A polemic performance called Unminuto de libertad de expression, by artist Tania Burguera, is exhibited in one of the most prestigious contemporary art museums in the world, the Guggenheim Museum in New York.
The piece is supported by a video system which recorded a performance at the 10th Havana’s Biennial in 2009, where the artist placed a podium in the Wilfredo Lam Contemporary Art Center so that spectators could speak their minds about any topic for one minute. Those who decided to go up the podium and speak were escorted by two uniformed officers who placed a white pigeon on the speakers’ shoulders.
This interdisciplinary artist who tackles political and social issues was chosen for a scholarship by the Guggenheim in 1998 and today she has returned to the museum as part of the collective exhibit Bajo un mismo sol, under curatorship by notorious Mexican specialist Pablo León de la Barra.
The collective exhibit also includes The Francis Effect, another piece by the artist among the 50 works by Latin American creators chosen.
The sample brings together pieces by 37 Latin American artists who deal with diversity and the current historical situation in which they have developed their works.
The Mexican curator, who has been a member of the selection committee of the prestigious museum for two years, stated that it is highly important to boost a dialogue between Latin America and the rest of the world in order to spread economic, social and artistic changes beyond geographic boundaries.
The organizer of the exhibit, which will last till next month, described it as an artistic micro-revolution. The chosen pieces are not only part of this exhibition at the building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in New York; they will become part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Tania Bruguera, an icon in terms of risky performances and a transgressor, went through difficult moments a few years ago, dialogued with Ana Mendieta’s pieces and dressed up in meat slices. She also saved herself from a self-sabotage of a Russian roulette at the 2009 Biennial in Venice and served cocaine at the Universityof Bogota during a conference.
Born in 1968, this artist creates strong movement contexts, uses her body and attitude in her performances, which seems to be one of her most powerful expression weapons.
Her work is an essential part of this collective exhibit which arouse with the purpose of encouraging people to appreciate Latin American art for its values rather than for its exoticism. Bajo el mismo sol is part of a cycle at the Guggenheim entitled UBS Map Global Art, which will also be exhibited in Asia, the Middle East and Africa before the year is over.
