Author: pepe

CAI GUO-QIANG

Encounter with the Unknown: Cosmos Project for Mexico | Cai Guo-Qiang

On November 8, against the Great Pyramid of Cholula and Our Lady of Remedies Church in San Pedro Cholula, Mexico, contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang realized the explosion project alongside five maestro pyrotechnician families, using traditional Mexican firework techniques.

The project includes five castillos, constructed by the local pyrotechnic families according to Cai’s creative design, as well as the explosion event Steps of a Lost Pyramid, which consists of a 50-meter-tall set of steps. At sunset, over the course of about 30 minutes, these works were lit in succession against the backdrop of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, overlooking the Popocatépetl volcano.

Encounter with the Unknown: Cosmos Project for Mexico recounts the story of conflict and integration between the indigenous people and the Spaniards in Mexico. It pays tribute to the native people of this land and to the ancient civilization of Mexico.

At the instant of ignition, we return the land to the people of Mexico, and to the modest cosmology that they worshipped. The project is an expression of our respect and humility as modern people to the ancients, and a demonstration of our yearning and anxiety toward encounters with unknown worlds.

For more information on Encounter with the Unknown: Cosmos Project for Mexico visit: caiguoqiang.com

BORDER TUNER

BorderTuner | Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

An interactive public art installation across the US-Mexico border by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Border Tuner will launch on November 13, and be open every night from November 14 to 24, between 6:30pm to 11:00pm.

Three interactive stations on each side of the border will control powerful searchlight beams using a small dial wheel. When lights from any two stations are directed at each other, microphones and speakers automatically switch-on to allow participants to talk with one another, creating cross-border conversations.

At the beginning of each evening, prior to opening the microphones to the general public, special guests will be invited to take control of the system for 30 minutes of curated programming. These including poets, musicians, beat boxers, seniors, first nations speakers, maker/hackers, historians, and so on. During these “opening remarks” the piece will be set to a special mode where all the lights intersect and all six stations can hear each other.

Border Tuner is not only designed to create new connections between the communities on both sides of the border, but to make visible the relationships that are already in place: magnifying existing relationships, conversations and culture. The piece is intended as a visible “switchboard” of communication where people can self-represent. The project seeks to provide a platform for a wide-range of local voices and an opportunity to draw international attention to the co-existence and interdependence between the sister cities that create the largest bi-national metropolitan area in the western hemisphere.

< Arte Abierto > joins the group of collaborators who support the realization of Border Tuner that believe that art can bring people closer together, particularly in open public settings.

Border Tuner welcomes everyone to speak and listen from the stations located in El Parque del Chamizal, Ciudad Juarez and Bowie High School, El Paso.

For more information on Border Tuner visit: www.bordertuner.net

OTIS KRIEGEL FROM ILLEGAL ART IN MEXICO

Talk with Otis Kriegel | Illegal Art

< Arte Abierto > invites you an Otis Kriegel talk, co-founder of the Illegal Art collective.

See you this Saturday, October 12th, 2019 at 12:00 pm in the Galería Arte Abierto located on the 2nd floor of Artz Pedregal.

His book Suggestion (August 2005), was published by Chronicle Books.

Otis Kriegel’s public art, photography and video/film projects have been featured in such media outlets as National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Public Art Review and The New York Times. His work has been exhibited, commissioned and published in catalogs throughout the Americas and Europe

In 2013 he was a resident artist at the SXSW Festival.

Otis uses his knowledge of participatory-based public art and communication to create campaigns, public events to encourage participation, and slogans for a number of different companies and organizations.

Illegal Art is founded by Otis Kriegel and Michael McDevitt.

The objective of this group is to create participatory public art to inspire self-reflection, thought and human connection. Each piece is presented or distributed in a method in which participation is simple and encouraged. Their projects have been installed throughout the United States, South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

During the months of September, October and November for the first time Otis Kriegel and Michael McDevitt, founders of Illegal Art, present their projects in Mexico City:

• The Last Word

• Suggestion Box

• What Color Are You?

• Measure Up (An installation commissioned by < Arte Abierto >)

The four public art pieces will be inside the premises of Artz Pedregal. Each one seeks the public’s participation as an experience with a creative-collective effect.

ILLEGAL ART TED TALK

Incluyendo al público en el arte público | Otis Kriegel | TEDxManhattanBeach

“No importa la imagen: un parque de casas rodantes, la cima de una montaña, una playa, un castillo o un museo, la postal es el método omnipresente de compartir el tiempo y el lugar con los demás, y el tema «wish you were here» (desearía que estuvieras aquí). Ahora es el momento para que recuerdes y reflexiones sobre dónde estás ahora y dónde puedes estar en el futuro”.

En este proyecto de Arte Público Participativo, el artista Otis Kriegel invita a seleccionar una postal y compartir este momento, con la esperanza de los próximos meses y cualquier otra cosa que quiera saber sobre su futuro. Devuelva la tarjeta y se le enviará la postal en aproximadamente seis meses, como un monumento a su pasado y en honor a usted en el futuro.

Este proyecto se instaló por primera vez en el Festival SXSW 2013.

Para ver el video, haz click aquí.

SMARTFILMS

SMART FILMS

The festival’s structure is based on yearly celebrations and throughout the process, educational and activation activities are conducted to encourage people to participate and promote the film industry in Mexico. Anyone can do it and everyone can see it.

< Arte Abierto > welcomes this Mexican cellphone-made film festival at Artz Pedregal on May 2 for the launch of its second edition in Mexico: SmartFilms 2019.

https://smartfilms.mx/blog/se-acerca-el-dia-de-lanzamiento/