B. GUATEMALA 1964. LIVES AND WORKS IN GUATEMALA CITY
A pioneer of performance art in Central America,Aníbal López (also known as A-153167, his identification number) has become notorious for his extreme actions and disruptive urban interventions. Generally aimed at immersing viewers into the region’s social and political tensions, his works combine the dry language of 1960/1970s conceptual art with the revolutionary ethos of a Latin American guerrillero. Turning his native Guatemala City into a stage for urban interventions, López engages unwitting passersby disrupting cultural codes and challenging institutional power.
WORKS
In One Ton of Books Dumped on Reforma Avenue (2003), the artist provoked a gigantic traffic jam by dumping exactly one ton of books onto the capital’s main thoroughfare at rush hour. A blatant act of vandalism, the blockade was quickly cleared away as pedestrians rushed to pick up books. Evidently alluding to Smithson’s Asphalt Rundown, López’s urban intervention questioned the high illiteracy rates and unequal access to culture in Guatemala. [WATCH VIDEO HERE]
Sculpture Composed of 500 Boxes of smuggled from Paraguay to Brazil (2007)
Investigating the routes of illegal contraband from Paraguay to Brazil, A-1 53167 hired a band of local smugglers to transport empty boxes along their route across the border. The boxes were subsequently used to create a minimalist-like sculpture, reminiscent of the works of Tony Smith and Carl Andre.
Investigating the routes of illegal contraband from Paraguay to Brazil, A-1 53167 hired a band of local smugglers to transport empty boxes along their route across the border. The boxes were subsequently used to create a minimalist-like sculpture, reminiscent of the works of Tony Smith and Carl Andre.
Liston Negro. Black Ribbon (2003)
In response to General Efrain Rios Montt dubious candidacy for Guatemala’s 2003 democratic elections, numerous citizens took the streets over with small black ribbons in remembrance of the Army’s massacres of civilians. With that same intention, López hanged a monumental 120 x 4 m black plastic ribbon from the capital’s highest bridge, the famous Puente del Incienso.
Arma de Defensa Personal (2005)
In Arma de Defensa Personal (Weapon of Self-Defense), A-153167 hired a street vendor to offer/ peddle stones among his display of natural remedies and magic potions. An expert in the trade, López’s accomplice improvised a discourse on the numerous benefits and long spanning function of the stone as a weapon of self-defense. Combining sales tricks, inaccurate biological terminology and references to the recent history of Guatemala, the bizarre sales discourse ended up being a call to arms – and of course, to buy his product-
In response to General Efrain Rios Montt dubious candidacy for Guatemala’s 2003 democratic elections, numerous citizens took the streets over with small black ribbons in remembrance of the Army’s massacres of civilians. With that same intention, López hanged a monumental 120 x 4 m black plastic ribbon from the capital’s highest bridge, the famous Puente del Incienso.
Arma de Defensa Personal (2005)
In Arma de Defensa Personal (Weapon of Self-Defense), A-153167 hired a street vendor to offer/ peddle stones among his display of natural remedies and magic potions. An expert in the trade, López’s accomplice improvised a discourse on the numerous benefits and long spanning function of the stone as a weapon of self-defense. Combining sales tricks, inaccurate biological terminology and references to the recent history of Guatemala, the bizarre sales discourse ended up being a call to arms – and of course, to buy his product-
Text: Jamie Kulhanek
No comments:
Post a Comment