Light & Fluffy

With the vibe of a hip European independent art gallery, Cian Plataforma Cultural in Bellavista is an exhibition space that provides a creative and commercial portal for many Chilean contemporary artists and features works that display a wide range of original ideas and techniques. A number of artists exhibit and sell their works here and it is a good place to start to get to grips with the contemporary arts scene in the city. 

Cian is a large and bright space that acts as a gallery, workshop, cultural centre, shop and cafe. The walls are covered in many lovely paintings in which the talent and originality of ideas is plainly evident through the many styles and concepts utilised by the artists. While these line the walls, there are tables packed with prints of Chilean paintings for sale that sum up the diversity of the Chilean contemporary art movement. There are also lots of interesting sculptures and models, with the horse in a suit that greets you at the entrance particularly odd.

The importance of places such as Cian cannot be underestimated as they offer an outlet for creative expression, not to mention the possibility of actually making money out of your talent, for young artists who may not otherwise have the opportunity to showcase their work. It is certainly worth checking out regardless of whether or not contemporary art floats your boat. Sometimes I come here just to have a hot chocolate and use the wi-fi, as there is a lovely mellow vibe that makes a welcome escape from the city and is conducive to the creative spirit. 

In the heart of Bellavista, this is a decent spot that is a good example of the direction of the modern Santiago, a city that today has firmly established its own artistic and creative identity. There are other places like this of which I shall write about in due course. Here's the website:

http://cian.cl/index.php

Japanese Anime Chilean Style

I went down to La Universidad Catolica the other day for the first time. It's a lovely grand old building, situated right in the heart of Santiago, and the most prestigious university in Chile. While I'm sure they would have highly appreciated the imparting of my pearls of wisdom, that wasn't why I was there. I actually went to watch Belleville Rendezvous at the Micro Cine (a great little cinema open to the general public where they have regular film seasons and admission for a luca) but I got the times wrong and ended up watching another animated film about Tutankhamen and the gods of ancient Egypt.

On the way out I noticed there was an exhibition of Chilean Manga: a concept that I had been unaware of until that moment. This was the winners of a nationwide competition held to unearth Chile's finest Manga artists. I knew Manga was popular from the various Japanese-anime shops scattered around the city and from last year when I tried to go to a Manga convention at Estación Mapocho and encountered the mother of all queues. But I'd assumed it was all imported artwork so it was interesting to see the work of national artists.

The drawings and paintings followed classic Manga themes and imagery. There were countryside samurai warriors with huge swords and that zig zag hair so beloved by the genre: kinky young woman in cyber-slut outfits: cuddly but somewhat eerie-looking inflated animal caricatures: innocent school kids walking through dark and menacing landscapes: and so on.

I found the exhibition very interesting and would like to check out more Chilean Manga. I haven't been able to find on the internet most of the images I saw but there are a couple and there are also some links to portals if you're keen.

http://www.banzaistudio.cl/

http://kortachurros-caf.blogspot.com/2008/10/existe-el-manga-chileno-carta-abierta.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Anidachi-adventures-Manga-Chileno/133823109999446?sk=wall

The soup of society

The Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (widely-known by the rather wonderful acronym of MAC) is currently staging an excellent exhibition of the work of young Chilean photographers. Antología Visual de Jóvenes Fotógrafos, Chile 2010-2011 features series of photographs that deal with various social issues that affect Chile today, with particular focus given to the disadvantaged sections of society and themes such as work, family, environment, sex, violence, gender, identity and so on.

One series of photos seemingly celebrates normality with several almost identical houses shot entirely from the front, all right angles and straight lines. The initial impression is one of mundane normality. But a closer look reveals differences between the photos and the symmetry takes on a deeper meaning. There is something compelling about these photos and their implications of society's repression of individuality.

Then there is the photography of Alejandro Olivares, whose subject is life in one of Santiago's poorest barrios, and an aspect of Chilean society that is alien to the vast majority of visitor´s to the MAC. Young men hold guns to the heads of puppies while painted murals celebrate the lives of their dead friends and pregnant women smoke crack. It appears a brutal world to outsiders but there is a sense of camaraderie in the photos, of togetherness, as if being neglected and forgotten by the outside world and the government strengthens the bonds of the inhabitants of the barrio.

These are just a couple of examples that stick in my mind after I went to the exhibition this afternoon in the near-deserted MAC. It was very interesting and showed me aspects of Chile with which I have yet to grow familiar. There is a good review of the exhibition here from one of my fellow writers at Revolver. I think her interpretations of the photos and their contexts are very precise:


http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/exhibits/00764-young-chilean-photographers-new-generation-takes-over-mac


If you´re in Santiago, get down to MAC before the 26th June. I feel like I learnt a little more about the country there today.

Freaky Styley

The Chilean artist Eduardo Martínez Bonati has an exhibition, Vuelvo a Casa, on at Belles Artes that, if you are like me, you will find repulsive but intriguing. It is a celebration of the ugly and the grotesque and, while I would never have any of his work in my house as it would give me nightmares, it´s worth checking out as his style is bound to have an impact on anyone who sees it. Here is a recent article I wrote on Martínez Bonati for Revolver:

http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/exhibits/00739-weird-wondrous-world-eduardo-mart%C3%ADnez-bonati

By the way, I haven´t blogged in the last couple of days as I was moving house and had no time. But I´m back on the case with fresh posts every day. And the new flat is wicked. In Barrio Brasil. Love it.

Koen Wessing RIP

I was down at the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral (known as GAM) the other day where, as it was in its final week, I went to the Koen Wessing exhibition for the second time. Wessing was a Dutch photographer who died in February this year and was one of the first international photographers on the scene following the military coup on 11th September 1973 that brought Pinochet into power. As well as documenting the soldiers on the streets of downtown Santiago, he also managed to get into the national stadium where thousands of Chileans were imprisoned and where many were murdered for their supposed leftist connections or sympathies.

Wessing´s photos capture the tense and stricken atmosphere of Chile at the time, the aftermath of the overthrow of the democratically-elected government, the death of President Allende, and the brutal lockdown of the country. The shock of the people is obvious from photos that show civilians passing rows of heavily-armed soldiers in the streets, women hurrying their children past the barrels of guns. Men are escorted into the stadium, from where many would never return. They stand proud as they are photographed by the military, their crimes being membership of trade unions or the Communist Party. They stand on the terraces of the stadium, not knowing what will become of them.

There is also a smaller section of photos from Wessing´s time in Nicaragua during the Sandanista revolution and in El Salvador following the assassination of Archbishop Romero in 1980. The only violent image in all the exhibition is from El Salvador, in which the body of a shot man is loaded onto the back of a pick-up truck. The power of Wessing´s work lies in the human aspect, through expressions of trauma and fear, or defiance. It is a fascinating exhibition.

The GAM is a new cultural centre in Santiago where I often go in my spare time. I´ve written a couple of articles about the place and its significance as a symbol of modern Chile, particularly relevant when you consider its previous function. Here´s the one I did a while ago for thecommentfactory :

http://www.thecommentfactory.com/chiles-art-and-culture-flourishing-at-last-3853/

For more details on the late Koen Wessing, there's a Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Koen-Wessing/185967098104951