"In contrast to curators and artists who create urban art interventions by parachuting into a city they do not know, ciudadMULTIPLEcity emerged from the needs of Panamanian artists to mobilize society, turning the city into creative actor and artwork. This event and the book itself make the public experience even more audible and legible; precisely what art, as a heuristic, best does."
George Yúdice
ciudadMULTIPLEcity. Art >Panama 2003
Urban Art and Global Cities:
an Experiment in Context
Gerardo Mosquera & Adrienne Samos
Editors
One of the burning themes of the twenty-first century is the urban question. The dynamic of cities is already causing dramatic changes in society and culture worldwide. The connection between art and city has not evolved very far yet, but will probably indicate a main course of action for artistic practice in the near future. ciudadMULTIPLEcity. Art > Panama 2003 constituted an important step in that direction. Artists of various countries were summoned to actively relate to the city, and struggle with its myriad seductions and pressing problems. This book exposes the ways in which the works involved the various urban communities and shed light upon art’s potential to critically mediate and renovate the public domain. Beyond being the event’s catalogue, this is also a book about Panama, a small global city even before globalization due to its geographic uniqueness. Multiple dynamics of fragmentation, hybridization and contrast have given the city its peculiar character.
Urban Art and Global Cities:
an Experiment in Context
Gerardo Mosquera & Adrienne Samos
Editors
- Paperback: 353 pages
- Publisher: KIT Publishers; Paper / DVD edition (June 2005)
- Languages: Spanish / English
- ISBN: 9068325426
One of the burning themes of the twenty-first century is the urban question. The dynamic of cities is already causing dramatic changes in society and culture worldwide. The connection between art and city has not evolved very far yet, but will probably indicate a main course of action for artistic practice in the near future. ciudadMULTIPLEcity. Art > Panama 2003 constituted an important step in that direction. Artists of various countries were summoned to actively relate to the city, and struggle with its myriad seductions and pressing problems. This book exposes the ways in which the works involved the various urban communities and shed light upon art’s potential to critically mediate and renovate the public domain. Beyond being the event’s catalogue, this is also a book about Panama, a small global city even before globalization due to its geographic uniqueness. Multiple dynamics of fragmentation, hybridization and contrast have given the city its peculiar character.
This volume tries to present the complexities of the city visually, through pictures by leading Panamanian photographers, and with a design—by Orosmán de la Guardia—that echoes the city’s distinct image.
The city is also discussed in depth by Margot López, Eduardo Tejeira Davis, and Alvaro Uribe—major specialists on the subject. Equally significant are the “hinges” that link each text. Conceived by writer Alberto Gualde and artist Jonathan Harker, these hinges throw light upon different facets of Panama City, with succinct acuity and humor. Also included are essays by Jorge Francisco Liernur, Carlos Monsiváis and Armando Silva—three of most important thinkers on the complex situation of Latin American cities.
The book also includes a captivating video documentary on ciudadMULTIPLEcity, directed by Rich Potter. By means of a dynamic use of the split screen, Potter emphasizes the multiple and fragmented nature of both contemporary art and the urban landscape. Footage of the artworks and views of Panama City are interweaved with comments by the artists, the curators, organizers and collaborators of ciudadMULTIPLEcity, as well as by art critics and people in the streets.
ciudadMULTIPLEcity. Art >Panama 2003. Urban Art and Global Cities: an Experiment in Context can be purchased in Panama at Diablo Rosso or by internet at Amazon.com