2nd Latin American Colloquium of Non-Objectual and Rural Art

The 2nd Latin American Colloquium of Non-Objectual and Rural Art took place from March 10 through the 11th of 2017. An initiative of the Museo de Arte Moderno, Medellin (MAMM), conceived by Mexican curator Sofía Hernández-Chong-Cuy and coordinated by Emiliano Valdés, head curator of the MAMM. In an innovative format of reflection and action, this 2nd Colloquium was structured from the combination of master lectures, short conferences, informal conversations in cafés, and the presentation of performances and projects designed for social networks. In this sense, the event subjected for review the idea of non-objectual art introduced in 1981 by Peruvian-Mexican theoretician Juan Acha. For Hernández Chong-Cuy, in this 2nd Colloquium the digital and the rural are the non-objectual spaces. In this context, several expanded practices are included in which the artist is not only a producer but also a manager, a teacher, and an activist. For his part, Emiliano Valdés emphasized that this 2nd Colloquium reestablished the continuity of ideas introduced several decades ago, allowing for a sort of archeology of the museum, in addition to building momentum for the construction of a theory of art history from a Latin American perspective. The first day offered several conferences by guest researchers and artists. Noteworthy of mention was the participation of Colombian art critic Efrén Giraldo, who offered an analytic summary of the 1st Colloquium of Non-Objectual and Urban Art, which predicted many of the characteristics of today's art, facilitated the dialog between art and academia, curators and thought, in addition to contributing to the creation of a stage for the questioning of institutions. In response to the question of how it is possible to detonate something that is not objectual, curator Magali Arriola brought for discussion the case of the Luis Barragán Archives, its authorship-related issues, and the distribution of his legacy. Researcher Félix Suazo addressed the notions of circularity and repetition in the representations of violence in Venezuelan art, and curator Miguel López refocused the non-objectual perspective on feminist art. In a combination of field research, activism, art criticism and teaching, several artists like Ricardo Basbaum (Brazil), Ana Laura López de la Torre (Uruguay), and Lucas Ospina (Colombia) gave conferences. Artists like María Buenaventura (Colombia), Fernando García-Dory (Spain), Susana Mejía (Colombia), and Ernesto Salmerón (Nicaragua) commented on the motivations and processes that are part of their artistic work with natural resources and rural communities. In fact, their proposals were shown during the second day of the Colloquium in an "outdoor" walk through Medellin's Jardín Circunvalar. Equally significant were the outdoor actions developed by Carolina Caicedo (Colombia), Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa (Guatemala), and Harold Ortiz (Colombia) within the segment of "manifestations for a possible non-objectual art," in addition to the online projects by Florencia Alvarado (Venezuela), Alejandro Cesarco (Uruguay), Manuel Correa (Colombia), Amalia Pica (Argentina), and Chantal Peñalosa (Mexico), in the nucleus titled "Digital Episode." In general, this 2nd Latin American Colloquium of Non-Objectual and Rural Art explained some lines of reflection surrounding the sustainability of the ways of life in the global age and its effect on the environment, based on some creative and interactive practices geared towards the transformation of current paradigms.