(Interview with Omar-Pascual Castillo, ARTJAEN'09 artistic director, editor, writer and curator)
Omar-Pascual Castillo
against two drawings of José Bedia
12 years ago came to Spain leaving behind his native Cuba. The habanero has built a career as a professional within the culture that has led him to work with major international contemporary artists such as Ray Smith, Jose Bedia and Tony Oursler. In his role as an art critic writes articles in magazines such as Atlantic Art.es, ArtNexus or Dardo Magazine, or tests for the case of Turner Publishing in Madrid or polygraph Barcelona.
police stations in art their most recent projects include a traveling exhibition across the country from New York artist Tony Oursler, or personal samples of Jesus Zurita and Ydáñez Santiago in Monterrey, Mexico.
is currently Artistic Director of the third edition of ARTJAÉN, International Art Fair, to be held on 26 to 30 November in the Andalusian city.
- In his career highlights his training as a philosopher and historian explores how the art world?
I came to the art world first of all for my education, kept very close to Havana's cultural universe of the late 80'se early 90's, My mother was editor-in Cuba and is a highly educated woman, very up to date, at least at the time, now retired, then definitely by the artists. Artist friends who knew they wanted to be a writer, poet and philosopher, I demanded he write his catalog texts, then learned to ride their own exhibitions, almost from the look installative based on the narrative thread or formalistic, but the historiographical or chronology, and finally, because I found in philosophy, aesthetic studies, linguistics, semiotics, or now called Cultural Studies and Visual Studies. So I
the world of art from the professional point of view, from the amateur point of view, if I was and am a devourer of images.
- The work prior to the opening of an exhibition is difficult and unknown. Could you explain what steps are taken from the submission of a project to a room until the day he opens the show?
There are different types of art projects stations. There are many different types of art stations, maybe I should say. There is born as a manifestation of a symptom that you encounter in your studies of culture, such that connoisseurs or experts call "the thesis", as raised-usually-a "thesis" a "hypothesis", or rather I would say thinking of Foucault, "a paradigmatic diagnosis or symptom of modern society", others are the "signs" samples "and forgive the repetition, those who only seek to" show, take a look, displaying an overview, take a pan, "that rule is a bit chaotic display or scholastic, and are the authors' study shows, considered monographs, which are what interest me most to me.
But in either case, the original basis of the work is the same: meter wall, museum idea, claims and budget, combined these elements is what makes us run one or another step to carry out a display.
usual rule, studies and contacts with artists and galleries, presented the project, then look for spaces and employers, and finally, technical service providers, read, assembly, transportation, insurance, electricians, framers, printers, graphic artists, designers, carpenters, and organized the press office, the catering opening, dismantling and return ...
More or less, and quickly said, these are the steps.
- had a chance to learn the art from another point of view as it has developed some artistic aspects as painting and photography, "it helps to better understand the work of an artist?
I started doing art for reasons quite unrelated to art, entertainment, as defog therapy for unlock my creative writing, and studying the art and ways to run it, to know itself from within, and something so handy to be able to live in Cuba since the 90s, where I grew up was very difficult to live as a writer but as an artist is survived, having seen, from my studies, that much of the art world was "training and protocol" was a survival mechanism, and escape. The writers also rarely travel, artists, constantly travel to display their creations.
And yes, answering your question specifically, it helps me, very much, so much that sometimes I let myself down easy, because I know very well how exactly some results that are merely mechanical formalism or gloating.
- Do you think that culture and contemporary art in particular has been affected by the global economic crisis?
Yes, everything is affected by this global crisis.
For example, NYC is in bankruptcy, closed more than 50 galleries, important. The fairs are in a tailspin, many of them, for reasons of sales. But just depends on the sectors. The art that was not inflated for supremacy in the market has not suffered big falls, rather they are on standby, the young art however, is more fashionable than ever, so cheap it is ... well, are cycles, mechanisms of movement and settlement of accounts . But I strongly believe that everything will return to its place. Maybe it's good to deflate some myths and business stratagems some speculative outrageous brutality, and the water returns to its cause.
Whenever there is crisis and developments screens. Survive them, the best of each house.
art would not be less.
- Currently working as artistic director ARTJAEN. What is the role of Spain at this level in the markets art?
ARTJAEN aims to become a "focus" region to the southern Andalusian region of Spain, a "benchmark", but as a "turn of dissent" to the centrality of cultural movements in this country, that such it seems if things do not happen in Madrid or Barcelona has no place, impact, quality, respect. Instead there
fairs like ARTSANTANDER, DFOTO (San Sebastian), ForoSur (Cáceres), or Valenciart ArtSalamanca that have Movima something the map of regional markets.
know we're in strange times, critical times, but just can not stay in the destitution of apathy and listlessness, or depression.
have to keep working, "depression is a disease of the affluent gentrified in their comfortable seats," said a friend and some people can not afford to get depressed, Ontario, can not afford the impasse, silence, or procrastination.
ARTJAEN be a fair small but cozy, friendly, courteous ... integrated into the city and its institutions and their spaces.
subtleties just want to redefine the cultural map of Spain, we do not revolutionize it.
Personally, I do not believe in the great deeds, much less in the "revolutionary", just believe in the will of the teams and to join forces very specific directions. "These are the true revolutions minimum revolutions," as Julia Kristeva.
If we turn the consumption of Contemporary Art in a city virtually deserted in this regard, we have already done enough.
- Viewing his career highlights is a fact that more working elsewhere in Spain, why?
First, because ... why not? The world today is global. In addition to easily if you work a bit, slip on your map natural surrounding, at least in my field. Also, outside of Spain, sometimes working in better conditions than in Spain, except in the publishing world. Spain in the industry in the field of culture, I do not have jurisdiction.
I repeat, at least in my experience.
- What are the criteria for critical writing about a particular artist?
My texts as all my work is somehow "situationist" aims to "re-placing" targeted, where a critical text of an artist, so does this mechanism of "place" only "re-set" in the thought of the context in which the artist develops.
The rest is pure writing school, move from general to particular, and highlight some strengths and weaknesses of the work.
In general, I prefer to bring visions derivatives, tangential, not dictatorial like the idea of \u200b\u200b"blessing or curse" nobody's job.
In fact, much of my texts are subtitles, notes, annotations, brief sketches ... etc, and became embroiled in that state of "uncertainty that a laboratory of ideas" on a production, not its critical ruling, but " re-writing. "
often say that I am interested in entering the artist's head, not in your hand or eye, but what made him tick, what governs it, which paralyzes him ... that: your head.
- being Cuban and adapted to English employment context?
has and has had its pros and cons.
First, the pro ... do not expect you to be too "politically correct", formal or discreet, because "you're Cuban," and that informality and speed go with you, and this is a stereotypical view of us, but has its advantages ... have the fertile ground of positive affect towards the ... "where you come from."
Still, you're supposed assigned a "niche market", the Latin American or Latin American maximum. And that's a job.
Second, against this "curb marketing" of your proposals limited to the "Latino" and "Latin American" do not you come out of there ... and some logistical issues preferences have to be English, for example in the fact "apply to places and jobs."
Because I'm stubborn and still carrying some 12 years in Spain and being great-grandson of English, I have not made "a English citizen."
On the other hand, I'm used to working with other genres and types of hiring firm and resolute that the stagnation of the English civil service bureaucracy, but bandeable, and once you adapt, you the storm bands.
But Spain is a very malleable when you're acclimated within it.
Still, I've been many years working, and the art world is very small, many of us know a minimum of references, and if you do your job best, this precedes you.
Toughness is also important.
Tenacity is important in all, I think, but to an immigrant, even more so.
You have to re-build your territory in hostile territory, which is not yours, adecuarte to him and not ever make you feel invasive, but a guest, always a guest.
- What institutional support is a curator?
work depends on whom may be from a private foundation to a ministry. The ministries and branches of culture together governments, provincial governments, municipalities, town (in the case of the Canary Islands) and private sponsors, galleries, there are a lot of support not only institutional, institutions are run by people, and it is people who manage and move . They do not move alone.
- For a cultural manager is it profitable work culture?
In Spain it is difficult to issue payment or collection of items directly derived from institutional, for the most part, are extremely slow.
One trick is to not only live in the public sector, another is to move much, other work outside of Spain.
Well, actually, not impossible. Except that, as always I say, not a sprint, is a distance race, an endurance race. Torres Encarni
Granada, Spain
October 4, 2009.
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