Julio Le Parc
Centro Cultural Borges, Buenos Aires
A central figure of kinetic language, Julio Le Parc (Argentina, 1928) inaugurated a splendid artistic intervention in the Plaza de las Artes at the Borges Cultural Center, confirming the fact that his works are capable of transforming those who admire them. Otra mirada (Another Gaze) is a tribute to the master muralists of Galerías Pacífico (Pacífico Shopping Mall), members of the Mural Art Workshop Antonio Berni, Juan Carlos Castagnino, Manuel Colmeiro, Lino Enea Spilimbergo and Demetrio Urruchúa who painted the central cupola (with a surface of 450 square meters) in the ground floor of the building.
Móvil Transparente (Transparent Mobile) is an impressive cube shaped work, the diagonal of which measures approximately 6 meters, and it is composed of 1561 pieces in transparent acrylic (the side of each measuring 29 cm,), which centuplicate the lights and forms in the space and make them dance. Mysterious, Traslación (Movement) appears as a black box in the shape of a cross, which hosts the screenings of the mural paintings in Galerías Pacífico, faithfully represented on two sides of the box and with the images fragmented and multiplied on the front and the back. It is a double “movement”; not only does the artist “elevate” (to the upper floor) the mural images of the cupola, but he also invites the viewer to look at the spaces he or she walks along on a daily basis from a different perspective. Trompe l’oeil in these two pieces that hold a dia- logue in the space, induce the dislocation of the vision, and challenge the usual gaze. The works marvel the visitors with their playful brilliance, causing surprise and elliciting smiles.
Curated by Cristina Rossi and produced by Lía Cristal, the installation was sponsored by the Ministry for Culture and the Department of Tourism of the Government of Buenos Aires City, jointly with Galerías Pacífico.
A Paris resident since 1958, in 1960 Le Parc founded, together with other artists, the Groupe de Recherche D’Art Visuel, and he took up the commitment of questioning the role of art and artists within society. “The notion of the unique and inspired artist is anachronic (...) The stable, unique, definitive, and unreplaceable artwork goes against the evolution of our epoch.” At the age of 82, Le Parc continues with his plans, and while Continuel Lumière (1963/2007, 18 x 7 meters), belonging to the Ella Fontanals Cisneros Foundation CIFO’s Collection, continues touring Germany, a project for a monumental sculpture in Puerto Madero jointly with YPF Foundation has been announced for 2011, and it has been confirmed that Le Parc Lumière will be the inaugural show at Casa Daros (a branch of the Daros Collection, Zurich) in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
