The American War

Harrell Fletcher

Exposición: Nov 10, 2005 – Ene 22, 2006


El proyecto de Fletcher, The American War (La guerra americana), es una re-presentación del War Remnants Museum (Museo de Remanentes de Guerra) en Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Durante una visita reciente el artista fue afectado por el museo (a lo que se llama la Guerra Americana en Vietnam) y desarrolló un interés en la instigación de discusiones sobre la guerra en los Estados Unidos. El proyecto que resultó presenta al museo refractado a través del lente de Fletcher junto a material pertinente que ofrece otras perspectivas.

Paredes gruesas de madera rodean y bisectan la galería, dándole el aspecto y la sensación de una organización municipal. Caminando a través de una entrada, los espectadores encuentran mas de cien imágenes enmarcadas que Fletcher tomo de las fotografías documentales del museo y sus paneles didácticos bilingües. Las fotos inquietantes de tortura, defectos de nacimiento, y bosques destruidos atestiguan los efectos horripilantes de las tácticas americanas sobre la gente y la tierra de Vietnam. Los ángulos torcidos de cada foto acentúan la calidad espontánea de la apropiación y de la mano del artista.

Justo afuera de las puertas Fletcher muestra material acumulado de Ciudad Ho Chi Minh y de San Antonio. Se presentan copias de textos de la biblioteca, fotos mostrando el terreno del museo, una copia pirata vietnamita de un best seller americano acerca de la guerra, y vestigios de los programas públicos quel artista inicio en conjunto. Fletcher historifica estas reliquias con información sobre las conexiones a su proyecto.

The American War (La guerra americana) hace visible una multitud de voces sobre este asunto internacional, sugiriendo quel arte puede hacer y hace una diferencia mas allá que en el mundo del arte.

-Kate Green

Conservadora Asistente

Artista

Harrell Fletcher

Portland, Oregon, USA

Harrell Fletcher’s approach to art-making involves multiple publics and types of art, challenging conventional notions of who is the artist and what the art is. Past projects include a video of people explaining their scars, lawn sculptures made in the likeness of Fletcher’s neighbors, and a participatory website (www.learningtoloveyoumore.com) created with Miranda July that offers assignments including, “Grow a garden in an unexpected spot.” Each project suggests that artmaking is a subjective process of assigning value, something each of us does every day.
For a recent project in France, Fletcher subverted the usual artist/institution relationship by engaging community members to generate ideas for a local sculpture park commission. He ultimately elected to work with a nine-year old boy who proposed crafting a turtle of gold and painting it green. Fletcher’s contribution to the project involved casting the young man as the artist, helping him through museum negotiations, as well as overseeing the sketching, production, and installation of the new piece. This process, like each of Fletcher’s, opened up the sometimes closed-quarters of exhibiting art.
Born in Santa Maria, CA, in 1967, Harrell Fletcher lives in Portland, OR. He received an MFA from California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA, in 1994. Solo shows include Domain de Kerguehennec, Bignan, France (2006); Jack Hanley Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2005); and Christine Burgin, New York, NY (2004). Group exhibitions include Royal College of Art, London, England (2005); 2004 Whitney Biennial, New York, NY; and Seattle Art Museum, WA (2003).
 

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Curador

Berta Sichel

Madrid, Spain

Originally from Brazil, Berta Sichel received her MA in Media Ecology from New York University, NY in 1984 and has worked toward her doctorate from the same institution. She is the Director of the Department of Audiovisuals and Film and Video Curator at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid, Spain and has organized projects with Jeremy Blake, Fluxus Films, Michael Snow, and many others. Sichel was the curator of Aztlán Today: The Chicano Post-Nation, which was shown at the Canal de Isabel II, Madrid, Spain, and Virgin Territory: Women, Gender and History in Contemporary Brazilian Art at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.

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