WINGS OF MEXICO

WINGS OF MEXICO: A BRIEF THEORETICAL

APPROACH TO THE SCULPTURAL

PHENOMENON A CASE STUDY

Javier Villaseñor Villarreal

Art is constantly signifying us. As a universal language, it is the medium in which our central ideas have been represented and fixed throughout history. In this way, the space in which works of art are placed is of particular importance, since each work naturally has a social approach based on its context, for example: a work exhibited in a museum is not seen in the same way as when it is installed in a gallery or in a public space. In this short article, I would like to explore some of the theoretical implications of this.

First of all, I will begin by defining the background on which I base myself in relation to what I understand by public space, then I will establish this idea with the intervention of these through artistic works, ending with an example based on the work of Jorge Marín as a sculptor. The central concepts to be treated throughout the text will be, mainly, public spaces, art in public spaces, artistic interventions and multiculturalism. All of them are closely related to our assimilation of art in public spaces, which leads me to a final comment on the process of democratization of art.

THE NATURE OF PUBLIC SPACES

Today, more than half of the world's population lives in an urban environment, either in planned settlements or in their uncontrolled form of megalopolises, urban sprawls. These spaces have become places where the territory is relevant not for the interactions and relationships generated between inhabitants, but for its economic and functional benefits. Their design, since the end of the Second World War, has focused on moving away from the figure of the passer-by to give preponderance to the machine; a serious matter, since cities are by nature a strong mark of man's passage through the world, and thus this constructed nature has been torn away from the human figure, constituting mechanical environments. In this regard, Julio Alguacil, in his article City, Citizenship and Urban Democracy, refers to this specific situation as follows:

Citizens experience urban tensions with a sense of unease and discomfort, and generally feel deprived of open spaces in which to socialize their personal and civic experiences, enjoy aesthetic emotions, and exercise their right to coexistence and social participation. (cited in Gomez, 36-37, 2004).

This means, in short, that each and every inhabitant must exercise his or her right to live the city to the fullest. In this respect, art becomes a propitious means to reclaim a space that is ours by nature, allowing it to relate and channel meaningful relationships with its surroundings. Why? This is a valid question, and it is appropriate to delve a little deeper into the various implications of placing a work of art in public space; however, it is first important to establish what we mean by it.

Public Space is often thought to be synonymous with the Public Sphere, a term extensively treated by Jürgen Habermas, whose understanding is similar to the uses and interactions of society with itself. In this sense, public space has a much deeper meaning, defined by Toussaint and Zimmermann as

[...] a polysemous term that denotes both a metaphorical and a material space. As a metaphorical space, public space is synonymous with the public sphere or public debate. As a material space, public spaces correspond both to points of social encounter and interaction, as geographical locations open to the public, and as a category of actioni. (cited in Gomez, 2004).

ART IN PUBLIC SPACES

Art implies a direct action with respect to space, as it makes clear the need to establish and deepen our relationships with the environment and those with whom we share it. Throughout the history of art, there are several examples of the appearance of art in public spaces, ranging from the monumentality of ancient civilizations, whose artistic and architectural works constitute the pillar of their ideology and cosmogony. A relevant point for Western public art was the classical period of Hellenistic civilization, in Athens in the 5th century B.C., the period known as the Century of Pericles, where the plastic, architectural, philosophical, political and dramatic project of the city aimed to generate a global culture, a universal environment that would eventually settle the ideology of the same civilization: for example, the idea of the Agora, as a point of social exchange, participation, debate and artistic encounters, underpins our current understanding of the mission that public spaces play in our cities. We can say, then, that the constitution of the Agora in ancient Athens signified the city in the same way that artistic interventions in public space signify us today.

The Middle Ages were also an interesting example of public art that sought to create a shared environment. In this respect, the greatest representatives were the cathedrals, because, apart from the ideology that constituted them, these were the hearts of the great cities; their walls could be read and understood, their space aimed to be inhabited and shared; the artists (in this case, architects) gave themselves certain creative liberties with the meaning of the symbols they carved on the walls, whose interpretations were close to the community around the cathedral.

Another point of interest in the development of art in public space is found in the postmodern discourse, where the urban landscape stands as a voracious place, distant from human experience:

The possibility of a relational art-an art that would take as its theoretical horizon the sphere of human interactions and their social context, rather than the assertion of an autonomous and private symbolic space-represents a radical change in the aesthetic, cultural, and political goals that modern art has brought into play (Bourriaud 2008, 13).

Art today, therefore, has to refer to and transmit the social and cultural context of the society in which it evolves.  Thus, according to Bourriaud, art is a meeting point because it is an activity based on the exchange not only of symbols but also of social meanings.  In this way, we can briefly refer to another antecedent: the actions of the Situationist International movement in the mid-twentieth century, whose actions were intended to generate specific situations by considering the inhabitation of space as an artistic action in itself.

INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC SPACE

A key to creating social cohesion is the belief that public art, or the processes from which it emerges, is capable of channeling a sense of inclusion. According to this view, public art must be able to create a sense of belonging by merging the connection between citizens, the urban landscape, and its meaning as places constructed out of subjectivity.

(Sharp, et al. 2005, 1003).

The latter leads us to speak directly about artistic interventions in public space as a contemporary action that seeks to recover space, perhaps not by transforming the city into a work of art, but by contributing to the creation of a significant urban landscape and thus transforming the daily transit of citizens into a significant journey.

This kind of expression is usually used as a political tool, since the public space is the point of union between the relational nature of the environment and the public debate. However, many expressions are created without seeking a specific agenda other than improving the relationship between users and their environment: art has this quality of flexibility and adaptability, typical of its human origin.

Among the latter, we can take as an example Anish Kapoor, whose artistic works directly alter the environment and seek to generate experiences in the users. His work Sky Mirror comes to mind, which reflects the constant changes of the environment on its polished surface, making the viewer part of something that, although obvious, is often alien to us: the sky itself. Actions like this make interventions in public space a powerful approach to the spectator, channeling debates and allowing ideas to be generated around what they want to tell us, bringing us closer to what should be obvious and close to us: our habitat.

AN EXAMPLE: WINGS OF THE CITY

With regard to the work of the Mexican sculptor Jorge Marín, an action that seems to me to be a valuable example is the intervention that was carried out with his works in one of the medians of the Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. In this action, 13 monumental bronze sculptures were assembled along a walkway, creating a surreal promenade in the heart of the city. The same action was later replicated in different states of the Republic, and from that moment on it crossed borders and is currently touring the United States.

Often an artistic work is limited to a context of interpretation, especially in the case of art exhibited in museums and galleries, whose curatorial mediations, together with the institutional context, permeate and often limit the meaning of the works. What has happened with Alas de la Ciudad, as an exhibition phenomenon, is that each of the sculptures, intervening in the space, in the city itself, is signified by the specific interactions channeled by the users, expanding and complementing the original meaning that each work possesses. Again, a pertinent question to ask is: Why is it that works of art are capable of meaning and reaching people no matter where they are? This is one of the main characteristics of interventions in public spaces: the fact that they can channel a multicultural approach, because actions in public, open spaces require the participation of their multiple characters, regardless of their specific cultural backgrounds. In this respect, we can find an explanation in sociology that refers not only to a multicultural experience, but to interculturality channeled through art:

The notion of interculturality introduces a dynamic perspective of culture and cultures; it focuses on contact and interaction, mutual influence, syncretism, cultural cross-fertilization; that is, socio-cultural interaction in the context of economic, political, and ideological globalization [...]. It speaks of common and differentiated citizenship

(Jimenez, et al. 1997).

As part of a diverse social instrument, to allow and accept the multiple meanings that each viewer can create and establish with respect to the works, thus understanding art as an activity and a medium that channels significant, flexible and diverse interactions. Art needs this diversity to keep its symbolic nature alive, and thus the reading that each individual has of a given work varies and mutates, but is never denied. True multiculturalism, which strives for an interculturalism, must be embodied in disinterested actions: something that does not aim at a specific end, beyond the shaping of a socio-cultural environment.

WINGS OF MEXICO: A CASE STUDY

The context in which a work of art originates must always be taken into account: in this case, Mexico City is and has always been a city in developmentvi: its urban project is in constant transformation. It can be thought of as a living organism that grows, mutates, adapts and spreads throughout the territory, creating suburban belts that surround an overcrowded center. A city in evolution that cannot stop, a megalopolis. Then let us think about the inhabitants of such a space: the growth of the city is inversely proportional to human development, which means that people live more and more isolated, unable to enjoy a livable space, limiting their interaction to more functional and competitive environments. From the crowded streets comes a call to action: something is needed to embrace us, somehow; something to stop us in the hysterical urge to feel:

One of the most oppressive situations characteristic of contemporary cities - certainly one that concerns the academic and policy arenas - is how to achieve greater social inclusion in cities that, stuck in their mission to increase their competitive position in a growing globalized economy, are characterized by deepening socioeconomic inequality and segregation.

(Sharp et al. 2005, 1005)

To this great mystery, art seems to be one of the most tangible answers. From the original action, the exhibition Wings of the City, one work stood out, Wings of Mexico: A bronze sculpture measuring 3.20 x 3.50 x 1.50 meters in which, at first glance, we see two wings mounted on an iron frame that raises them one meter above the three. Proportionally, its wingspan is monumental; however, compared to the average human height, they appear to be life-size, because it is a work designed to be directly approached by the public.

Regarding the particular phenomenon that this sculpture has had in Mexico City, it is necessary to clarify that the sculpture was first part of the aforementioned exhibition and later, due to its impact and the way people approached it, it was donated to the city. The public's response to the sculpture has been beyond all expectations, regardless of the social, economic or cultural background of the visitors.

Overall, this means that the sculpture has succeeded in its pretense of reclaiming the space that surrounds it: a median in the middle of one of the city's most important avenues, right between two overwhelming entities for the city's culture: The National Museum of Anthropology and the Chapultepec Forest. And yet, in the time that the sculpture has inhabited the space, it has managed to become a symbol of the city in its own right, where tourists, passersby, workers, commuters, brides, quinceañeras, and photographers, among others, meet in a space that they can call their own, in a temporary fragment that they can call their own. This is one of the great proposals of multiculturalism:

[The] creation of a space in which people's identities are affirmed, and in which people feel that they can use the space without feeling that they are conspicuous or being judged by people from different cultural backgrounds. Simply put, a "successful" multicultural environment is one where the comfort level of different groups combines with optimal design to create an atmosphere that can nurture many preferences. A place that fosters social interactions while creating distinct spaces where individual cultures are highlighted and celebrated (Knapp 2009).

Alas de México succeeds in creating a multicultural environment, partly because of its central location, partly because of the conformity of the work itself, since it appeals to the viewer through the contemporary fashion of photographically capturing every moment, and in this respect it is a work appropriate to its time, another great characteristic of artistic multiculturalism: the importance of a work that, despite its adaptability, must always be in dialogue with the time that shelters it. Symbolically, perhaps, this action lies in the subtlety of the work itself, because although Marín's work is influenced by the Renaissance treatment of the body and the Baroque theatricality of human emotions, this sculpture can be considered minimalist: two wings and nothing more, two wings and the spectator who stands in front of them, dresses them, signifies them. It does not require a specific context, at least not from an iconological point of view, because the implicit meaning is immediate, so the work remains open to any interpretation and to the relationships that can give personal implications to its symbol.

It seems, then, to conquer a much broader concept: the democratization of art. A work intended for the public means that its conception, understanding and subjective appropriation are always valid. A democratic art is naturally distant from institutions outside the public institution: its common definition refers to the fact that any individual can perform in the arts, not only in the specialized sphere of culture. And this is one of the great problems: a democratic art shakes up the sphere of power, allowing a creative way of thinking and interacting with space that, in our current urban logic, must be empty.

Whether or not a work touches an individual on an emotional level-and this is probably the true litmus test of whether or not a work qualifies as art-depends on a myriad of small factors. Prejudices and social influences are only a small part of photography: much is based on a person's background and the prejudices and preferences he or she has acquired through it. This, too, is the source of art: when an experience, emotion, or place touches an individual so deeply that he or she cannot help but feel the need to create, or at least record, his or her own interpretation and representation of that experience.(Thein 2014)

And this "register" of experiences can be understood as the relationship that both the work and the spectator establish with a human space, transcending the establishment of how a place should be used and related. Alas de México has been a broad and changing experience as an artistic, patrimonial and cultural project. The public's approach to the work, although intended, has been surprising, as it makes clear that art is a great mechanism to channel social cohesion and interaction. Art as a means of spatial transformation.

CONCLUSIONS

Art, then, is understood as a tool for building and shaping our communities; art as one of the most powerful marks that we, humans, leave on the earth; manifestation of our intellect, synthesis of the noosphere: the space where our symbolic nature meets the real world through the ominous act of creation. Perhaps this is a meeting point that both art and urban space have in common: both bear witness to man's passage on earth, both are markers in our universal history. This common nature, this conceptual core, makes it clear that both, art and city, coexist to create a truly human environment, conducive to human development, where all cultural manifestations are welcomed in the same way, with inclusive eyes and open minds.

Alas de la Ciudad, as a global project, and Alas de México, as a specific example, show that in the end it is society that defines and establishes the true meaning of a work of art, and that is the way it should be: artists, as creators, are generally seen as makers who synthesize in themselves the spirit of an era, and thus art reflects what society needs to see and project. And interventions in public space are fundamental for this reason, the works are installed in spaces where social manifestations take place.

Art as embracing a society that more and more needs to escape.

References

GOMEZ AGUILERA, FERNANDO. 2004. “Arte, ciudadanía y espacio público” On the W@terfront 5: 35- 51. Visitado en agosto 4, 2016. URL: http://www.ub.edu/escult/Water/N05/W05_3.pdf

BOURRIAUD, NICOLAS. 2008. Estética Relacional. Trad. Cecilia Beceyro y Sergio Delgado. Argentina: Adriana Hidalgo.

SHARP, JOANN. POLLOCK, VENDA. PADDISON, RONAN. 2005. “Just Art for a Just City: Public Art and Social Inclusion in Urban Regeneration” Urban Studies 42. Visitado en agosto 24, 2016. URL: http://usj.sagepub.com/content/42/5-6/1001.full.pdf

JIMÉNEZ, CARLOS. MALGESINI, GRACIELA. 1997. Guía de conceptos sobre migraciones, racismo e interculturalidad. Madrid: La cueva del oso.

KNAP, COURTNEY. 2009. “Making multicultural places” Project for public spaces. Enero 1, 2009. Visitado en agosto 23, 2016. URL: http://www.pps.org/blog/multicultural_places/

THEIN, MING. 2014. “On the democratization of art” Ming Thein Photography. Diciembre 14, 2014. Visitado en agosto 25, 2016. URL: https://blog.mingthein.com/2014/12/14/on-the-democratization- of-art/