A Turn-Return

Alvaro Herrera

I write this essay, or should I say that I rehearse, while my dog chases his tail. I will try to focus on showing why his image of hyperactive puppy reminds me so much of [Colombian] national art scene. The state of art is perhaps a matter of canine performance, of knowing what to do given default orders, of knowing where to go and, of course, to show a nice face and do a stunt or two. Where in our university education do we learn to “behave properly”? Nowadays, many art programs have spaces specifically for training, such as “cultural management” courses, but in regard to many questions, the usual complaint is that the student does not graduate trained enough in this “extra-artistic skills”, which are seen as omen of professional “success”. How to improve the performance of a recent graduate? How to measure it, should in fact be the first question. If we train professionals hungry for profit, or searchers of recognition, there’s a need for different exercises, different tests for specific roles.

Our art scene is a specialist in forgetting. The new show isn’t anything different than a return to the old experiment. I don’t mean that the attitude is deplorable, but that in many cases the results are. What can exist as new, if everything is a restored behavior? Perhaps there’ll be new ways of recombining this behaviors, an amnesic scene, will always think that to the command of sitting, you can only respond by sitting.

Perhaps the emergence of Art requires of intensive care, this is the other subject that keeps me awake. To the lack of sleepiness, follows a disjointed phase, which I hope the reader will excuse, with less tired eyes. I’ve thought of taking my ambulance out to pick up terminally ill patients that sometimes are confused with shining stars. I’ve seen from behind the barrier and stuck to the knees, the passing of the mating dances of the local art fair, but still need to write that animal story, of animal heat, flirting and rudeness.

Moreover, in the midst of that state, it is sensed that one is not prepared for everything and that “gallerism” is characterized by not taking risks and that it’s principal value is to achieve the best prices in the market for the ones that already have. In the world crisis, there’s still some space to speculate a little with the health and vitality of young art.

Why the idea doesn’t have the weight it should have in a space where we supposedly bet to knowledge? We heard of “returns to the craft”, which probably is just another way of calling the fact that we feel more comfortable with old things, or perhaps it’s just that we only like speaking of the few that we know about. I won’t deny that maybe I’m contaminated too, and in such case I’m the one that should be picked by the ambulance.

Which would then be diagnosed for this patient? Short-sighted, voracious appetite (cannibalism), little nose, selective touch only for what’s convenient and a broad distaste, that can only be calmed by a few placebos.

Alvaro R. Herrera is a Colombian visual Artist, observer of the art world and emerging writer.