“Disponible: A Kind of Mexican Show” Opens at SMFA Boston

“It is through negotiating with this uncertainty and the appropriation of its potential energy that one can see the most original and powerful creativity in the art and cultural scene in the country.”

Manuel Rocha Iturbide, I Play The Drums With Frequency (detail), 2007–11. Drum set, sound installation. Courtesy of the artist.

“Disponible: A Kind of Mexican Show” Opens at SMFA Boston
SMFA Boston

“Disponible: A Kind of Mexican Show” is a project generated from an accelerated research in Mexico and a long-term dialogue between the curators. It presents a few individuals’ visions from the Mexican art scene, particularly those who are not directly related to the linage of the over-exposed, post- conceptual “magical realism,” which is highly visible in the United States—for example, Gabriel Orozco and many around the gallery Kurimanzutto.

Instead, we try to emphasize the tension between artistic production and social reality— the complex reality of economic production, political instability, drug wars, urban conflicts, etc., and their impact on people’s live and the uncertainty dominating the collective psychology. Being “disponible” implies all the uncertainty and its potential rises and falls; all possibilities are available, except for fears. It is through negotiating with this uncertainty and the appropriation of its potential energy that one can see the most original and powerful creativity in the art and cultural scene in the country. This situation also influences the relationship between communities across the Mexican-American border.

In terms of artistic production, this uncertainty (“disponible”) can stimulate the deconstruction the established representation of contemporary art in the United States— to “celebrate” the Mexican independence and revolution (which motivates institutions to engage with such a project) and celebrate this “alternative” model of production. It also informs a curatorial decision to focus on the site-specific creation of projects for “Disponible”; the exhibition is structured and presented more like a performative and ever-growing event rather than a finished touring show. New artists and works are joining different steps of the show: two phases were shown at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), now a third at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA)—why not continue to travel and grow?! The whole event, with performances, lectures, panels, etc., inspires ideas and energy, mobilizing local artists and public.

For example, Marcela Armas’ Ocupación is a new addition to the show at SMFA. In her performance she navigates her body (as a vehicle) through congested city traffic—an amusing response to capitalistic modes of consumption so prevalent in urban areas. Mauricio Limón’s brand new video, Heyyoulistentome! (si o no papi?) involves a certain kind of street character, usually called a “viene viene” (a squeegee), who cleans car windows at red traffic lights to earn a living. Limón’s work explores the subcultures of Mexico City as objects of study and experimentation. These close examinations aim to dignify these overlooked elements of society.

Hector Zamora’s work is often site-specific and in direct dialogue with the myths, politics, history and collective memory of local inhabitants. Originally created for the Auckland Arts Festival 2011, Hector Zamora’s White Noise–Shed 6 Installation consists of 500 white flags first placed by the general public in the sands of Bethells Beach, then reinstalled off-site in a large, enclosed warehouse space is an acknowledgement of New Zealand’s complex history of public actions and engagements with its land and seashore. Mexican art is not an exotic product that carries mystic beauty, which is so pleasing to the established art markets and institutions; rather it is an on-going challenge to defy our expectations.

“Disponible: A Kind of Mexican Show” School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston September 13–November 19, 2011

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS Arturo Hernández Alcázar, Natalia Almada, Edgardo Aragón, Marcela Armas, Manuel Rocha Iturbide, Mauricio Limón, Teresa Margolles and Hector Zamora.

—Co-curators
Hou Hanru, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs and Chair of Exhibitions and Museum Studies Program, San Francisco Art Institute Guillermo Santamarina, independent curator