of the modernist conception of art that it must
have a critical impact on society- that art is revolutionary. The theory
of the avant-garde is at the core of the myth of modernity -but it may
well be a pious reconstruction of our own, the way we wished to see the
modern adventure in the framework of the modernist paradigm. On the contrary,
we are witnesses to a contemporary artistic situation in which artists
are either politically un-committed or very lightly committed. When they
are concerned by politics they tend to adopt partial and modest views
in a society which has a negative bias towards general statements, especially
revolutionary ones. It is still politically correct that an artist be
politically on the left but it does not commit him to much else. Moreover,
the artists who are concerned by politics have to deal with an ambiguous
situation. They have to compete with rivals who master the communication
processes and channels much better than they do. To-day, artists are rivaled
by designers, publicity conceptors, popular music producers, tv directors...
This new situation leads to three different reactions -one of nostalgia
for the modern commitment, another of irony and cynicism, a last one of
indifference. What is the significance of this new predicament? Does it
mean that the social role of the artist has changed? Does it mean that
the place of art in the economy of culture has changed too? DonÕt we have
to look for critical thought in other areas of the intellectual or social
world? Is it so depressing? For, it would not be the first time in history
that the social role of art changes.
Coordinator : Cuauhtémoc Medina
10.00
15.30
Discussion panel II: Spaces and
Strategies of Resistance
Speaking of resistance implies speaking of concrete actions. It is difficult
to view this concept in purely abstract terms, isolating it from the wide
range of specific examples in which day to day power structures are negotiated
within contexts in which we operate. There is no doubt that the system
has a great capacity to adapt so that spaces of resistance exist as sporadic,
fragile bubbles in constant tension, in a blurry territory between marginality
and institutionalization. In this sense, we seek to critically evaluate
the contributions of different groups and individuals that have attempted
to carry out their proposals and initiatives from the stance of resistance.
The majority of them encounter difficulties in going beyond purely formal
aspects so that their assimilation within institutional structures turns
out to be surprisingly swift and effective. Some other cases, certainly
fewer, take advantage of this inclusion to undermine the institution from
within with different results that lead various interesting situations.
Finally, there are those initiatives that, whether by their own volition
or whether because the institution has not succeeded or is uninterested
in deciphering the codes of their strategies, manage to remain at the
margins with the question "how much longer?" hanging in the
air.
Gustav Metzger. Ethics,
Aesthetics and Biotechnology
In the course of this century biotechnology will enter very many spheres
of life. The radical changes that will arise need to be considered in
advance. In the opinion of scientists, they might lead to unimaginable
disasters. Whenever bio-tech is employed ethical issues are involved.
Artists are already engaging with biotechnology. An unquestioning use
by artists of science and technology is to be deplored. It is time to
face up to the ethical dimensions involved. Ethics into aesthetics serves
up the challenge. These discussions can fit well with the theme of our
conference -Resistance.
Salah Hassan
Thomas Hirschhorn.
Bataille Monument
Thomas Hirschhorn will comment a video about the experience of his "Bataille
Monument", built at Friedrich Wöhler Siedlung in Kassel for Documenta
11. It is a commentary in 15 sections (documents and visuals) that takes
us from the preparation of the project to it's dismantling. Hirschhorn
will propose a critical and auto-critical analysis.
Antoni Muntadas. Business
As Usual: The World Is On Sale Political and Marketing Strategies and
Cultural Consequences
The rise and race of economics in a liberal global world -under the disappearance
of ideologies and values- create a series of chains of causes/effects
on/from the cultural perspective where everything is on sale. Economics
affects politics, ethics and aesthetics. Under these circumstances -and
on the eve of many upcoming elections world wide- the way in which economical
values affect the election of a candidate, governor or president is in
the hands of a new professional class: the advisors. Metaphorically we
could refer to them as the "lifters" -discourse and "cosmetics"
constructors- that create the candidate's speech and physical and social
profiles. Are the curators a parallel class?. . .Are artists for sale
too?
Daniel García Andujar.
Technologies to the People, on Artistic Practice in the Era of Globalization
Not long ago we found ourselves before a new utopia of freedom and global
access to information and knowledge that we have gradually seen vanish
before us. The idea of the Internet as a democratic space is no more than
an optimistic vision of a dream impossible to make into a reality. What
is certain is that the conditions for social performance, political action
and artistic creation have entered a zone of dangerous indifference resulting
from the servile role reserved for us by the perverse effects of globalization.
Nevertheless, some artistic practices have gone beyond events by appropriating
the tools and technology desired by the market. In the global economy,
any organization no matter how small may gain access to realms of visibility
previously unimaginable. The same strategies used by corporations to obtain
control shares in political and market sectors may be effectively used
to transform this situation. That is the strength of a group that is based
on the virtuality of their identity, on their capacity to work in an organized
way and to preserve their autonomy in the face of state institutions,
the logic of capital, and the seduction of technology.
Jota Castro. Does Living
Mean Resisting?
I resist the temptation to lie by responding to the question: yes! My
work is based on resisting the everyday, the desire to enjoy, the notion
of normality as a way of life, the idea of good feelings as a contraceptive
for the rage that fills me when I see the state of the world in which
I live. I also question the utility of my work as an artist and I think
that doubting makes me resist the desire to shine, the desire to sweeten
my subject so that curators and the market may pigeon-hole me more easily.
I resist being an Indian or a cultivated Negro, I resist being a cultural
alibi, the proof of the superiority of the West, I resist being a herald
of an alterworldism because I cannot imagine that even within a new ideology,
I am left with the role of the victim. But I cannot resist the seduction
of my idea that not everything has been said and done . . . and that if
this is applied to humanity, it may also be applied to art. This is why
I resist.
Coordinator: Tobias Ostrander
Discussion panel III: Resistance
and Seduction: the Mexican Case
Regarding its artistic production, Mexico is today one of the most visible
countries in the contemporary art world. This does not mean though that
the practices that this hype exploits represent comprehensively the complex
artistic reality of the country. Nevertheless and given their imminent
presence in international circuits, it is worth asking what is the relationship
that they establish with a particular tradition of resistance linked mainly
with generational confrontation and the denial of tradition? In this sense,
a good part of twentieth century art in Mexico has been couched in combative
terms strictly within the limits of the artistic while at the same time
appearing surprisingly docile in the face of its political legitimization,
appropriation and exploitation. Today the eyes of the international art
world are focused on Mexico, centering their interest on art that is supposedly
the product of survival in the megalopolis and this slanted vision of
the Mexican art scene has served as a powerful vehicle of dissemination
and promotion. This situation is paradigmatic within the functioning scheme
of the art system from within our frontiers, but also in an international
arena ready to absorb a group of practices via strategies that evoke the
ghosts of colonialism. From there arises the need to encourage debate
on the concept of resistance in its multiple relations with art in Mexico
and from highly distinct experiences. This is essential in order to clarify
assumptions perpetuated abroad, while at the same time assuming a much
needed self-critique.
Francisco Reyes Palma.
Soft Resistance: Mediation as Work
The metaphor of "resistance", applied to the field of art, contextualizes
us in an analytics of power and the capacity of displacing the artist
in reference to the margins of society. As an introduction and a point
of contrast, the forms of artistic resistance produced in the first half
of the past century will be surveyed, with a focus on their evolutionary
character, borne of the great discourses of totality and a recapitulation
of the loss of political dimensions of these traditions as part of the
artistÕs task. The debate centers on the period that has been called postmodern
in its artistic means of dissemination, the primordial nature of which
is constituting soft, almost ungraspable forms of resistance: it is conceptualism
as new realism and the tautologies of work, the presence of the media
and institutions as work; the interplay, the allegory and deviation; as
well as disease, the corpse, and genocide; or borders, minorities, and
affective communities. I will conclude with a hypothesis on the failure
of utopias as social absolutes, and will question the possibilities of
polymorphous surfaces, almost free of contact, as elements of erosion
in the society of control, or in its derivative of fear.
Anton Vidokle. Nuevo
This summer Anton Vidokle initiated an ambitious new work entitled
Nuevo -a visual examination of the social and aesthetic potential inherent
in a mundane metro-station building in central Mexico City. Constituted
through a process of prolonged engagement with this building (a late-modernist
modular structure found repeatedly throughout the city) Nuevo comprises
a large-scale painting, a public work, a performance, and a film. From
August 4 - August 17th, 2003, the drab and anonymous late-modernist facade
situated at a busy transportation junction was painted bright red in a
step-by-modular-step performance. This event suggested an expanded idea
of performance on a scale of land art (albeit within an urban context).
The building, much like a body of a performer, was made to enact a social,
aesthetic and a political act for a diverse and manifold urban public.
In this manner a conceptual/minimal sensibility found an unexpected connection
to the Mexican muralist tradition, within the context of late 1960s, progressive
architecture. The building's transformation is the subject of a short
film scheduled to be premiered at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston's
Made in Mexico exhibition opening in January 2004.
Alberto L—pez Cuenca.
To Resist and to Die: Mexican Contemporary Art as Spectacle
With the backdrop of the belligerent attitude of Mexican post-revolutionary
art some contemporary artists have championed proposals that involve an
open or veiled vindication of the social in the artistic scene. However
and in spite of the fact that some of these works might cause a certain
discomfort because of the fact that they reveal some despicable aspects
of Mexican life (i.e. the prepotency of the authorities, poverty, or the
insulting expenditure of the upper classes), the truth is that they are
easily instrumentalized and presented in the artistic channels barely
causing an occasional stir. Criticism, dissidence and subversion sell
in the art market. Mexico and the international art scene follow the dictate
of a Òcultural industryÓ that has the goal of distributing to a massive
audience products identified as ÒartisticÓ but that are nevertheless commercially
viable. Since the seventies and especially during the eighties, artistic
production has become more professional and has been packaged either as
a commodity or as part of the entertainment industry. It is within this
context that one has to ask what kind of resistance can come from contemporary
Mexican art, opposed to what and what for? Is belligerence in Mexican
art due to the fact that it is almost exclusively sponsored by the State
camouflaging itÕs condition as commodity? Do artists underestimate the
ability of the market to neutralize the critical side of the most resistant
art? Do we unconsciously admit that these practices satisfy only the commercial
niches such as those of social contest and avant-garde nostalgia for transgression?
To what extent can art avoid and subvert the conditions of the market
and its spectacularization?
Coordinator: Olivier Debroise
for further information:
patronato de arte contemporáneo, a.c.
josé vasconcelos 218 piso 6
col. condesa, méxico d.f. 06140
tel. (52 55) 55 53 15 01
fax. (52 55) 52 86 70 19
email. sitac@pac.org.mx
press. prensasitac@pac.org.mx
travel and accomodation:
Viajes Educativos
tel. (52 55) 5574 0899 (Rubén)
rmrosas@asatej.com.mx