[These excerpts are part of a performance that will be presented at the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York on June 20th, 2024] Note: Artist research fellowships in museums are often focused on studying the institution’s holdings — both its collection and its archives, which is in essence considered its treasure. Perhaps because of my own professional work as museum staff over many years and my general focus on people instead of objects, I am instead drawn to other aspects of museums, such as their historical role in the social and cultural contexts where they originated and continue to exist. This is what colored my time over the last few years as an artist research fellow at The Hispanic Society in New York —a unique institution in how it was formed around the reverence toward Iberian culture and its connection to Latin America. The museum’s building in particular remit my memory to my family history in Mexico, in particular to my grandfather who shared a similar interest in Spain; this manifested in collecting small objects, books, and art — none of it museum-worthy, but expressions, nonetheless, of his passion for all things Iberian— all held in the house in Colonia Roma, Mexico City, where I spent my first four years of life, and which in itself held an air of museum. Many of these old objects, books, and memories remain in my family, and constitute the narrative material of the present performance. These objects remit to an idea of Spain, constructed from the distant New World in the also now remote mid 20
Hi Pablo, it is always a pleasure to read your reflections and the delightful and unexpected connections you make. This blog post especially made me excited because it touches on something I have been thinking about constantly as I live for the first time in Bogotá, the city/territory that generations of my mother’s family have lived and died, and which I have constructed for myself all my life. Thank you for sharing. I think I almost glimpsed some red in that fence as I read your words! Saludos!
Hi Pablo, it is always a pleasure to read your reflections and the delightful and unexpected connections you make. This blog post especially made me excited because it touches on something I have been thinking about constantly as I live for the first time in Bogotá, the city/territory that generations of my mother’s family have lived and died, and which I have constructed for myself all my life. Thank you for sharing. I think I almost glimpsed some red in that fence as I read your words! Saludos!