Fishing in International Waters: ew Acquisitions from the Latin American Collection
30 January – 18 July 2004
Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art
University of Texas at Austin
23rd and San Jacinto
Austin, TX 78712
Tel: (512) 471 2005
Fax: (512) 471 7023
info@blantonmuseum.org
www.blantonmuseum.org
Image: Jorge Macchi (with David Oubina), La Flecha de Zenon [Xeno’s Arrow], 1992, Video (still), Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, 2003
Livio Abramo, Julio Alpuy, Abel Barroso, Waltercio Caldas, Carlos Colombino, Alejandro Corujeira, Jose Pedro Costigliolo, Maria Freire, Leon Ferrari, Flavio Garciandia, Gego, Diego Gravinese, Victor Grippo, Esteban Lisa, Jorge Macchi, Cildo Meireles, Yoshua Okon, Cesar Paternosto, Raul Quintanilla, Fernando Rodriguez, Osvaldo Salerno, Cristian Silva, Jose Angel Toirac, Tonel, Katie van Scherpenberg, Cecilia Vicuna, Anton Vidokle
Fishing in International Waters is part of an inquiry into the broader issues of collecting modern and contemporary art from Latin America. How should an American university museum collect Latin American art? Should Latin American art be separate from a broader category of modern and contemporary art? How is the field of Latin American art adapted to an increasingly international contemporary art system? What kinds of agendas are behind the recent boom in Latin American/Latino art exhibitions and publications? These are the questions at the heart of the Blanton’s Latin American program, as the museum moves toward a new building, extensive collection catalogue, and expanded programming. When the new Blanton Museum opens in fall 2005, the modern and contemporary galleries will present the Latin American and American Collections in a fully integrated manner for the first time.
The last decade has seen a remarkable growth in traveling exhibitions and publications of Latin American art. However, very few museums have responded by expanding their collections to include art from Latin America in an organic manner. With the exhibition Fishing in International Waters, the Blanton presents 30 recent purchases, gifts, and commissions, while questioning the narrow thematic parameters within which art from Latin America tends to be placed. The exhibition presents different generations, countries, and movements, alongside work by non Latin American artists whose work engages with the region.
Recent growth in the collection was made possible by Fran Magee and Gallery 106, Cecilia de Torres, Robert Michael, David Craven, Fundacion Jose Llopis, and many others.
