Mario Garcia Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here
The exhibition “Illusion Brought Me Here” is written by Mario Garcia Torres. He is a Mexican artist born in the year 1975. He uses various media to create new meanings and events that are an association with the 1960s and 1970s conceptual art. Some of the media that he uses to create his art include; video, photography, sound, and performance. His technique is well known for targeting to show new perspectives by exploring the intricacies of the art system. Moreover, the various forms of media that he uses also aim at addressing the historical records subjects and memory limitation.
The ‘Illusion Brought Me Here’ exhibition was carried out at the Walker. Presentation of the exhibition to the visitors was through cinema, galleries and a space that is self-selected for viewing moving image works 1 . One was to choose either to go through the left or right when they want to view the exhibition. Some of the pieces that were available in the room include; “this painting is missing” piece, Haters gonna hate which was a flat bronze cardboard box, and the last piece was “Until this makes sense.” For viewing, the exhibition selected almost 45 pieces that were created over two decades ago. There was also the commissioning of a new piece made from soundtracks of Garcia Torre’s media-based art. This innovative piece was used in the galleries as a vibrant audio framework. Lastly, there was a performance of staged monologues by the artist with the purpose of interpreting intimately about contemporary issues.
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One of the exhibition’s goals is to show how art is not about one individual’s vision but negotiation of personal impulse in combination with the ideas and interests of other artists. This goal was successful because Torres recognized the participation of some collaborators, who included writers, photographers, gallerists and musicians.
The exhibition was an excellent example of contemporary art. It addresses several contemporary themes. One of the modern issues discussed is that of time and memory. This theme is achieved through the topic of “the history of conceptual art 2 .” From the exhibition, this theme is executed when Torres used 45 works that were created two decades ago in the gallery. Besides, he uses a variety of media such as video, sculpture, and photography to address the memory limitations and historical records subjectivity. This, therefore, reminds us of these pieces that were available several years back.
Technology is another contemporary theme addressed by the exhibition. It is evident during the display; there are certain technological advancements that Garcia Torres used to portray his pieces. At various locations in the galleries, there was the use of 3D holographic portraits which is a new technology. Also, there was the use of a mobile App which can be downloaded in a smartphone. This Application was used for the new work that was launched on that day. This App also could be viewed on iPads that were availed in the gallery. Therefore, it is evident that technology was addressed during the exhibition.
Lastly, the theme of contemporary society and culture is also addressed in the exhibition by Gracias Torres. Contemporary culture refers to “the culture of a specific society of the modern times 3 .” Contemporary culture is evident in the display through the negotiation of several artists with similar ideas and interests in the exhibition that is collaborators and working together to produce a successful presentation 4 . This contemporary culture is compared with the old culture where art was done individually. Therefore, the contemporary culture of artists of different media like photography, painting and, sculpture, portrays the working together to produce an exhibition.
Bibliography
ARNOLD, MARION. "THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY ART." The Art Book 12, no. 4 (2005), 68-69.
E-flux. "Walker Art Center." Mario García Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here , October 2018.
"Mario García Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here." Walker Art Center | Contemporary Art Museum Minneapolis. Accessed; October 29, 2018.
1 E-flux. "Walker Art Center." Mario García Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here , October 2018.
2 ARNOLD, MARION. "THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY ART." The Art Book 12, no. 4 (2005), 68-69.
3 ARNOLD, MARION. "THEMES IN CONTEMPORARY ART." The Art Book 12, no. 4 (2005), 68-69.
4 "Mario García Torres: Illusion Brought Me Here." Walker Art Center | Contemporary Art Museum Minneapolis. Accessed; October 29, 2018.
