Nueva Luz vol. 13#3

NUEVA LUZ photographic journal

RANIA MATAR
LISDEBERTUS A.K.A. LUIS DELGADO
TARRAH KRAJNAK & WILKA ROIG
Volume 13 No. 3 – U.S. $10.00

COMMENTARY BY SHARON MIZOTA
NEW WORKS #12 BY DEBORAH WILLIS

NUEVA LUZ Editorial
photographic journal volume 13:3

© Maria Fernanda Hubeaut
Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 1
Rania Matar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 2–11
Luis Delgado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 12–21
Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig . . . .page 22–29
Miriam Romais
Commentary by Sharon Mizota . . .page 30–36
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 37
Intercambio by Deborah Willis . . . .page 38–41
Critical Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 42
Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 43–44

In
NUEVA LUZ STAFF BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Nueva Luz will make accommodations under
ADA guidelines for those needing large print.
Cover: Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig, Aftermath 14, Aftermath
series, 2008. Archival pigment print, 13.5x21quot;

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Rania Matar

Rania Matar, Refugee ID Card, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”

Artist Statement
quot;I grew up in Lebanon during the civil war. After living in the US for almost twenty years, I started photo-
graphing the aftermath of Lebanon’s war which led me to the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp, a five-minute
drive from cosmopolitan Beirut. Shocked by the conditions people were living in, I started photographing the
numerous refugee camps around Lebanon, hoping to portray the humanity and resilience of the inhabitants
coping with conditions many would find unacceptable. This is not a political project and does not try to pro-
mote any solution to a complicated and sensitive issue, but a photographic portrait of a 'forgotten people'.
There are an estimated 360,000 Palestinian refugees in twelve refugee camps scattered around Lebanon. Their
Water Pipes, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”
temporary refugee status spanning 60 years is becoming permanent, as fourth generations are now born and
raised. The camps are not integrated in Lebanese social or economic life. Lebanon, healing itself from a brutal
civil war and afraid of upsetting its delicate sectarian balance, is afraid of granting Palestinian refugees any
rights that might bring them closer to naturalization. As a result they are banned from most professions and
have to depend on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and local NGOs for education,
health and basic human services. In addition, with things having changed in the world political arena, dona-
tions to NGOs have substantially dropped. Compounded with a population increase in the camps due to high
birth rates, conditions have worsened substantially over the last few years.
Despite such a gloomy picture, I found inspiration in people struggling to keep their roots, spirit and culture
alive, who are hospitable and welcoming into their homes, and kids who make the best out of the little the
camp offers them. I found inspiration in the incredible capacity and resilience of people to adapt and make
the best of their circumstances so they can preserve their dignity, their hope and their humanity. As such, these
photographs put a human face on a long forgotten people in search of a home.quot;
Rania Matar

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Rania Matar
Rania Matar
At the Cemetery, Outskirts of Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”
The Dead Mother, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”

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Rania Matar
Rania Matar
Breaksfast in Bed, Bourj El Shemaili Refugee Camp, Tyre, Lebanon. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”
Playing on the Roof, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”

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Rania Matar
Rania Matar
Bathtime for Baby, Bourj El Shemali Refugee Camp, Tyre, Lebanon. The Forgotten People series, 2005. Archival pigment print, 24x36”
Feeling Good after Haircut, Beddawi Refugee Camp, Tripoli, Lebanon, The Forgotten People series, 2007. Archival pigment print, 24x36”

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Rania Matar
Rania Matar
Ghost Girl, Bourj El Barajneh Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2004. Archival pigment print, 24x36”
Baby and Arafat Posters, Shatila Refugee Camp, Beirut. The Forgotten People series, 2003. Archival pigment print, 24x36”

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Lisdeber tus a.k.a. Luis Delgado

Lisdebertus a.k.a. Luis Delgado, Arms for the Poor, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot; Tlahuac, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot;

Artist Statement
quot;I create photography based prints, books, and installations with history and societal systems as my theme. I use a visual language
of icons and gestures assembled into compound images to create narratives that address this issue. This language, which I have
gathered over many years, consists of photographs of iconography and inanimate representations from many historical and mun-
dane settings throughout the world, as well as imagery taken from mass media outlets. My goal is to achieve a uniquely personal
social commentary and analysis using my language of iconography as its voice.quot;
Lisdebertus a.k.a. Luis Delgado

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Nueva Luz

Lisdebertus a.k.a. Luis Delgado Lisdebertus a.k.a. Luis Delgado
Cold War, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot; Hiroshima Mon Amour, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot;

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Empire, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot; Black Ravens, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot;

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The Wheel, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot; Falcón Negro, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot;

19

Mein Kampf, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot; Inquisition, Unfathomable Humanity series, 2006. Archival pigment print, 20x24quot;

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Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig

Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig, Aftermath 6, Aftermath series, 2008. Archival pigment print, 13.5x21quot;

Artist Statement
quot;As 'collaborative/women/minority' artists, we actively explore sameness and difference
within the construct of identity, as well as the role and meaning of signifiers. We continually
work with self-portraiture addressing issues of gender, body, and representation within various
sociological contexts, engaged in the process of photography as performance.
(untitled #) is our first collaborative project, which is composed of several interrelated series,
including Aftermath and Pose Archive. We investigate the role and identity of the artist, and that of
Aftermath 14, Aftermath series, 2008. Archival pigment print, 13.5x21quot;
photography within the sociocultural context and the art world. We expose the rhetoric underlying
representational strategies and question their relationship to history and contemporary culture.
We invite the viewer to assess, not merely consume, the motifs recurring in contemporary art
and its presentation.quot;

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Commentary/Comentario

HIDDEN
HISTORIES
by Sharon Mizota

Although photography is often used to construct and support official histories, it is arguably more powerful as
a tool to expose hidden ones. Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange brought the harsh realities of the 1930's Dust
Bowl to the attention of the rest of the country. Diane Arbus's controversial pictures of people on the fringes of
society countered postwar images of America as a homogenous suburban paradise. And Martha Rosler's pow-
erful collages of fashionable magazines and imagery from the wars in Vietnam and Iraq expose the military
brutality abroad that buttresses the excesses of consumer capitalism at home.

Aunque la fotografía a menudo se utiliza para construir y apoyar historias oficiales, podría decirse que es aún
más poderosa cuando se usa para exponer las que se mantienen escondidas. Walker Evans y Dorothea Lange
revelaron la dura realidad del Dust Bowl1 al resto del país en los años 30. Las controvertidas fotografías con las
que Diane Arbus inmortalizó a individuos que vivían en los márgenes de la sociedad supusieron un contra-
punto a las imágenes de posguerra que pintaban a EE.UU. como un paraíso suburbano homogéneo. Y los
impactantes collages de Martha Rosler, con su contraste entre revistas de moda e imágenes de las guerras de
Vietnam e Iraq, sirvieron para exponer la brutalidad militar de EE.UU. en el extranjero, con la que se apuntala-
ban los excesos del capitalismo consumista en territorio nacional.

Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig, Pose 19, Pose Archive series, 2007. Archival pigment diptychs, 16.5x22quot;

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Commentary/Comentario Commentary/Comentario

While vastly different in form and approach, the works of Rania Si bien presentan grandes diferencias de forma y enfoque, las
Matar, Luis Delgado and the collaborative duo Tarrah Krajnak obras de Rania Matar, Luis Delgado y el dúo de colaboradoras
and Wilka Roig all continue this tradition of revealing little Tarrah Krajnak y Wilka Roig continúan esta tradición de revelar
known histories. In her images of Palestinian refugee camps in historias poco conocidas. En sus imágenes de campos de refugiados
Lebanon, Matar takes a traditional documentary approach, giv- palestinos, Matar elige un estilo documental tradicional para dar
ing voice to a people trapped in geopolitical limbo. Delgado's voz a un pueblo atrapado en un limbo geopolítico. En sus collages
photo collages juxtapose portraits of world leaders with images de fotos, Delgado yuxtapone retratos de líderes mundiales con
of bloodshed and torture to reveal the links between official imágenes de masacres y tortura para revelar los nexos entre el
power and iniquity. And Krajnak and Roig photograph their own poder oficial y la injusticia. Krajnak y Roig fotografían sus propios
bodies to interrogate tropes of femininity in art history, exposing cuerpos para interrogar los tropos de la femineidad en la historia
underlying visual vocabularies that are often taken for granted. del arte, exponiendo los vocabularios visuales subyacentes que
tan a menudo se dan por sentado sin más cuestionamiento.
While it's tempting to place these disparate strategies along a
spectrum of photographic practice—from documentary to pas- Aunque resulte tentador ubicar estas estrategias dispares en un
tiche to performance—it's more interesting to look at how they espectro de la práctica fotográfica (digamos, del documental al
overlap, advancing an expanded notion of history at the inter- pastiche a la representación), es más interesante fijarse en aquel-
section of reality, mass media and theatricality. lo que comparten, en cómo avanzan una noción de la historia en la
intersección de la realidad, los medios de comunicación y la
Rania Matar, who was born in Lebanon and now lives in Boston,
teatralidad.
works in a venerable photographic tradition exemplified by the
work of Robert Frank and Helen Levitt. Accordingly, her photo- Rania Matar, que nació en el Líbano y ahora vive en Boston, tra-
graphs are not only records of a time and place; they are a subtle baja dentro de una venerable tradición fotográfica cuyos máxi-
form of advocacy, bringing images of a quot;forgotten peoplequot; to mos ejemplos son las obras de Robert Frank y Helen Levitt. Por
light. In her black and white photos of Palestinian refugee camps, consiguiente, sus fotografías no son sólo registros de un tiempo y
she bears witness to substandard living conditions, but also to un lugar, sino que suponen formas sutiles de defensa, sacando a la
the poignant and joyful moments that occur in any community. luz imágenes de un “pueblo olvidado”. En sus fotos en blanco y
The honesty of her images jolts us out of the luxury of ignorance; negro de campos de refugiados palestinos, la artista es testigo de
their beauty invites us to empathize with her subjects. condiciones de vida infrahumanas, pero también de los momen-
tos alegres y conmovedores que se producen en cualquier comu-
Matar, who has documented this displaced population for over
nidad. La honestidad de sus imágenes nos despoja del lujo de la
four years, estimates that 360,000 people live under quot;temporaryquot;
ignorancia; su belleza nos invita a empatizar con sus sujetos.
refugee status in Lebanon, and have done so for more than 50
years. Denied integration into Lebanese social and economic life
Matar, que viene documentando a esta población desplazada
and without a homeland to return to, they are trapped in an his-
desde hace más de cuatro años, calcula que unas 360.000 per-
torical void. quot;My goal is to portray the humanity of the people, to
sonas viven en condición de refugiados “temporales” en el
show how they cope and survive in conditions most people
Líbano, y que así han vivido durante más de 50 años. Al
would find unacceptable,quot; she writes in an artist's statement.
habérseles negado la integración en la vida social y económica
libanesa y sin una patria a la que regresar, se encuentran atrapados
To this end, she imbues her images with a graphic, poetic quali-
en un vacío histórico. quot;Mi meta es retratar la humanidad de este
ty that finds graceful gestures and even humor in the most deso- Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig, Pose 2, Pose Archive series, 2007. Archival pigment diptychs, 22x16.5quot;
pueblo, mostrar cómo sobrellevan y sobreviven condiciones que
late settings. For example, the image Water Pipes, Bourj El
la mayoría de las personas considerarían inaceptables,quot; explica
Barajneh Refugee Camp depicts an upward sweep of criss-crossing
Matar en su declaración artística.
pipes that frames a woman and two children on a crumbling
stoop. The black pipes dominate the image with a slightly suggests the conflicted environment that awaits the child, but is realidad diferente. La foto alude a una brecha generacional que se
Con ese fin, la artista imbuye sus imágenes de una cualidad grá-
menacing air of containment, but they also evoke Cartier- also subtly humorous: the baby's innocent, half-naked presence produce en todas las comunidades, pero también inyecta miste-
fica, poética, que encuentra gestos elegantes e incluso humor en
Bresson's dramatic images of Paris ironwork. contrasts sharply with the public face of Palestinian struggle. Yet rio y un aire de transcendencia a la lúgubre atmósfera de los cam-
las situaciones más desoladoras. Por ejemplo, la fotografía
this disparity is also hopeful—a portrait of survival. pos de refugiados.
This eye for the poetic takes a mystical turn in Ghost Girl, Bourj El Tuberías, Campo de refugiados Bourj El Barajneh reproduce un entra-
Barajneh Refugee Camp. An elderly woman and man sit chatting Juxtaposition is the central strategy in Mexican American artist También se aúnan elementos dispares en Bebé y Arafat, Campo de
mado de tuberías que hacen de marco a una mujer y dos niños
on either side of a narrow passage, apparently oblivious to a Luis Delgado's Unfathomable Humanity. Although some of the refugiados Chatila, fotografía en la que un niño, desde su cargador
sentados en unos escalones decrépitos. Las negras tuberías dom-
young girl who walks between them. While the old couple is images in the series' fourteen digital collages come from the San para bebés, alza la vista hacia un tendedero y dos carteles del
inan la imagen con un aire ligeramente amenazante de con-
sharply in focus, the girl is a blur of motion, a haunting, immaterial Francisco-based photographer's own archive, most were culled líder palestino Yasser Arafat (que, en ese momento, estaba bajo
tención pero también evocan las dramáticas imágenes de herra-
presence that somehow occupies a different reality. The photo from the Internet. Less interested in their provenance than their arresto domiciliario en Ramallah). Implícita está la referencia al
jes parisinos de Cartier-Bresson.
conveys a generational gap that occurs in every community, but symbolic value, Delgado arranges them in cruciform grids, com- entorno conflictivo que aguarda al niño, pero la imagen también
Este ojo para lo poético da un giro hacia lo místico en Niña fan-
it also injects mystery and an air of transcendence into the bleak bining photographs, illustrations and other found imagery to desprende un humor sutil: la presencia inocente, medio desnuda
tasma, Campo de refugiados Bourj El Barajneh. Dos ancianos, un
atmosphere of the camps. expose little known, sometimes shocking connections between del bebé ofrece un agudo contraste con la cara pública de la lucha
hombre y una mujer, charlan sentados, uno a cada lado de un
instances of violence, official histories and the upper echelons of palestina. Sin embargo, esta disparidad también conlleva esper-
Disparate elements also come together in Baby and Arafat Posters, paso estrecho, aparentemente sin percatarse de la niña que pasa
political power. anza: un retrato de la supervivencia.
Shatila Refugee Camp in which a child in an infant carrier gazes up caminando entre ellos. Mientras que la pareja de ancianos está
at a laundry line and two posters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat The result is a visual survey of the many forms and guises of cru- La yuxtaposición es la estrategia central en Unfathomable Humanity
perfectamente enfocada, la niña es una nebulosa en movimiento,
(who was under house arrest in Ramallah at the time). The image elty. Tlahuac combines depictions of ancient Aztec and Amazon (Humanidad inconmensurable), del artista mexicano-americano
una presencia inmaterial, inquietante, que parece ocupar una

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Commentary/Comentario Commentary/Comentario

ritual sacrifice with acts of Spanish colonial torture and mob vio- Luis Delgado, residente en San Francisco. Aunque algunas de visual storytelling in which images serve double duty, at once colonial europea, puede olvidársenos que también ellos fueron
lence in modern-day Mexico. While we generally think of the las imágenes que forman esta serie, compuesta de catorce specific and metaphorical. responsables de su propio estilo de sufrimiento humano.
indigenous peoples of the Americas as victims of European colo- collages digitales, pertenecen al archivo del artista, la mayoría
One of the most salient examples of this technique is Cold War, Incluso otros collages menos explícitos transmiten una sensación
nial brutality, we forget that they were also responsible for their fueron sacadas del Internet. A Delgado no le interesa tanto su
in which the cruciform format takes on symbolic meaning. de aprensión y amenaza. En Falcón Negro, a un lado vemos fotos
own brand of human suffering. procedencia como su valor simbólico; las organiza siguiendo un
Centered at the top of the image is the head of the dead Che de muchachas sonrientes rodeando un carrito de bebé negro y
diseño cruciforme, combinando fotografías, ilustraciones y otras
Even less explicit works still convey a sense of foreboding and Guevara, at the bottom a battered sculpture of feet. The cruci- vacío, mientras que al otro lado se agrupan retratos de militares
imágenes encontradas con el fin de exponer aquello de lo que
menace. On one side of Falcón Negro, photos of smiling young fixion reference is obvious, but where Christ's body would be is flanqueando un misterioso automóvil negro. No es necesario
poco se sabe, las conexiones, a veces impresionantes, estremece-
women surround an empty black baby carriage. On the other, an image of a soldier who has just executed a man with a pistol. saber que la imagen hace referencia a la Guerra Sucia que tuvo
doras, entre la violencia, las historias oficiales y los más altos
portraits of military men flank a mysterious black car. One needn't This image in turn is part of a frieze of portraits of powerful men lugar en Argentina en los años 70 (en la que “desaparecieron”
escalafones del poder político.
know that the image refers to Argentina's quot;Dirty Warquot; of the from both sides of the ideological divide: Fidel Castro, Lyndon B. decenas de miles de personas sospechosas de ser comunistas)
1970s—in which tens of thousands of suspected Communists El resultado es un resumen visual de las muchas formas y guisas de Johnson, Leonid Brezhnev, Henry Kissinger. Eschewing clear para saber que los sujetos son las víctimas y verdugos de un terrible
were quot;disappearedquot;—to know that the subjects are the victims la crueldad. Tlahuac combina representaciones de los antiguos political allegiances, Delgado instead offers up a network of sac- secreto. Cualquier duda referente al tono siniestro de la historia
and perpetrators of some nasty secret. Any doubts as to the rituales de sacrificio aztecas y amazónicos con actos de tortura de rifice and culpability. se aclara con la imagen de una mujer en peligro: una estatua de
story's sinister tone are resolved by an image of a woman in peril: la colonización española y actos de violencia mafiosa en el México una santa cayendo desde el cielo en el panel central. Aquí y a
With its distinct visual alchemy, Unfathomable Humanity removes
a statue of a female saint falling through the sky in the center panel. contemporáneo. Mientras que solemos tener presente que los pueb- través de la serie, Delgado emplea un sofisticado estilo de nar-
its source images from their original contexts and recombines
Here and throughout the series, Delgado employs sophisticated los indígenas de las Américas fueron víctimas de la brutalidad ración visual en el que las imágenes sirven una doble función,
them to tell different stories, outline hidden connections, and
específica y metafórica al mismo tiempo.
make scandalous accusations. Although the juxtapositions are
abrupt, they deal a leveling blow to conventional hierarchies and Uno de los más claros ejemplos de esta técnica es Cold War (Guerra
cut through the justifications that lull us into accepting brutality Fría), donde el formato cruciforme adopta un significado simbóli-
as a necessary part of life. co. Vemos la cabeza del difunto Che Guevara centrada en la parte
superior de la imagen y, en la parte inferior, una escultura mal-
The self-described quot;collaborative/women/minorityquot; artists Tarrah
trecha de unos pies. La referencia a la crucifixión es obvia, pero
Krajnak and Wilka Roig question traditional modes of represen-
donde normalmente se encuentra el cuerpo de Cristo encontramos
tation by turning the camera on themselves. In the Pose Archive
una imagen de un soldado que acaba de ser ejecutado por un hom-
series, the artists took turns photographing each other in full body
bre con una pistola. Esta imagen, a su vez, es parte de un friso de
unitards, striking poses from famous art historical images. These
retratos de figuras del poder de ambos lados de la línea divisoria
photos were presented in pairs, with each artist in the same stance,
ideológica: Fidel Castro, Lyndon B. Johnson, Leonid Brezhnev,
creating a doubling effect that both underscored the familiarity of
Henry Kissinger. Absteniéndose de claras alianzas políticas,
their positions and revealed subtle differences in posture and body
Delgado prefiere ofrecer una red de sacrificio y culpabilidad.
type. In their latest series, the pair appears together in images
taken (using a timer or shutter release cable) inside the Tang Con su distintiva alquimia visual, Unfathomable Humanity saca las
Museum at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. If Pose imágenes de sus contextos originales y las combina de forma que
Archive is a catalog of archetypal images that strips art history down cuenten diferentes historias, tracen conexiones escondidas y
to its chauvinist core, Aftermath sets its sights on the museum, hagan acusaciones escandalosas. Aunque las yuxtaposiciones
comparing the display of art with the display of female bodies. son abruptas, asestan un golpe nivelador a las jerarquías conven-
cionales y desarticulan las justificaciones en las que nos apoyamos
In most of the images, this comparison takes a quite literal form.
para aceptar la brutalidad como parte necesaria de la vida.
Aftermath 2 depicts Krajnak and Roig in white unitards, leaning
against the wall of a storage room at the same angle as the paint- Tarrah Krajnak y Wilka Roig, quienes se describen como artistas
ings around them. The implication of course is that female bod- “colaboradoras/mujeres/minoríasquot;, cuestionan los modos de
ies are treated as aesthetic objects, to be casually put away when representación tradicionales mediante la acción de ponerse frente
not on display. But the physical presence of the artists' bodies— al objetivo de su cámara. En la serie Pose Archive, estas artistas se
neither fully human nor fully inanimate—also disrupts the neu- fueron turnando fotografiándose la una a la otra en unitardos de
trality of the space. Krajnak and Roig overstate the objectification cuerpo completo, posando al estilo de famosas imágenes de la
of the female form in order to critique it, but their intervention is historia del arte. Estas fotos se presentaron en pares, con cada
also an intrusion, forcing us to confront the realities of gendered artista en la misma postura, creando un doble efecto que sub-
and racialized bodies in rooms that are supposedly neutral rayaba la familiaridad de sus posiciones al tiempo que revelaba
spaces for categorization and contemplation. las diferencias sutiles entre cada postura y tipo de cuerpo. En su
más reciente serie, las dos aparecen juntas en imágenes tomadas
This confrontational strategy is reminiscent of the work of Tino
(usando un temporizador o un cable disparador) dentro del Tang
Sehgal, known for orchestrating dance-like performances within
Museum del Skidmore College en Saratoga Springs, NY. Si Pose
spaces usually reserved for the display of art objects. Similarly, in
Archive es un catálogo de imágenes arquetípicas que desmonta la
Aftermath 13 Krajnak and Roig appear among other works in a
historia del arte hasta exponer su núcleo machista, Aftermath
museum gallery as a kind of minimalist floor sculpture, their prone
pone la mira en el museo, comparando la exposición de obra
bodies crossed to form a lumpy quot;X.quot; The image presents the
artística con la exposición del cuerpo femenino.
female body as the very material of art, and leads to speculation
as to how such a quot;workquot; would be received in person. However, En la mayoría de las imágenes, esta comparación toma un cariz
unlike Sehgal, whose performances are never documented, bastante literal. En Aftermath 2 aparecen Krajnak y Roig en unitardos
Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig, Pose 6, Pose Archive series, 2007. Archival pigment diptychs, 22x16.5quot;

34 35
Nueva Luz Nueva Luz

Commentary/Comentario Contributors

and who confronts viewers directly with a work of art that also blancos, apoyadas en la pared de un cuarto de almacenaje en el Rania Matar was born and raised in Lebanon and moved to the U.S. in 1984. Originally trained as an
happens to be a person, Krajnak and Roig are primarily interested mismo ángulo que los cuadros que las rodean. El mensaje implíc- architect at the American University of Beirut and Cornell University, she studied photography at the
in creating images. Their physical interventions in the public and ito, por supuesto, es que los cuerpos de mujer son tratados como New England School of Photography and the Maine Photographic Workshops. Her work has been
private spaces of the museum are performances for the camera objetos estéticos, que se pueden almacenar sin más cuando no shown at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Abilene TX; Koppelman Gallery in Medford, the Griffin
rather than for live audiences. están expuestos al público. Pero la presencia física de los cuerpos Museum of Photography in Winchester, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in Boston, MA; Gallery
de las artistas (sin ser completamente humana ni completamente Farmani in Los Angeles, CA, among others. In 2007 she received an artist grant from the Massachusetts
In this sense the work contains two levels of objectification: the

© Lara Abouhamad
inanimada) también perturba la neutralidad del espacio. Krajnak Cultural Council, first prize at the New England Photographers Biennial and first prize in Women in
artists' act of casting themselves as art objects and the act of pho-
y Roig exageran la objetificación de la forma femenina con el fin Photography International. In 2008 she was selected as one of the Top 100 Distinguished Women
tographing those performances to create yet another art object.
de hacer una crítica, pero su intervención también supone una Photographers by Women in Photography International and is a finalist for the 2008 James and Audrey
As such, the series calls attention not only to the stultifying
intrusión, forzándonos a enfrentar las realidades del cuerpo Foster award at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Matar’s images are part of the collections
mechanisms of museum display and archiving, but to the objec-
condicionado por su género y su raza en ambientes que se supone at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Portland Art Museum, and the De Cordova Museum.
tifying gaze of the camera itself that also seeks to document and
RANIA MATAR
son neutrales y dedicados a la categorización y contemplación. She lives in Brookline, MA. www.raniamatar.com
preserve. Ironically, these documents in turn become items to be
displayed, cataloged and stored—intruders, like Krajnak and Esta estrategia confrontativa nos recuerda a la obra de Tino
Roig, in the system they critique. Sehgal, conocido por coreografiar performances en espacios
Lisdebertus a.k.a. Luis Delgado received a B.F.A. from the University of the Americas in Puebla,
normalmente reservados para la exposición de objetos de arte.
While the practices of Matar, Delgado, and Krajnak and Roig all Mexico and attended the San Francisco Art Institute in CA. His work has been shown at the Odense
De forma similar, en Aftermath 13 aparecen Krajnak y Roig tendidas
hinge on photography's documentary power, they also highlight Foto Triennial in Denmark; a.Muse Gallery, and SF Camerawork, in San Francisco, CA; Blue Sky
entre otras obras en una galería de un museo, como si fueran una
its malleability, employing overlapping strategies of poetic Gallery in Portland, OR; Benham Gallery in Seattle, WA; Art Museum of the Americas in Washington,
escultura minimalista, sus cuerpos tumbados uno sobre el otro
license, juxtaposition and performance to mine the interstices and DC; FotoFest in Houston, TX; and Centro Cultural Recoleta in Buenos Aires, Argentina, among others.
formando una cruz. La imagen presenta el cuerpo femenino
undercurrents of history. Acknowledging that neutrality and objec- Delgado has received awards from the Potrero Nuevo Fund in 2007, Peter S. Reed Foundation and the
como el propio material artístico, y conduce a conjeturas sobre
tivity are fallacies, they assert that bringing buried stories to MexAm Foundation. His work is included in many private and public collections, including the San
cómo se recibiría tal “obra” en persona. Pero al contrario que

© Henrik Kam
light is not just a matter of revising existing accounts: It requires Francisco Museum of Fine Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Lehigh University Art Galleries,
Sehgal, cuyas performances nunca se documentaban y quien
nothing less than a restructuring of history itself. the Bibliothèque National de Paris in France, Centro de la Imagen in Mexico, and Museet for Fotokunst
confrontaba al público directamente con una obra de arte que
in Denmark. Originally from Mexico, Delgado now lives in San Francisco, CA. www.delgadofoto.com
también era una persona, Krajnak y Roig se centran principal-
mente en la creación de imágenes. Sus intervenciones físicas en
LUIS DELGADO
espacios públicos y privados del museo son performances para la
cámara, no para un público en vivo.

En ese sentido, su obra contiene dos niveles de objetificación: la Tarrah Krajnak was born in Lima, Peru. Adopted by a Czeck-American family, she grew up in Ohio.
acción por parte de las artistas de asignarse el papel de objetos In 2004, Tarrah received an M.F.A in Photography from the University of Notre Dame, and she is now
artísticos y la acción de fotografiar esas representaciones para based in Winooski, Vermont, where she teaches Photography in the Art Department at the University
crear otro objeto artístico. De esta forma, la serie resalta no sólo

© Tarrah Krajnak & Wilka Roig
of Vermont, Burlington. Wilka Roig was born and raised in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. She moved to
los mecanismos atrofiantes con que los museos exponen y Ithaca, New York in 1995 and received her M.F.A in Photography from Cornell University in 2005. Wilka
archivan, sino también la mirada objetificante de la cámara que still lives in Ithaca, where she teaches Photography in the Department of Art at Cornell University.
también busca documentar y conservar. Irónicamente, estos As a collaborative, their projects have been shown at the Philoctetes Center in New York, NY; the
documentos a su vez pasan a convertirse en objetos a exponer, National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; SF Camerawork in San Francisco, CA;
catalogar, almacenar: intrusos, como Krajnak y Roig, en el among others. They have received grants from the Vermont Committee of the National Museum and
sistema que critican. Cornell Council for the Arts, and were part of the Center for Photography at Woodstock's Artist in
Residence program in 2008. www.tarrahwilka.com
Mientras que las prácticas de Matar, Delgado y Krajnak y Roig
TARRAH KRAJNAK &
se basan en el poder documental de la fotografía, también
WILKA ROIG
resaltan su maleabilidad, empleando estrategias en común, como
la licencia poética, la yuxtaposición y la representación, con el fin
de extraer lo que se esconde en los huecos y corrientes subter- Sharon Mizota is a writer and art critic based in Los Angeles, CA. She is a co-author of Fresh Talk/Daring
ráneas de la historia. Al reconocer que la neutralidad y la obje- Gazes: Conversations on Asian American Art (University of California Press, 2003) and a regular con-
tividad son falacias, afirman que el desenterrar las historias tributor to the Los Angeles Times, Artforum.com, Art on Paper, and ARTnews. Mizota is a recipient of the
escondidas no es sólo cuestión de revisar cuentas existentes: 2007 Arts Writers Grant from Creative Capital/The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
requiere, como mínimo, la restructuración de la historia. www.sharonmizota.com

© Don Adams
SHARON MIZOTA
1
Período de grandes sequías y tormentas de polvo durante los años 30 en las
regiones del sur de EE.UU.

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