Puerto Madero,
Feb 01, 2002 - Dec 30, 2002
Buenos Aires, Argentina
New Sculpture Park
by LatinArt.com
Puerto Madero is a new development in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina that borders the Rio de la Plata. Part of the project has been completed and is now an upscale boardwalk lined with great restaurants, cafés, and boutiques along the riverbank. The next phase of the project is to develop the far side of the riverbank. The development will include a sculpture park that will be a long concourse (approximately 700 meters) made specifically to accommodate pedestrian traffic. It will be called Boulevard Azucena Villaflor. It is interesting to note that all the streets in the development are named after women who have been involved in political, cultural, or other public activities. The park's name honors the founder of the "Madres de Plaza de Mayo," the group of mothers that worked around the clock to make people aware of the "disappeared" in Argentina.The Antiguo Puerto Madero Corporation sponsored a national juried contest to choose artwork for the sculpture park. The winners received a grant of $5,000, and were funded an additional $25,000 to complete their projects. The first five winners were exhibited and announced at the international art fair, ArteBA in Buenos Aires, in May 2001. All the winning artists happened to be women, even though they were "blind selections," chosen without any identification of the artists. The identity of the winners was not known until after the artworks were chosen. We are happy to present the winning artists and their works, and are indebted to both ArteBA and the Puerto Madero Corporation for their assistance. Marcela Gasperi
"This work is open to a game of forces. Everything will be played to the surprise of not knowing - 'the amazement.' There will not be an opportunity to find any rules that will determine or anticipate the memory of the artwork. The viewer will discover and choose paths created by forms that will mutate and fragment in a natural cubic space. There will be a sense of freedom and playfulness. The viewer will be able to sit down inside the artwork being a protagonist interacting with the game." Lily Wicnudel
"An intermittent jet of water hits one side of a glass that divides a circle of stone on the ground. The water's impact creates forms that constantly change, and subjective images that appear and disappear. The lighting creates a feeling of 'reality/unreality.' A bench welcomes the viewers to remain and live the dream as they feel the water." Marie Orensanz
"Six bells whose clappers contain the answers to questions written on the ground. This offers the viewers' actions and reflections, creating surprise as they walk over the questions and gazing up the different answers. This is a natural movement of a thinking human being. The answers have different meaning to each viewer." Nora Correas
"The question sign is my response to the creation of Boulevard Azucena Villaflor, named after the founder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. The question is where is what is not here, but should be. Where are justice, equality, and ethics? Is there any reason that we are the way we are? When will we see the end of this? We can go on questioning ourselves infinitely. The situation in Argentina and the world as a whole helped me give the project its form. The question mark brings it all together." Matilde Algamiz
"The name of the boulevard and the sculpture park Azucena Villaflor, the founder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, brought out the memories and recollections: 'Meetings Prohibited!' 'You must circulate!''Contact Prohibited!' But 'Circulate' is also the symbol of the united desperate search. For that reason, I imagined two elements of the same 'Circular' shape, interconnected yet different. One circular element refers to the banner of active struggle, the other to ordered repression. One circle has accessories preventing movement; the other circle creates t
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