Reseñas
Bienal del Chaco 2012: International Sculpture Festival. Resistencia, Argentina
The Bienal del Chaco 2012, is an international Sculpture Biennial in Resistencia, Argentina, and a synthesis of art in public, sculpture festival and urban art gallery and museum. The city of Resistencia, founded in 1878, is the capital city of Chaco Province, in the North of the Argentine Republic. It is known as The City of Sculptures, with over 554 (at the last count) artworks in open public places. The first urban monuments were erected in 1920, and in 1998 UNESCO declared Resistencia to be part of the ‘Cultural Heritage of Humanity’. The Bienal del Chaco is notable as a long term initiative of sculptor Fabriciano Gomez, and is directed by Mimo Eidman of the Fundación Urunday. The exceptional importance of the sculpture in Resistancia is the extent of community involvement, where works are not simply placed through a political and cultural authority but are debated, invited, purchased, adopted and protected by the people of Resistencia. In the otherwise anonymous grid of Spanish colonial urban planning art is visible everywhere, for everybody as an everyday experience. While there are many challenges involved in creating sculpture in public competition the festival animates the city, and the ultimate significance of the art works is the respect and pride in the sculpture as an expression of identity of the city.
The Bienal del Chaco 2012 took place from 21-28 July 2012 with the central focus of the International Sculpture Contest, an invitation to twelve international artists to carve an original sculpture outdoors working to the theme in 2012 of La Profecia (The Prophecy). The competition takes place in a dedicated permanent sculptural arena, with galleries, exhibitions, workshops and forums – performing before thousands of spectators. The resulting works will eventually be placed in open spaces in the city to increase its cultural heritage.
René Negrin Méndez – Cuba Mi Profecia / My Prophecy
The purpose of my work is to warn about the need of human redemption, releasing our heart (symbol of purity and human values), which has been locked up due to the development of the civilization, and this is an important cause of the reality perception crisis.