By Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá: UNIMINUTO
The life and actions of every human being are inherently political. This collection brings together works with a common central theme: the human body and its relationship with itself, with society, with institutions, and with the economy, as well as its many interactions.
The body as a stage
*Please be advised that the exhibit contains some images of nudity which may be deemed inappropriate for viewers under 18.* "Political Bodies" is a modern-day expression of the desires, struggles, frustrations, experiences, and motivations of 21st-century men and women. Today, the body is the fundamental space in which all of these elements are acted out.
Abel Azcona
Born in Pamplona, Spain, Azcona is a multi-disciplinary artist who specializes in performance and action art. His projects explore themes of politics and protest.
Biological Meeting (2013) by Abel AzconaMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The symbolic combination of his biological origins and social marginalization shape his performance language.
Two bellies: one real and the other metaphorical. The white sheet represents the uterus in which the artist, curled up in the fetal position, relives his own gestation.
In Biological Meeting, Azcona brings together a number of pregnant prostitutes, with whom he then establishes a dialog through performed acts of protest related to his own life.
Soles with Abel Azcona (2015) by Nafar TelebistaMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview with Azcona on Navarra television about the controversy generated by his work.
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Dialogues in action Dioscorides Pérez and Abel Azcona, performance, Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá (2013) by Abel Azcona and Dioscórides PérezMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
In 2013, Azcona invited several Colombian performance artists to take part in his retrospective through Dialogs in Action.
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Dialogues in action Dioscorides Pérez and Abel Azcona, performance, Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá (2013) by Abel Azcona and Dioscórides PérezMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
He performed a cleansing ritual with Dioscórides in the square outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
Artist Abel Azcona (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The fire, ashes, and the color red symbolize purification and the beginning of new life.
Experiences through the body, tainted by abandonment and abuse. A critical catharsis by a social outcast.
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wantedMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
A collection of anonymous vaginas from unnamed women all over the world.
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Biological Meeting installation process
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Installing Biological Meeting
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Installation process for Abel Azcona's retrospective at the MAC
Exhibition: Abel Azcona | Not wanted (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview with Uniminuto's university channel. Azcona offers up some hints about this first retrospective and his performance art in Bogotá.
Maquiamelo
Maquiamelo is renowned for his controversial sculptures depicting the shrunken heads of politicians, dictators, and celebrities, referencing the ancient practice of the Jivaro Indians of the Ecuadorian Amazon, known as Tzantza. The concepts of power and beauty are continually questioned through each of his creations, inviting us to reflect on the transient nature of human existence.
Miniature divas heads on the MAC Miniature divas heads on the MAC (2015) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The recognition of oneself in the image of another is part of the process explored in Maquiamelo's work.
Miniature divas heads on the MAC Miniature divas heads on the MAC (2015) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
In Divas, Maquiamelo explores the ephemeral beauty of stars of the silver screen.
Miniature divas heads on the MAC Miniature divas heads on the MAC (2015) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Children's workshop creating shrunken heads at the MAC.
Miniature divas heads on the MAC Miniature divas heads on the MAC (2015) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The children taking part pose with shrunken heads of Marilyn Monroe.
Miniature divas heads on the MAC Miniature divas heads on the MACMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Judy Garland, another of the Divas reinterpreted by Maquiamelo.
Maquiamelo mocks the idea of eternal youth, and the aura surrounding sex symbols and media personalities. He dispels the notion of icons, and all that the media would have us believe.
Luiza Prado
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she currently lives in Berlin. A transdisciplinary artist, Prado explores the intersection between art and the social sciences in search of solutions. While she was artist-in-residence at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá, her research focused on femininity, colonization, the deconstruction of privilege, syncretism, the indigenous struggle, gender, politics, and psychosis.
Gluttony (2012) by Luiza PradoMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Prado tends to favor abandoned spaces and industrial wastelands as backdrops for her photographs.
The metaphor of the melon being smashed by the phallic symbol of the hammer references the media's abuse, violation, and manipulation of the image of women.
Gluttony is a mortal sin that Prado evokes in reference to saturation of the media with images of women.
Referents ReferentsMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
In a clear nod to Caravaggio's use of chiaroscuro, Prado connects femininity and masculinity in a dance of opposites and counterparts.
Referents Referents (Siglo XXI) by Luiza PradoMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Prado regularly models her own body for her photographs.
Making Of - A Liga Tv Show (2016) by Luiza PradoMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Photo shoot in Bogotá
Referents Referents (Siglo XXI) by Luiza PradoMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Body, place, and time are constant elements within contemporary photographic staging.
Photography work in progress by Luiza Prado.
Mini - Insectarios (2014) by Leo CarreñoMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Leo Carreño
Born in Florida Blanca, Santander, Colombia. Carreño focuses his interest on anatomy and natural sciences, challenging biological processes from the embryonic stage right through to death, as well as examining inert organisms. In his work "Mini-Insectariums, Arthropods Mounted on Photography," he uses the language of biology and photography to establish a symbiotic relationship between humans and insects.
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for Uniminuto's university channel
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Carreño uses materials such as natural rubber latex to simulate the arthropods' ecdysis, or shedding of the exoskeleton.
WAVES: Leo Carreño (2014) by El Parlante AmarilloMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for the program "El Parlante Amarillo"
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Setting for Mechanic Embryo Ecdysis, performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Mechanic Embryo Ecdysis (Siglo XXI) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Birth of a hypothetical biomechanic embryo. Performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Project Artthrópoda, the new work of the plastic artist Leo Carreño (2014) by La Revista CMIMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for the program La Revista, in which Carreño speaks about the creative process involved in his Arthropoda project.
Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition Phylum Artthrópoda exhibition (2014) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Leo Carreño's video installation during the Abrahadabra exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Artthrópoda (2016) by Bogotá ActivaMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for the program Bogotá Activa
Andrea Aguía
Born in Bogotá, Colombia. She has been involved in both marginal and mainstream art events and performances since 1998. Her work comprises both live-action and pre-recorded projects, with some of her personal work performed on camera in public spaces.
To inhabit: an approach to the uselessness of the performance, photography "Deseo" (2014) by Andrea Aguía AgudeloMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Desire is an 8-hour performance inside a glass urn in a Zen-like meditative state.
Through a deep meditative state, the artist Andrea Aguia puts the tensions between impulse and desire to the test.
To inhabit: an approach to the uselessness of the performance To inhabit: an approach to the uselessness of the performanceMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Things I've wanted to do—a night-time performance in the main square outside the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
"Plutón" by Andrea Aguía and Oscar Cortés. Bogotá. 2012 (2013) by Andrea Aguía Agudelo and Oscar CortésMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá as part of the Sunday matinees program.
To inhabit: an approach to the uselessness of the performance Performance at Home, project Andrea Aguía Agudelo and mediation of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá (2015) by Andrea Aguía AgudeloMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Home performance—a program at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá which brings performances into the homes of the museum's neighbors.
To inhabit: an approach to the uselessness of the performance Performance at Home, project Andrea Aguía Agudelo and mediation of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Bogotá (2015) by Andrea Aguía AgudeloMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The integration of music, food, and performance art in the context of a working-class home. Experiences that bring contemporary art to all social classes.
Herbert Baglione
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, this artist earned international recognition as one of Brazil's leading street artists. Since then, he has been heavily involved in the Latin American urban art and graffiti movement.
Irmãos (2012) by Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Irmãos ('Brothers" in Portuguese) is a depiction of fraternal ties marked by distinct differences and perceptions, despite their similarities.
Legs with resin feet at the end project out of the frames. The brothers live together and walk together, but have different, albeit complementary, perspectives.
Brazil - Herbert Baglione | Custom Culture | VAN'S (2013) by VansMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Baglione speaks about his creative process, involving objects such as sneakers, T-shirts, and bags.
Exhibition Obituary of the Brazilian artist Herbert Baglione (2012) by Nodos Tv and Andrés D Torres ForeroMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Commentary on the Obituary exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
The Run Up - Herbert Baglione [Teaser Trailer] (2013) by Shaun Roberts and Joey GarfieldMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Baglione's artistic interventions
Obituary - Herbert Baglione Obituary - Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Father and Son—a metaphor for the personal relationship between Baglione and his father.
Obituary - Herbert Baglione Obituary - Herbert Baglione (2012) by Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The differences in scale between the two shirts, joined at the sleeves, represent the mutual interrelationship constructed within a family.
Obituary - Herbert Baglione Obituary - Herbert Baglione (2012) by Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Baglione's installation as part of the Obituary exhibition: the tensions generated by both the presence and absence of loved ones.
Mural - Herbert Baglione (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Creation of the mural in homage to Rosa Elvira Cely and all victims of sexual and gender violence. Wall adjoining the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
Obituary - Herbert Baglione Mural made in tribute to Rosa Elvira Celly by the Brazilian artist Herbert Baglione, in memory of the women who have been victims of gender violence, Contemporary Art Museum of Bogota, MAC, 2012. (2012) by Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Names of famous and unknown women who have suffered the scourge of sexual and gender-based violence.
Obituary - Herbert Baglione Mural made in tribute to Rosa Elvira Celly by the Brazilian artist Herbert Baglione, in memory of the women who have been victims of gender violence, Contemporary Art Museum of Bogota, MAC, 2012. (2012) by Herbert BaglioneMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Obituary - Herbert Baglione (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for Uniminuto's university channel about the "Obituary" exhibition.
Superbmans (Siglo XXI) by Raúl MarroquínMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Raúl Marroquín
Born in Bogotá, Colombia. He was a founding artist of the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá (MAC) and has lived in the Netherlands since 1971. Since 1968, his work has invited us to experience new technologies, industrial video, television, and mobile devices.
Superbmans may be a parody, critique, or projection of the human being, constrained by its own limitations.
Exhibition: Playground Exhibition: Playground (2016) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Marroquín plays on popular comic-book myths to reveal the weaknesses of the human body in a satirical and humorous way.
Using the language of posters and television, Marroquín hijacks the popular imagination and gives it new meaning to remove its symbolic power.
Commentary by Klaus Fruchtnis and Raúl Marroquín near his exhibition Playground (2016) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview with Raúl Marroquín and Klaus Fruchtnis as part of the Playground project.
Exhibition: Playground Exhibition: Playground (2016) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Work by Raúl Marroquín bringing together a series of portraits of friends and artists.
Exhibition: Playground (2016) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Marroquín speaks about his work as part of the Playground exhibition.
La Piscine - Raúl Marroquín (2013) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Stream broadcast from Amsterdam as part of the Sunday matinees program at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
Klaus Fruchtnis
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, he is a French-Colombian artist. His work uses technological, social, and institutional critique measurement, and covers a wide range of formats, from drawing and photography to installations, online projects, workshops, performance, editorial and public intervention.
¡Do not miss Playground! (2016) by Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Bogotá, MAC - UNIMINUTOMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
"Playground" digitalizando el arte Mentes cartográficas (2016) by Klaus FruchtnisMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Using the international height scale, Fruchtnis transposes a portrait's light and shade into a hypothetical map with cartographical levels.
Mentes cartográficas (2010) by Klaus FruchtnisMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
The islands, representing people, contain places, roads, bays, mountains, and lakes, all with suggestive names.
The translation of cartographic language into plastic art opens up a world of possibilities for interpretation and interaction in which the political significance is compelling.
"Playground" digitalizando el arte (2016) by Stop ArtMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Interview for the program Stop Art
"Playground" digitalizando el arte "Playground" digitalizando el arte (2016) by Klaus FruchtnisMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Revolving time, an installation in the central circular gallery of the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá.
"Playground" digitalizando el arte Viral Icons (2016) by Klaus FruchtnisMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Viral icons, a laser-cut print of iconic images from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Rencontre l D'un monde à l'autre l Art et Science 2013 (Documentaire tourné au CRRET) (2013) by Klaus Fruchtnis and Christophe MorinMuseum of Contemporary Art Bogotá
Documentary on the links and collaboration between art and science.
Curation, research, selection, and texts:
Gustavo A. Ortiz Serrano
Recording, database, documentation, and coordination:
Wilmar Tovar Leyva
Works in the permanent collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art Bogotá—a cultural entity of the Minuto de Dios University Corporation (UNIMINUTO).
2017
Artists' websites
https://twitter.com/abelazcona?lang=es
https://www.maquiamelo.com
http://luizaprado.art
http://leoleoleo.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/andreaaguia1
http://herbertbaglione.blogspot.com.co
https://raulmarroquin.wordpress.com
https://kfruchtnis.wordpress.com
