LA

ESCUELA___

Argument: Many artists in the history of art from the 20th century onwards developed descriptive instructions for creating artworks as part of their practice. The propositions ranged from poems made up from newspapers to modified objects, street posters, or performative actions. Either way, the artistic experience transforms itself and the aesthetic experience no longer lies on a static object but rather in the activation of it, in what we call a “sensory-conceptual space.” This concept was developed by Brazilian professor Ricardo Basbaum, from the Universidade Federal Fluminense, and it will be the theoretical foundation for this workshop. One of our main goals will be to question the artistic experience regarding an object and transferring it towards the body and the actions of the participants.

Almost as if they were an instrument’s sheet music, all participants will be invited to dare to read and collectively execute these artworks that arise from instructions. Through this, we will seek to create a space for collective orchestration that will foster the political organization of a group by means of sensory artistic stimulation. During the 2020 pandemic, we were forced to follow instructions such as washing our hands, using facemasks, avoiding public places, queuing for vaccines, etc. This workshop serves as a backlash against these hegemonic strategies that seek to control our societies, trying out other ways of giving instructions, aimed at producing artistic conceptual results and defying the sensory dimension.

1st session: Introduction and theoretical presentation of the workshop: the sensory-conceptual Space. 

2nd session: Instructions throughout the history of art in the 20th century. Brief overview of artists and artworks. 

3rd session (practice): Reading of instructions, organization and designation for each participant. Practical exercise in the collective classroom. Discussing the documentation formats, be they photographic or videographic. 

4th session: Viewing of artistic works and reflections. 

5th session: Viewing of artistic works and final conclusions.

Visual artists, performance artists, students, curious people, and general public interested in or excited about the challenges of conceptual art and 20th-century avant-gardes.