Neon text: "The old world is dying. The new is slow to be born. In this chiaroscuro, monsters emerge."
Alfredo is "Gramscinian." This neon-lit work reveals a phrase written by the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) in the 1930s, at the time of the rise of fascism. This founding member of the Italian Communist Party, in particular, developed a theory of "cultural hegemony" based on the premise that the conquest of power presupposes the control of public opinion. A ruling class first imposes itself through everyday practices and collective beliefs, those cultural mechanisms that play a fundamental role in establishing a system of domination. Alfredo revisits these postulates to discuss the political struggle surrounding the issue of social contempt and leadership crises.
This work was shown at SESC Pompeia in the exhibition "Lamento das Imagens" within the context of the 34th São Paulo Biennial, in 2021.
Alfredo Jaar
Santiago, Chile, 1956.
Lives and works in New York, USA. https://alfredojaar.net
Alfredo Jaar is an artist, photographer, architect, and filmmaker whose work has been shown extensively around the world. He has participated in the Biennales of Venice (1986, 2007, 2009, 2013), Sao Paulo (1987, 1989, 2010, 2021) as well as Documenta in Kassel (1987, 2002).
Alfredo Jaar's work began in Chile and then in the United States between the late 1970s and early 1980s, during the military dictatorship in his country. His works seek to uncover what is unintentionally left unsaid or deliberately concealed in an authoritarian environment.
