Retorno a la ciudad Coming back to the city

Es difícil expresar la sensación de volver a visitar la ciudad de mis anhelos, la gran manzana, un lugar irreal, dónde se reúnen todas las culturas del mundo, donde a cada paso puedes cruzar con seres inmersos en su individualidad pero compartiendo lo colectivo.

Es la sexta ocasión que decido ir a la capital del mundo, al sueño americano, aunque sea por unos instantes quiero sentirme parte de esa gran cultura, la mezcla de colores, la profesionalización de la vida cotidiana, donde el glamour y la contracultura cohabitan y comparten sus límites, donde el arte palpita y se ubica en cada rincón, acontece lo inesperado, todo se trastorna y en un segundo vuelve a la calma, ahí mismo al caminar entre la sombra de los rascacielos, topando con los límites hasta llegar a los ríos, en el corazón de la isla, en los polos de cada parque, observando las mercancías, disimulando ante las almas desamparadas que deambulan por los suelos en busca de caridad, encontrando las marquesinas de los teatros repletos de sueños y los escaparates que gritan por su libertad, ante los desfiles que pronuncian la transformación del entorno y el fin de la opresión.

Cuando miro por las tardes las bolsas de basura en la calle, recuerdo que todos han complicado el entorno, entonces acudo a pasar entre los estantes de la librería para transportarme a la próxima estación del subterráneo. Por la noche, vagar incansablemente por las calles apenas alumbradas y detenerme ante los sonidos de las sirenas y el humo que emerge de las coladeras. La soledad camina junto a mi y entonces miró para saber la ubicación exacta donde se encuentra escondido mi gran amor y como es un slogan digo: I love New York.

It is difficult to express the feeling of returning to visit the city of my desires, the big apple, an unreal place, where they meet all cultures of the world where every step you can cross with people immersed in their individuality while sharing the collective. It is the sixth time I decide to go to the capital of the world, the American dream, even for a moment I want to be part of that great culture, the mixture of colors, the professional everyday life, where glamour and counterculture cohabiting and share their boundaries, where art beats and is located in every corner, the unexpected happens, everything goes haywire and a second returns to normal, right there walking in the shadow of skyscrapers, hitting against the limits up to rivers, in the heart of the island, at the poles of each park, looking the goods, hiding to the helpless souls that roam the land in search of love, finding the marquees of the theaters full of dreams, displays and windows of stores scream for their freedom, parades to pronounce the transformation of the environment and the end of oppression. When I look in the evening bags of trash on the street, remember that everyone has complicated the environment, and then I go to pass between the shelves of the library to transport the next subway station. At night, wander endlessly through the streets lit and stop just at the sounds of sirens and the smoke that emerges from the sewers. Solitude walks with me and then looked to find the exact location where my great love is hidden as a slogan saying: I love New York.

Vivir el arte living the arts

I think that the object of the vision has improve the perception of the life. Creating my digital thinks I found myself in the ecstasies of the pixel vibration, the colors, the shapes and squares. When I video life I don’t want to forget my happiness, my pleasure. Moments that I want to keep, memories, when I feel free and happy, the moments, what I live, every especial moment. Living and expressing on images cover my mind, it is my style. Lighting and even in darkness, I always found the emergency exit. When I walk around and get lost, after minutes of desperation and fear, finally I get it, images vibe inside of me.

Nueva York

¡Cuántas historias se han producido sobre la ciudad de Nueva York! Todavía recuerdo aquella primera vez que tomé como aventura mi desplazamiento por la gran manzana. De principio me encantó toda esa poderosa simbólica plasmada en los rascacielos que producen una sensación de luces y sombras, un transito repentino de vientos encontrados. Fui a conocer el aspecto cultural y artístico, ya que actualmente es el corazón del arte, y mi preparación como historiadora requería el encuentro con las musas y todo fue emocionante y sorpresivo. Desde entonces procuro ir una vez al año a vagar incansablemente por sus calles y avenidas, me gusta sentirme parte de la diversidad, soñar con ser parte de esa urbe cosmopolita, me enamoré en Nueva York, y ahora he de buscar el olvido dentro del mismo amor por la isla. Faltan pocas semanas para estar nuevamente allá, este año me di la oportunidad de visitarla dos veces, espero que esa frecuencia se multiplique y un día pueda despertar y saber que sigo ahi, porque pertenezco a esa ciudad que tanto añoro y anhelo.

How many stories have been written about the city of New York! I still remember the first time I took a trip as an adventure in the big apple. From the beginning I loved all that powerful symbols embodied in skyscrapers that produce a feeling of light and shadow, a sudden transit where winds have been encountered. I went to meet the cultural and artistic life, as currently is the heart of art, and my training as historian required the encounter with the Muses and everything was exciting and surprising. Since then, I try to go once a year to wander, I tirelessly through its streets and avenues, I like to feel a part of diversity, dreaming of being part of this cosmopolitan city, I fell in love in New York, and now I have to forget that love in the same love for the island. A few weeks I´ll be back there, this year I saw the opportunity to visit the city twice, I hope that this frequency would be multiplied and one day I can wake up and know I am still there, because I belong to that city I miss it so much and longing.

Ephemeral bodies: resistance and transgression

Introduction
Since 1994 I began to experiment in video during my studies in communication science. I finished and graduated, my major is in media (Photography, television, video, filmmaking theory). I enrolled in graduated school in 2000, during the master studies my research was focus in videoart. I graduated in February 2006 presenting the thesis “Women through video: Intimacy and subversion”. I studied the works Mexican artist like Pola Weiss, the first woman who made video dance and experimented with videoart, also I found the works of Ximena Cuevas very interesting, her videos are mixed with element of movies, TV, realities and lies of the Mexican vision, also she has been working in feminist projects.

I stared my doctoral studies in art history looking for pieces related with feminist ideas, I chose artist from different countries. It is important to search differences between artists but what I’m trying to find out are worries about gender construction and possibilities to get out of the feminine stereotypes. I choose videoart, photo, installation, performance and movies because are tools with possibilities to experiment with technologies, its used in contemporary art, light’s arts that lead woman to reflect themselves and function like a mirror. Frequently represent a cheap way to produce indoors, to joy the intimacy; a lot of secrets are share between the artist and the audience. What’s happen with the conscience it is what I want to know. I select differents characters, nationalities, ideologies, experiences, a few pieces from an especial creative time, a review of 1970-1990´s, then focus in pieces presented during 2006-2009.

Experience
Last year (2006) I received a support for research, I got an invitation from Barcelona University for a semester (Art History department). During that time I went to London, Paris, Rome, Madrid, and Amsterdam, looking for information in research centers, libraries, foundations. I visited exhibitions in galleries and museums and I saw women’s images in picture and sculptures, first at all women into the mainstream. That was my goal, look for creative contemporary women and review her representation or invisibility in art since centuries. I found artist like Orlan working in surgery to endeavor identity, opposite Shirin Neshat worry about the use of Chador in Muslim countries. Mona Hatoum talking about the exile’s experience and Ana Mendieta representing rape and violence against woman.

Another artist that I have been study for my thesis is Pipilotti Rist, she does a very special kind of video, a combination of fantasy, surreal experiences. I already viewed a very good collection of videos of her in Barcelona (Caixa foundation) and Electronic Art Intermix. Last November I watched a video installation in the MOMA NY. From far away Eija-Liisa Ahtila (Finland), she works on film mixing reality with fiction. Ana de Matos is a Spanish artist that reflects about the oppositions of East and West representation of women and rules for in India women; she made a great video installation in Barcelona in 2006.

I had travel New York City 4 times, to visit the viewer room in Electronic Art Intermix, because there are a lot of videos made for women that I wanted to study. Reading in The Public Library in Mid-Manhattan I found books about Americans artists that perform and made installation including video like a very important element into the composition, reflection and expression. For example: Judy Chicago, Cindy Sherman, Sadie Benning (I already know her), Joan Jonas, Laurie Anderson, but in the other hand I found a group of feminist using video like activist and doctors, they work in elements that help to empower, for example “Our bodies our selves”, a group of women in Boston and Betty Dodson using video to educate women’s sexuality, also the works of Annie Sprinkle about embodiment. I visited museums and galleries to attend conferences and galleries talks.

I have to say that feminist art is my subject now, I have been studying Alexandra Juhasz books, especially because she make video and research, she knows who women have used video to empowered themselves and she has interview a lot of women to used to document experiences with illness like cancer and AIDS. It is another vision that I want to get know; it is a documentary use of video.

I will find that video, photography, film, installation and performance had been used with differents intentions, for self knowledge, for experiment new ways to express feelings and ideas. Discussing women situation with people involve in feminist theory and practice, learning about politics. I visited exposition of woman in Houston (African-american videoartist) and the Brooklyn Museum in New York for Global feminist, both focus in resistance and transgression. I visited the National Museum of Women in Art in Washington D.C. The idea was to notice how women are included in the Museum and mainstream, the struggle got its goal.

Pensar el arte

Desde que me di a la tarea de tratar de entender el arte, mi vida ha tomado un rumbo interesante. Me ha llevado a estudiar historia, para tratar de entender el contexto de una pieza. Me ha hecho descubrir las posibilidades que los colores y las formas pueden producir en la imaginación. Me volvio una visitante incansable de museos donde el encuentro con la obra me hace sentir emociones intensas. Ahora, los recuerdos llenan de sentido lo aparentemente cotidiano, ya que cada momento me dejo llena la conciencia de imágenes, de representaciones e interpretaciones de un ser, un paisaje, un pasaje, mitos e historias. Cada signo, cada símbolo me invita a al universo desconocido, me da la sensación de que puedo adentrarme en la obra para desifrar sus secretos y en cada nuevo recorrido me desplazo a lugares distantes y experiencias únicas. Puedo decir que el arte me llena por completo, me invade, así que esta nueva etapa estará enfocada en eso que tanto me gusta, llenar mis ojos de imagenes vibrantes y así emprender nuevamente mi ruta a lo desconocido.

Since I have the task of trying to understand the art, my life has taken an interesting path. It led me to study history to try to understand the context of a piece. It has made me discover the possibilities that the colors and shapes can be produced in the imagination. I became a tireless visitor of museums where the encounter with the piece makes me feel intense emotions. Now, memories fill me the seemingly everyday sense, because every time I leave full awareness of images, representations and interpretations of a person, a landscape, a passage, myths and stories. Every sign, every symbol invites me to the unknown universe, I feel I can get into the art to find their secrets and each new tour and I traveled to distant places and experiences. I can say that art fills me completely and invades me, so this new phase will focus on both, to fill my eyes with vibrant images and embark again my path into the unknown.