The Great Gig in the Sky

In the first instance, while “The Great Gig in the Sky” by Pink Floyd begins to play in the background, we can see different random words thought up at the time of creating the work and, in turn, a cloud of letters in the central area with the lyrics of the song. Then, spheres of different sizes appear rotating, with works by Latin American artists in the center (such as Then the perspective of the spheres and their rotation change, and, finally, there is a plane superimposed on another that, by left clicking, changes the size and the works, superimposing one on another.

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development

For the development of this work at first, I decided to take Luis Camnitzer, and develop his ideas in relation to Latin American art and how it can be conditioned by different factors. For this, I am also going to take some concepts from the philosopher Rodolfo Kusch.

Camnitzer in his book “The terms – indefinitions and differences”, begins by differentiating different concepts linked to art. But, those that caught my attention the most were two concepts defined by him as opposites: derivative and original.

“ ‘Derivative’ is one of the favorite words to criticize and diminish the art of the periphery. But that same art discarded for being derivative, seen from the periphery often constitutes a form of functional appropriation and transformation that mixes and syncretizes with local creations. (…) Every ‘original’ work that has achieved a breakthrough is important because in a certain context it has had a quality of unpredictability.”

And from this, define a third term:

“Breakthrough is also useful for imposing oneself in the market, since it is identified with originality. This, in turn, denotes individuality. And individuality, as long as it is developed within the limits imposed by decency and understanding, ends up being applauded by capitalist society.”

Rodolfo Kusch, for his part, mentions that:

“What is American in itself is always situated in a margin of ‘inferiority’ compared to our world, which on the other hand is ‘superior’.”

In an article published in the magazine Plástica, called ‘Access to the majority currents of art’, Camnitzer says:

“Whoever is colonized considers that moving from a subordinate culture to a hegemonic culture is a sign of progress and improvement. In these terms, the “colonial” artist wants to be admitted to the majority market; in fact, if he achieves this, he feels the uncontrollable desire to assimilate in order to be accepted.” Luis Camnitzer.

So what do I mean by all this? What link is there between the derivative, the original, the rupture, and the feeling of inferiority? In the beginning, everything involves culture. What does culture have to do with all this? I personally consider that Latin American culture, from its roots, very deeply, is colonized, there is an internalized belief of inferiority. The values ​​instilled by the colonies cause individuals to dissociate from their identity. Our art is peripheral, we seek to comply with a Latin American standard based on poverty and the periphery, or we seek to comply with a hegemony that leads to the homogenization of art.

Relating this to our pre-colonization art, it can probably be classified as a derivative art, since it does not comply with what is understood as artistic hegemony. Likewise, locally, this art made by our ancestors had a meaning and function, typical of our culture. But, when taken out of its context, it is nothing more than an art made by natives.

Nowadays, it is not easy to generate a rupture in art and for it to remain within the pre-established limits, so that it can be admired by capitalist society. The fact that we seek to stay within these limits and this admiration also speaks of how we are governed by what is accepted and we seek hominization in art, or that our art is accepted while maintaining a Latin American stereotype based on our poor and peripheral condition. Kusch mentions that, at a specifically artistic level, when an artist finishes a work, especially one who does not make his works for consumption:

“(…) He does not pretend to have created beauty forever, but is immediately harassed by the anxiety of creating a new painting. There is no peace in culture, just as there is no beauty, nor universality.” Rodolfo Kusch

Could it be that, when creating a work, we will repeat certain aesthetic patterns in order to be part of the consumer society? Is it wrong to want to belong to it?

On a personal level, I believe that despite trying to search for a certain characteristic identity, it will take us a long time to even believe that we did it, since we continually look up, being ashamed of our past, because “we have an upward criterion”1 (pp. 49). We will seek to fit into the capitalist system, adapting to what is established for us, and removing the identity from our works to make them objects of consumption, we require a cultural revolution, to displace the feeling of inferiority and stop observing Europe as if it were superior. The Latin American break will occur when we leave our stereotype and accept our roots.

What I seek to show in the work is the fact that, even if an artist of any art burns his head with ideas, we will see ourselves minimized, we believe that we are no longer on the periphery and will be in the center, but for this we need to have a strong and defined culture. Hence, the works from Latin America, the central and small spheres, and on the outside the European works, the “professional” and non-peripheral artists, known worldwide, the large spheres. And finally, little by little we see that we always allowed a world-renowned work to remain in the foreground.

Literature

CAMNITZER, Luis. (2008). “Los términos: indefiniciones y diferencias” en Didáctica de la liberación. Arte conceptualista latinoamericano. Murcia: CENDEAC, pp. 39-48.

CAMNITZER, Luis. (1991) “El acceso a las corrientes mayoritarias del arte.” . San Juan, Puerto Rico: Plástica , vol. 1, nro. 20, pp. 39-46.

1 - KUSCH, Rodolfo. (2012) “Geocultura del hombre americano”. Rosario, Provincia de Santa Fe, República Argentina: Fundación Ross. 1a ed, pp. 33-46, 104-109.

Obras usadas

Sonido: The Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd (1973).