Irina Kulik will demonstrate how poetics and politics can intertwine, using as her example the multilayered projects of Francis Alÿs and the duo Allora & Calzadilla.
Francis Alÿs (b. 1959) is a Belgian artist who lives in Mexico. A professional architect, in the past three decades he has worked on performative projects, from individual walks to large-scale actions involving dozens of people. His pieces often reveal the absurdity of physical labor in the age of post-capitalism and the futility of political protest. He creates site-specific and participatory projects across the globe, explores cities in the mode of a Guy Debordian flâneur, and comments with subtle irony on today’s art community and market. His actions are usually documented via photographs, video, film, sketches and drawings, and various objects. Alÿs has participated in the Venice Biennale and Documenta and in exhibitions at major international museums.
Allora & Calzadilla is the duo Jennifer Allora (b. 1974) and Guillermoi Calzadilla (b. 1971), who have been working together since the mid-1990s. Their practice employs a variety of media and technologies, including engaging professional and amateur performers. In 2011, the project Gloria was shown in the U.S. Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale to great critical acclaim. It comprised several installations and symbolically critiqued American militarism through a series of images borrowed from mass culture and professional sport. The duo also took part in the 56th Venice Biennale and Documenta 13, where they exhibited works based around the exploration of music and sound archeology, another popular theme in their practice. Allora & Calzadilla live and work in Puerto Rico.
