violent one, it still has a wonderful poetic side to it, but what is happening in Mexico is terrible, and so is that which is happening in Venezuela or Haiti. They are tough realities. But I think this is not the only thing that is perceived. Also noteworthy is an attempt to rescue different voices, to be able to see the world in a different way. It also involves a proposal: creation as resistance, as Gilles Deleuze posited. I think France is experiencing a period of violence, but it does not want to acknowledge it. It should expose what is happening in Europe, what people are going through in this country. It is no longer a peaceful country. The French have quite a mistaken notion about Latin American art; many associate it with Pre-Hispanic art or with Magic Realism, and now they have the idea that being a Latin American artist is being a committed artist, making political art. Restraining Latin American art to that definition is scary… Totally so. I do not believe it is a political art, although at the same time you cannot stay away from politics. Being an artist or being whatever you are, the way you act, the way you live have an impact. You cannot live your life away from politics. Of course there are works that overtly denounce dictatorships, but there are others that do not. Viewing Luz María Bedoya’s photographs that portray the small rocks that mark the territory in the desert, or the works of Jorge Macchi, who proposes that we allow randomness to guide us when we visit a city instead of being always forced to follow in the official footsteps, perhaps shows us that this possibility of randomness is very brave; perhaps European artists should propose this: to try to open spaces for alternative models. I do not think this is a weakness. I do think they are revealing things. Nobody wants to talk about what is going on in the suburbs. Drug consumption is completely linked to the drug war, to what is happening in Mexico. It is directly linked. Violence over there is the same as violence here, the violence of not wanting to see. What happens here is extremely violent, but people do not want to see. Unfortunately, we are living in a very violent time. Perhaps it has always been like this, I do not know. Of course, these artists rescue a poetics, the poetics of language. This offers the possibility of creating different spaces. These artists are not producing a communist manifesto; they do not speak like that, they speak through metaphors, through poetry, which are spaces for creation. For me, art is creation: artworks are commentaries on the world in which we live; they are not aesthetic products to hang in one’s home, which would demand that we refer to designers. What do you want to contribute to the French through this exhibition? What we wanted to do with this exhibition was to become free from clichés. Perhaps we did not become free from the cliché of violence, but we did become free from the cliché of Indians, although they are present; there are the yanomamis, who play a role/have a part. But it is not the romanticism of the noble savage, of the guerrillas, of the Che Guevara, Camilo Torres, or Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. We wanted to step out of those clichés. People are viewing works they had never seen, they are discovering artists they had never seen. What aspect of the exhibition do you consider is the best
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Graciela Iturbide. Casa de Frida Kahlo, Coyoacán, Mexico portfolio/ Serie México, 2005-07. Dye-Transfer print, 16.9 x 13.9 in. Private collection. © Graciela Iturbide. Exhibition América Latina 1960-2013, Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art, Paris, November 19, 2013 › April 6, 2014. Impresión por transferencia de tinta, 43 x 35.5 cm. Colección privada. © Graciela Iturbide Exposición América Latina 1960-2013, Fundación Cartier para el arte contemporáneo, París, noviembre 19, 2013-Abril 6, 2014.
de poder ver el mundo de otra manera. Es también una propuesta: la creación como resistencia, como decía Gilles Deleuze. Creo que Francia vive un período de violencia, pero no lo quiere denunciar, debería hacer una exposición sobre lo que pasa en Europa, lo que se vive en este país; ya no es un país pacífico. Los franceses tienen una idea del arte latinoamericano bastante errónea, muchos piensan en el arte prehispánico o en el realismo mágico, y ahora están con la idea de que ser artista latinoamericano es ser artista comprometido, hacer arte político. Restringir el arte latinoamericano a esa definición da miedo... Totalmente. No creo que es un arte político, aunque al mismo tiempo no puedes estar fuera de la política. Siendo artista o siendo quien seas, tu manera de actuar, de vivir, tiene un impacto. No puedes vivir fuera de la política. Claro que hay obras que denuncian directamente a las dictaduras, pero hay otras que no. Ver las fotografías de Luz María Bedoya sobre las pequeñas piezas que marcan el territorio en el desierto, o lo que hace Jorge Macchi, que propone dejarse llevar por el azar para visitar una ciudad y no estar siempre obligado a seguir los pasos oficiales que se deben seguir, a lo mejor nos muestra que esta posibilidad del azar es muy valiente; a lo mejor los artistas europeos deberían de proponer esto: tratar de abrir espacios para modelos alternativos. No creo que sea una debilidad. Creo que están revelando cosas: eso sí existe. Nadie quiere hablar de lo que pasa en los suburbios. El consumo de droga está completamente ligado a la guerra del narcotráfico, con lo que pasa en México. Está directamente ligado. La violencia allá es la misma violencia de aquí, la violencia de de no querer ver. Lo que pasa aquí es súper violento, pero la gente no lo quiere ver. Desgraciadamente, vivimos en un época muy violenta. A lo mejor siempre ha sido así, no sé. Claro que estos artistas rescatan una poética, la poética del lenguaje. Da la posibilidad de crear espacios diferentes. Estos artistas no están haciendo un manifiesto comunista, no hablan así, hablan a través de la metáfora, de la poesía, que son espacios de creación. Para mí, el arte es creación; las obras de arte son comentarios sobre el mundo en que vivimos, no son productos estéticos para colgar en tu casa. Para eso hay que remitirse a los diseñadores. ¿Qué quieren aportar a los franceses con esta muestra? Lo que queríamos hacer con esta exposición era salir de los clichés. A lo mejor no salimos del cliché de lo violento, pero sí salimos del