Feb. 16 – Aug. 12, 2018
The Words of Others: León Ferrari and Rhetoric in Times of War
Performance view: León Ferrari, Operativo: "Pacem in Terris," 1972, Adriana Banti Archive, Buenos Aires
Originally organized as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA (2017–18), an initiative of the Getty Foundation, this solo exhibition of the Argentinian artist León Ferrari (b. 1920, Buenos Aires; d. 2013, Buenos Aires) focuses on his influential practice from the 1960s to the 1980s. With a particular emphasis on his literary collages—works that incorporate text excerpts from different sources that are reassembled to create an altogether new message—the exhibition features the first full live reading of his seminal 1967 publication Palabras ajenas (The Words of Others)—an important Vietnam-era anti-war piece written in the form of a dramatic script.
Palabras ajenas was Ferrari's first literary collage, composed as an extensive dialogue among various characters, including President Lyndon B. Johnson, Adolf Hitler, Pope Paul VI, and God. By means of a cut-and-paste exercise, the work associates the atrocities of the Vietnam War, the horrors of Nazism, and the representations of redemption and punishment in religion through quotations selected from history books, literature, the Bible, newspapers, and magazines. The result is a chorus of contemporary voices that recite and interpret the text, which will be read in full in PAMM's auditorium on February 15 from 1 to 9 pm.
Ferrari's literary collages were a central element of his practice, yet most remain unpublished or have experienced minimal circulation as limited editions or sketchbooks. This exhibition revisits many of these works, exploring uncharted territory and offering a new perspective on Ferrari's work while exploring the aesthetic forms of political intervention that emerged in Latin America in the 1960s. This profoundly contemporary project examines the obscenity of war, the ways the media represents conflict, and the role of political and religious discourse in the expansion of Western culture.
Highlights from the Exhibition
Palabras ajenas (The Words of Others) 1967 Cover of the first English edition
Published by REDCAT and X Artists' Books, Los Angeles
León Ferrari, Hongo nuclear (negro) [Mushroom Cloud (Black)], 2004 Polyurethane foam, wire, and synthetic paint, 100 x 17 1/16 inches
Silvia and Hugo Sigman Collection, Buenos Aires
León Ferrari, Dios (God), 1964 Photo collage on cardboard, 18 13/16 x 12 inches
Ferrari family collection, Buenos Aires
Contact stripes with character names from León Ferrari's Listen, Here, Now, 1968 Leopoldo Maler Archive
León Ferrari's collection of clippings and newspapers with quotations used in Palabras ajenas (The Words of Others) 1967 Buenos Aires, ca. 1969
Pablo Ferrari Archive, São Paulo. Photo: Pablo Ferrari
The Words of Others: León Ferrari and Rhetoric in Times of War is curated by Ruth Estévez, Director and Curator, Gallery at REDCAT, Los Angeles, with Miguel A. López, Chief Curator, TEOR/éTica, San José, Costa Rica, and Agustín Díez Fischer, Director, Espigas, Buenos Aires. It was produced by REDCAT with major support provided through grants from the Getty Foundation. The exhibition originated as part of Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Special thanks to Fundación Augusto y León Ferrari Arte y Acervo (FALFAA) and the Silvia and Hugo Sigman Collection, Buenos Aires. The presentation of this exhibition at Pérez Art Museum Miami is coordinated by Assistant Curator Jennifer Inacio.
REDCAT Director Ruth Estévez Links Vietnam-era Anti-war Piece to Today
Ruth Estévez, gallery director at REDCAT LA, takes us behind-the-scenes of PAMM's latest exhibition "The Words of Others: León Ferrari and Rhetoric in Times of War," linking Léon Ferrari's literary collages to today's current political climate.
Via pammart.wordpress.com
PAMM Joins Forces with Local Community Figures, Artists, and Actors to Host Live Reading of Artist León Ferrari's 1967 Publication "The Words of Others"
The performance of the important Vietnam-era anti-war piece will take place on February 15, and marks the exhibition opening of The Words of Others: León Ferrari and Rhetoric in Times of War
Leon Ferrari: The Words of Others
Via youtu.be