Molaa´s Symposium:

This symposium is organized by the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach in collaboration with Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), with the support of the Getty Foundation. These sessions in Lima constitute the second phase of this project; the first installment, developed in partnership with the Getty Research Institute with the support of the Getty Foundation, was held in March 2011 at The Getty Center in Los Angeles and MOLAA in Long Beach. The second installment is continuing the discussion that began in Los Angeles while taking the debate to a new and more conclusive level.

During the first day, Juan Carlos Verme from the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Deborah Marrow from the Getty Foundation, Los Angeles, and Stuart Ashman from the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, initiated the discussion about “The Role of the Museum: Collecting, Contextualizing and Representing Latin American Art in the 21st Century”. The moderator was Ivo Mesquita, Pinacoteca, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Itala Schmeltz, former Director Museo Carrillo Gil, Mexico City, presented “The Director of the Museum: Between the Institution and the Community”, while Gabriela Rangel, Americas Society, New York made the lecture “Politics: Undoing the Fetish of Essences”. Karen Cordero Reiman, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico City, exposed the subject “Art and its Histories: Between the Word and the Wall”.

During the afternoon, the subject “Curatorial Models: Emblematic Art Historical Cases” were addressed for different scholars. The afternoon began with the presentation of two video screenings: Luz Maria Bedoya, “Línea de Nazca / Nazca Line” (2008) and Ishmael Randall Weeks , Pucusana (2010). The moderator was James Oles, Wellesley College, Massachusetts.

Deborah Cullen, Museo del Barrio, New York, presented “Tricksters in the White House” and Paulo Venancio Filho, Federal University, Rio de Janeiro, “The Case of Neoconcretism: Some Curatorial and Art Historical Considerations”. Daniel Quiles, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, talked about “Networks and Parafictions: New Strategies for a Field in Transition”. In addition, there was a presentation from Sol Henaro, Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City.

During the second day, the SESSION III was dedicated to curatorial Models: Emblematic Contemporary Cases. The moderator was Max Jorge Hinderer Cruz, independent curator from Brazil and Germany. Rosina Cazali, independent curator, from Guatemala, talked about “Demolition/Construction: Strategies to get in and out of Latin America” and Luiz Camillo Osorio, curator, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, gave the lecturer “Brazilian Art? Multiplying Historical Perspectives and Cultural References”. Rodolfo Kronfle, independent curator, Ecuador, presented “From Micro to Macro, as it is Above it is not Below: The Effects of 21st Century Socialism, «Alter-modernity» and Considerations on the Autonomous Communities of the Arts «from» Latin America”.

The conversation about the subject was responded by Pablo León de la Barra, independent curator, United Kingdom/Mexico, with the participation of Cazali, Osorio and Kronfle. During the afternoon the session IV was dedicated to the subject “Art Historical Practice: Rethinking Research Methodologies and Interpretive and Critical Frameworks”.

Among the participants were Víctor Manuel Rodríguez, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Anna Indych, The City College of New York and The Graduate Center/CUNY, New York, who presented “Artificial Divides: Rethinking Latin American Modernity’s across the 20th Century”, Isobel Whitelegg, University of Essex, United Kingdom, with the lecture Inventing Latin America in Theory and Practice; Luis Castañeda, Syracuse University, New York, presenting “The Small Field Complex”. Suely Rolnik, Universidad Católica de Sao Paulo, was the respondent in the programmed conversation.

During the session V, on November 4th, Cecilia Fajardo Hill; Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, will give the welcome. The subject of the day will be “The Archival Impulse: Accessing Documents in the Museum and the Politics of knowledge”. The participants are: Andrea Giunta, University of Texas, Austin and Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Sebastián Vidal, University of Texas, Austin, who will talk about “Art, Archives and Institutions in Chile. Notes on their Transit in Democracy”; Pilar García, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, UNAM, Mexico City, that will present “Activation of Archives: Challenges, Achievements and Effects of their Exhibition in Contemporary Art”, Carmen Jaramillo, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia, with the topic “Between Us: Geopolitics within Latin America”.

Laura Malosetti Costa will be the respondent in the conversation with them. The concluding discussion in the afternoon will be leaded by Cecilia Fajardo-Hill, Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, Natalia Majluf, Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), Cuauhtémoc Medina, Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, UNAM, Mexico City, and Ana Paula Cohen, independent curator, Brazil.

www.molaa.org

www.mali.pe