A snap-shot portrait of Buenos Aires, created through street-art-interventions documented through time-lapse in collaboration with Dani and the random popluation of passersby in El Retiro, El Obelisque and La Boca.
Project Proposal:
To create a collaborative drawing between Dani and myself, in the streets of Buenos Aires, at various locations chosen as representing various characteristics of the city. To document the scene where we would do the drawing using time-lapse photography, and to potentially engage the environment using collage, or the community by inviting passersby to respond to questions or interact with the drawing.
Process:
In getting out onto the streets the interaction with the passersby became the overwhelming focus and enjoyment of the Project, and we grew to think of the drawing itself less as an art object than a remembrance of the process, a left-over ´souvenir´almost, and were very loose in our mark-making.
The three scenes, in order of shooting, and although they were shot on different days it just so happened that they follow the progression of the day too:
El Retiro, morning: chosen for being a spot where there is a blatant juxtaposition between rich and poor. Dani had spoken about the wall that is visible in the passageway front onto screen in this video, a wall divinding the shanty town behind it from the luxurious buildings surounding the bus station. Dani tells me this point is often stacked with rubbish. The spot is fascinating as well for the vehicle and foot traffic passing, with the various street vendors selling all sorts, from coffee and diferente foods, to electrical goods, or jewellry and watches like the Sudanese bloke Amir who I drew into our image and stopped to chat to. Dani had mentioned that there were many Sudanese immigrants in the city, and sure enough Amir told me he had emigrated her for work, along with a cousin and friends, and how now been living here 2 years.
On the main road at the entrance to the bus station we perched the camera at the edge of a pavement and Dani began the drawing process, life-drawing from the street vendor whose stall our card was propped by, sketching half of his face onto the card, then inviting another passerby to hold it up to half of his face for the camera. I took a turn after that and began to draw the passageway and wall we´d chosen the spot for, which was when met Amir.
El Obelisque, late afternoon: chosen for being the oficial centre of the city and a landmark meeting-point. In the centre of the affluent and business sector of Buenos Aires.
La Boca, evening: chosen for its fileteado hand-painted signs and reputation as the art and music hub of the city by day but said to be rough, although we found it a brilliatn neighbourhood full of warm welcoming individuals.
(to be continued...)
Remembrance of the process 2: Video of time-lapse with lyrics spoken by Dani, from the famous Argentinian song...
Remebrance of the process 1: the remaining collage-drawing.
The original of the song "La Casa Desaparecida" by Fito Paez that Dani recorded for our video.
Thanks to Dani for being such a great person to collaborate with on the streets, mi hermanita loca-linda!
Big love
:-)
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