Interviews from Chile

The following is a compilation of interviews with artists, scholars, curators, and archivists conducted in late 2016 and late 2019. The aim of these conversations is to give both an introduction to topics on photography and the personal perspective of the interviewee, which is why the videos are only modestly edited and broader in scope. I want to thank all participants for their time and welcoming me to their studios and offices.

The interviewees are: Renato Ordenes San Martín, Hernán Rodríguez Villegas, Mario Fonseca Velasco, Zaida González Ríos, Sebastián Calfuqueo Aliste, Sergio Parra, Gonzalo Leiva Quijada, Carla Franceschini Fuenzalida, Montserrat Rojas Corradi, Javier Godoy, José Pablo Concha Lagos, Sebastián Gherrë, Jack Ceitelis, Nicholas Jackson, Sebastian Mejia, Cristián Maturana, Carlos Silva Troncoso.

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Renato Ordenes San Martín is a visual artist based in Valparaíso, Chile. His work comprises drawings, installations, and community-based activities. In this interview, Renato speaks about art education and its role in artistic practice as well as general education in Chile. Moreover, he shares his thoughts about the importance of the local context of art production and recaps the current state of WORM, an artist run space he cofounded in 2012 and currently runs with Sebastián Gil.

00:04 WHAT CHILEAN ARTISTS INFLUENCE YOUR WORK?

03:15 HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO GO TO ART SCHOOL?

05:30 HOW DOES TEACHING ART AND MAKING ART INFLUENCE EACH OTHER?

09:40 IS ART HISTORY CAPABLE OF REFLECTING THE PRACTICE OF AN ARTIST?

14:45 IS ART TEACHING ALSO A FORM OF ART?

18:15 HOW DO YOU SEE THE ACADEMIZATION OF ART PRACTICE?

28:30 HOW DO YOU WORK WITH COMMUNITIES?

35:15 HOW DO HIGHLY SKILLED ART OBJECTS AND READY-MADES GO TOGETHER IN YOUR WORK?

40:35 WHAT PLACE DOES DRAWING HAVE IN YOUR PRACTICE?

45:05 WHAT DOES „THINKING FROM HERE“ MEAN TO YOU?

51:40 HOW DOES A CHANGE OF PLACE CHANGE ART?

54:50 HOW DOES A CHANGE OF LOCATION CHANGE AN EXISTING ART OBJECT?

56:05 WHAT IS THE SPACE „WORM“ TODAY?

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Hernán Rodríguez is the director of the Museo Andino in the south of Santiago de Chile. Between 1976 and 1992 he was director of the Museo Histórico Nacional, during which he oversaw its move to the current building at Plaza de Armas and the creation of several new collection areas. In this process, he founded the photographic archive of the museum and laid the foundations for the collection, care, research, and not least appreciation of photography in Chile. In this interview, he talks about the beginnings of the archive, his personal interest in photography, and the relation of Chile with its neighbors.

00:04 HOW WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE AT THE MUSEO HISTÓRICO NACIONAL FOUNDED?

08:15 WHAT WERE THE SELECTION CRITERIA FOR ACQUIRING NEW PHOTOGRAPHS?

08:55 HOW DID PHOTOGRAPHY SERVE THE MISSION OF THE MUSEO HISTÓRICO?

10:20 WAS THERE A COLLABORATION WITH OTHER LATIN AMERICAN HISTORIANS?

11:15 HOW DID YOU START YOUR INVESTIGATION ON CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHERS?

15:50 WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF CHOOSING WHICH PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE TWO PUBLICATIONS WITH CENFOTO?

16:20 IS THERE A CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHY?

18:40 WHAT IS THE RELATION TO OTHER LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES?

19:22 WHAT IS THE RELATION OF REGIONS WITHIN CHILE?

20:15 HOW DID GERMAN IMMIGRATION INFLUENCE THIS DEVELOPMENT?

21:05 WHICH AREAS IN CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHY MERIT MORE ATTENTION?

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Mario Fonseca (1948) is an artist, teacher, and critic currently based in Temuco, Chile. In 2017, the Museo de Artes Visuales in Santiago (MAVI) presented a retrospective of his work. In 2019, I translated two of his most read texts on the history of photography in Chile, firstly published in 1986 and 2006 respectively. In this interview, he talks about the current state of photography in Chile, his own practice, especially in regards to new media, and the implications of working from Latin America.

00:05  YOU WROTE TWO TEXTS ON THE STATE OF CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHY. WILL THERE BE A THIRD?

04:35 HOW DOES THE CURRENT STATE OF PHOTOGRAPHY RELATE TO ART EDUCATION?

05:56 WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PLANS OF A MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

10:10  WHAT IS YOUR APPROACH TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY AND NEW MEDIA?

27:24 WHAT ARE YOUR CRITERIA IN YOUR CLASSES ON THE HISTORY OF (CHILEAN) PHOTOGRAPHY?

36:11 WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THESE HISTORY CLASSES, ALSO IN TERMS OF COLLECTIONISM?

39:00 WHAT IS LATIN AMERICA’S PERSPECTIVE ON PHOTOGRAPHY?

50:30 WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES OF THE REGIONS WITHIN CHILE?

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Zaida González Ríos is a Chilean photographer based in Santiago. She has won several national prizes, such as the award for emerging photographers, the Premio Rodrigo Rojas de Negri, and has exhibited multiple times in Europe. In this interview she speaks about the becoming of her style, the influence of current events in her work, and photography as the base medium in her practice.

00:04 YOUR STYLE IS UNIQUE IN CHILE, WHAT IS ITS BASIS AND HOW DID IT DEVELOP?

01:30 HOW DO YOU WEAVE CURRENT EVENTS INTO YOUR WORK?

02:20 HOW DOES PHOTOGRAPHY TRANSLATE THESE ISSUES INTO YOUR WORKS?

03:20 WHAT IS YOUR RELATION TO THE NON-NORMATIVE SUBJECTS AND PEOPLE YOU DEPICT AND CHILEAN SOCIETY?

04:05 DOES YOUR WORK LEND ITSELF EASILY TO WESTERN INTERPRETATION OR IS IT DISTINCTLY LATIN AMERICAN?

06:55 WHAT KIND OF TEXTUAL INTERPRETATION DO YOU THINK WORKS BEST FOR YOUR WORKS?

08:35 WHAT IS THE IDEAL FORMAT FOR YOUR WORKS?

09:25 CAN YOUR SERIES „TAROT TRANS“ BE READ LIKE A TAROT?

11:05 YOUR ARTWORKS ARE MORE OBJECTS THAN PHOTOGRAPHS, BUT WHAT ROLE PLAYS PHOTOGRAPHY IN THEM?

12:35 THE OBJECTS, ESPECIALLY THEIR PROPS, ARE CLEARLY DISTINGUISHABLE IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS. IS THIS AN EXPLICIT STYLISTIC CHOICE?

13:25 YOU PREFER WORKING SOLO, WHAT IS THE DISADVANTAGE OF WORKING IN COLLECTIVES?

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Seba Calfuqueo is an artist of Mapuche descent living in Santiago. They work from a distinctly feminist perspective on political issues, mainly revolving around equal civil rights and acceptance of the Mapuche people in Chilean society. In this interview, they talk about their conception of a pluralistic identity and the importance of art in society.

00:04 WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A MAPUCHE, CHILEAN, LATIN AMERICAN, OR MORE BROADLY, CONTEMPORARY ARTIST?

01:05 HOW MUCH CONTEXT AROUND YOUR INDIGENOUS HERITAGE DO YOU (HAVE TO) PROVIDE?

03:00 HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THE „SHAMANISM“ FOUND IN SOME CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS ARTWORKS?

04:50 YOU GREW UP IN THE METROPOLIS SANTIAGO, HOW DOES THAT IMPACT YOUR MAPUCHE IDENTITY?

06:55 YOU HAVE OFTEN BEEN LABELED AS GAY AND MAPUCHE. WHAT DO THESE LABELS MEAN FOR YOU?

10:02 THE LABEL GAY WOULD SEEMINGLY GIVE YOU A CONNECTION AND AN ENTRY POINT TO INTERNATIONAL ART CIRCLES. WHY DO YOU REJECT THIS LABEL?

12:50 WHAT’S DIFFERENT / BETTER WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF FEMINISM?

13:55 DO YOU ADAPT YOUR WORK FOR INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS?

17:45 YOUR WORKS OFTEN ADDRESS A SPECIFIC PROBLEM. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK PROCESS?

19:55 HOW DID YOU START WORKING WITH PHOTOGRAPHY?

23:35 HOW DOES PHOTOGRAPHY HELP YOU EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS?

25:05 YOU WORK WITH YOUR OWN BIOGRAPHY BUT YOU ALSO USE YOUR BODY AS A CANVAS FOR BIGGER ISSUES IN SOCIETY. HOW DO YOU BRIDGE THE PERSONAL AND THE GENERAL?

28:35 HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE THE YOUNG GENERATION OF ARTISTS AND THEIR SHARE IN SOCIETY?

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Sergio Parra is co-founder of Metales Pesados, a bookstore, publishing house, and art gallery. A poet under Pinochet’s dictatorship, he now publishes Latin American literature and art theory, having created one of Chile’s most important hubs for intellectual thought. In this interview, he talks about artists’ self-conception, cultural and political elites, the transition phase of the 1990s, the Internet, and feminism.

00:04 WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION TO FOUND YOUR HIGHLY SPECIALIZED BOOK STORE AND PUBLISHING HOUSE, METALES PESADOS?

01:36 IN ADDITION, YOU FOUNDED AN ART GALLERY. HOW ARE THE TWO SPACES CONNECTED?

06:50 HOW ARE ARTISTS CONNECTED WITHIN THE ART COMMUNITY IN LATIN AMERICA, AND TO WHICH EXTENT DOES THIS DEPEND ON THE ART MARKET?

12:08 IS ART IN CHILE MOSTLY AN ELEMENT OF ELITE CULTURE?

16:42 HOW DO YOU DEFINE ELITE AND WHAT TYPES OF ELITE ARE THERE?

20:09 DO CONTEMPORARY ARTISTS IDENTIFY OR BREAK WITH CHILE’S ARTISTIC TRADITION?

23:21 DO POLITICS ALWAYS PLAY A ROLE IN ART?

27:16 IN THE 1980S, ARTISTS RESISTED AGAINST THE DICTATORSHIP. WHAT CHALLENGES DO WE FACE TODAY?

31:20 WHAT IS THE STATE OF CHILEAN ART CRITICISM AND HAS IT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS?

33:54 DID THE INTERNET CHANGE ANYTHING?

35:14 HOW WERE ARTISTS ABLE TO CONCEIVE THEIR OWN ARTISTIC LANGUAGE DURING THE CENSORSHIP OF THE MILITARY REGIME?

38:06 WHAT CHANGED FOR THE GENERATION OF ARTISTS THAT CAME OF AGE DURING THE DICTATORSHIP?

40:20 WHAT IS YOUR OUTLOOK ON ARTISTIC AND POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN CHILE?

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Gonzalo Leiva Quijada is professor at the Institute of Aesthetics at the Pontifical University of Chile in Santiago. His book on the photographers of AFI under the dictatorship and several other monographs contributed greatly to the historiography of Chilean photography. In this interview, he talks about key movements, writing history for the very first time, his recent exhibition on Chilean identity portrayed by photography, and proposes ways to incorporate ancient culture into modern histories of Latin America.

00:04 WHAT PHASES IN THE HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHILE CAN WE DISTINGUISH?

05:00 IS IT POSSIBLE TO WRITE A GRAND HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHILE, AS HAS BEEN THE CASE FOR OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE 20TH CENTURY?

07:19 HOW DOES PHOTOGRAPHY’S IMPORTANCE FOR THE HISTORY OF CHILE INFLUENCE YOUR WORK?

08:10 WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY ARRIVED IN CHILE IN 1840, THERE WAS NO PROPER CHILEAN TRADITION OF VISUAL REPRESENTATION. IS THERE ONE TODAY?

09:39 HOW DO YOU OBSERVE THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY TODAY?

11:23 WHAT ARE THE KEY MOMENTS AND MOVEMENTS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHILE?

15:01 ARE WOMEN INCLUDED IN THIS HISTORY?

18:09 “DOCUMENT” AND “ARCHIVE” ARE IMPORTANT KEYWORDS IN THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHY. WHAT IS THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR THIS AND HOW DO THEY RELATE TO ART?

21:23 WHICH PHOTOGRAPHERS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED, AND WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PROJECTS?

23:26 HOW DOES HISTORIOGRAPHY IN CHILE DIFFER FROM THAT IN OTHER LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES?

24:58 WHAT NEEDS STILL TO BE DONE IN HISTORIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM?

26:19 HOW DID YOU DEVELOP YOUR 2016 EXHIBITION “ÁLBUM DE CHILE”?

29:06 EXHIBITIONS AND BOOKS EMPHASIZE THE NEED TO DESCRIBE THE IDENTITY OF CHILE. IS CHILEAN IDENTITY DEFINABLE AT ALL?

31:13 HOW CAN PRECOLOMBINE HISTORY AND ART BE INCLUDED IN TODAY’S HISTORIES OF CHILE?

34:37 HOW WOULD THAT BE POSSIBLE ON THE SCALE OF WHOLE LATIN AMERICA?

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Carla Franceschini is Head of the Photographic Archive at the National History Museum (MHN) in Santiago de Chile. Before, she occupied the same position at the National Library. In this interview, she talks about photographic archives in Chile, her projects at the MHN, and the history of collecting photographs in Chile.

00:04 WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVE AT THE MUSEO HISTÓRICO NACIONAL, AND WHAT IS ITS ROLE WITHIN THE MUSEUM?

01:27 WHAT ARE THE THEMATIC CORE AREAS OF THE ARCHIVE?

04:08 WHAT IS DEFINED AS PATRIMONIAL?

04:40 WHAT ARE THE OTHER ARCHIVES OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHILE AND WHEN WERE THEY FOUNDED?

06:04 WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MUSEUM AND ARCHIVE IN TERMS OF PRESERVATION AND PRESENTATION OF THEIR HOLDINGS?

08:00 WHAT ARE THE CURRENT LINES OF INVESTIGATION AT THE ARCHIVE AND HOW DO THEY COMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM OF THE MUSEUM?

10:30 WHAT ARE THE CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS AT THE ARCHIVE?

12:02 WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF PHOTOGRAPHY RESEARCH IN CHILE?

14:48 HOW CAN THE ARCHIVE BE ACCESSED, WHAT KIND OF RESEARCHERS USE IT, AND HOW DOES THE MUSEUM BENEFIT FROM THEM?

18:43 WHAT ARE THE POLITICS OF ACQUIRING NEW MATERIAL FOR THE ARCHIVE?

20:53 IN WHAT FORM ARE PHOTOGRAPHS USUALLY PRESERVED AND ENTER THE ARCHIVE?

23:10 IS THERE A MARKET FOR OLD PHOTOGRAPHS, AND HOW DID IT DEVELOP?

26:45 HOW IS THE DICTATORSHIP 1973-1990 REPRESENTED IN THE ARCHIVE?

29:29 HOW DOES DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGE THE ARCHIVE?

30:56 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF DIGITIZATION AND WHAT ARE ITS POLITICS IN CHILE?

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Montserrat Rojas is an independent curator educated and working in Chile and Germany. Her politically conscious projects shed light on current problems in Chilean society and contemporary art. In this interview, she talks about political art, working from archives, and her new magazine S/T.

00:04 ONE OF YOUR PROJECTS WAS THE PRESENTATION OF THE WORK OF RODRIGO ROJAS DE NEGRI. WHAT DOES HIS LIFE AND WORK SAY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN CHILE IN THE 1980S?

07:25 HOW DO YOU PRESENT THE WORK BY PHOTOJOURNALISTS AND OTHERS IN A MUSEUM SETTING?

11:12 WHAT IS THE CHALLENGE OF WORKING WITH ARCHIVES, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASE OF KENA LORENZINI, HELEN HUGHES, AND LEONORA VICUÑA?

12:46 COMPARING THESE PHOTOJOURNALISTIC WORKS WITH TODAY’S ARTISTS, ARE WE ENTERING A STAGE OF POST-PHOTOGRAPHY, AS THINKERS LIKE JOAN FONTCUBERTA PROMOTE IT?

13:50 WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS OF ORGANIZING AN EXHIBITION, WHICH TOPICS SPARK AN IDEA?

16:43 YOU NOT ONLY WORK IN PHOTOGRAPHY BUT VISUAL ARTS IN GENERAL, HOW THEY RELATE IN TERMS OF THE IMAGE?

19:52 DOES CONTEMPORARY ART NEED TO BE POLITICAL, AND DOES IT HAVE LIMITS (like the work “Ideología” by Felipe Rivas San Martín)?

24:08 IS PHOTOGRAPHY RECOGNIZED AS ART AS OTHER MEDIA?

26:23 WHAT IS THE JOB OF A CURATOR IN CHILE?

33:22 YOU WORK A LOT WITH EMERGING ARTISTS, HOW DO YOU GET IN TOUCH? HOW DO YOU PRESENT THEM WITH MORE ESTABLISHED ARTISTS?

36:30 YOU’RE CO-EDITING THE MAGAZINE ’S/T’, WHAT IS THE STORY AND CONTEXT BEHIND IT?

41:27 LATIN AMERICAN ART IS EXPERIENCING GREAT INTEREST IN THE WEST, BUT WHAT IS LATIN AMERICAN ART FOR LATIN AMERICANS?

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Javier Godoy is a photographer and curator in Santiago. His most known work is the depiction of public life after the dictatorship in the 1990s. In this interview, he speaks about the mark the AFI has left on him and fellow photographers, the disillusionment of the transition phase, and his current projects to promote (Latin American) photography.

00:04 YOUR WORK IS DESCRIBED AS A MELANCHOLIC LOOK ON YOUR BELOVED SANTIAGO. DO YOU AGREE?

02:53 WOULD YOU CALL YOUR WORK ‘SOCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY’ AND HOW DO YOU RELATE IT TO YOUR TEACHERS?

06:41 WHEN DID YOU START PHOTOGRAPHY AND HOW DID YOUR WAYS OF WORKING CHANGE OVER TIME?

10:22 HOW DID PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY CHANGE FROM THE LATE 1980S TO TODAY?

13:21 HOW DID EDUCATION CHANGE DURING THE DICTATORSHIP AND WHAT INFLUENCE DID THIS HAVE ON YOU?

15:04 DID THE FEELING OF BELONGING AND WORKING TOGETHER AGAINST THE DICTATORSHIP PERSIST AFTER THE REINSTATEMENT OF DEMOCRACY?

17:24 HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR GENERATION, WHICH COMES AFTER THE DICTATORSHIP BUT BEFORE THE CURRENT BOOM OF CONTEMPORARY ART?

21:00 DOES PHOTOGRAPHY STILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INCITE CHANGES IN SOCIETY AND WHAT DO YOU APPRECIATE IN ANALOG PHOTOGRAPHY AND PRINTING?

23:08 IS THERE A ‘SCHOOL OF CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHY’?

26:04 HAS PHOTOGRAPHY ENTERED THE MUSEUM AND DOES THIS INCLUDE DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY?

29:03 WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT PROJECTS ‘TRIPLE’ AND ‘TIENDA FLACH’?

34:12 HOW DOES ‘FLACH’ PROMOTE LATIN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHY?

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José Pablo Concha is professor at the Institute of Aesthetics at the Pontifical University of Chile in Santiago. His writings on the immaterialization of photography take into account current developments in the theoretical conception of the medium and represent Chilean photographic philosophy. In this interview, he talks about the intertwining of philosophy and photography, the role of theory in art criticism, and Latin American theoretic schools.

00:04 WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE THEORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

02:45 COULD YOU EXPAND ON YOUR IDEA THAT BOTH ANALOG AND DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY ARE “FAR FROM REALITY”, BEING “SYMBOLIC FICTIONS”.

08:00 HOW DO THE WRITINGS OF ROLAND BARTHES AND OTHER THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED THINKERS STILL CONTRIBUTE TO PHOTOGRAPHIC THEORY TODAY?

10:40 CHILEAN THEORY IS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY FRENCH WRITERS. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS RELATIONSHIP?

14:23 WHAT ABOUT LATIN AMERICAN SCHOLARS OF PHOTOGRAPHIC THEORY?

17:01 WHAT ROLE DOES THEORY PLAY IN OTHER AREAS LIKE ART PRODUCTION, CRITICISM, AND CURATING?

20:39 YOU WRITE THAT THERE ARE THREE DISTINCT PHASES IN THE HISTORY OF DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHILE. WHICH ARE THEY?

27:39 TAKING “ROSTRO DE CHILE” AS AN EXAMPLE, HISTORY SEEMS TO BE WRITTEN ON THE BASIS OF EXHIBITIONS RATHER THAN PUBLICATIONS. HOW SO?

32:20 AS YOU DEMONSTRATE WITH YOUR ANALYSIS OF THE EXHIBITION “ARTIFICIO DEL LENTE” OF 2000, PHOTOGRAPHERS WORK AUTO-REFERENTIALLY. CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THIS CHANGE OF FOCUS?

34:31 IS AUTO-REFERENTIALITY AN ONGOING CONCERN IN CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY?

37:36 AS A PHOTOGRAPHER YOURSELF, HOW DO YOU SEPARATE YOUR THEORETICAL WORK FROM YOUR PRACTICE?

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Sebastian Gherrë portrays the gay community of Santiago de Chile. Working exclusively with analog technology, his unique aesthetics create a striking image of his generation. In this interview, he talks about his early beginnings of photographing his encounters, as well as the creation of an archive, the use of social media, and the art historical background of his recent solo show at Galeria AFA. (The artist decided in May 2020 that his answers from 2016 no longer reflect his views, which is why the video is no longer available).

00:04 WHEN DID YOU START TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS, AND DID YOU CONSIDER IT ART FROM THE OUTSET?

01:13 WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND YOUR ALTER EGO “GAG-BALL”?

05:26 IS GAG-BALL A PERSONALITY YOU CREATED, DIFFERENT FROM YOURSELF?

06:17 HOW DO YOU USE ONLINE PLATFORMS?

08:50 WHAT IS THE “HUMAN DIGITAL INTERFACE 3.0” THAT YOU MENTION IN YOUR STATEMENT?

10:57 WHAT IS A PORTRAIT FOR YOU?

11:57 YOU ARE CREATING AN ARCHIVE OF YOUR GENERATION; IS THE INTERNET THE DEFINING TECHNOLOGY OF IT AND IS IT DIFFERENT IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES?

13:05 WHY DO YOU USE ANALOG CAMERAS TO PORTRAY A DIGITAL WORLD?

15:19 WHAT MEDIA DO YOU WORK IN, AND WHAT MAKES PHOTOGRAPHY SPECIAL AMONG THEM?

17:27 YOU PUT GREAT EMPHASIS ON CREATING AN OBJECT YOURSELF, CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PROCESS?

19:55 WORKING A LOT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, WHAT IS THE IDEAL PRESENTATION MODE OF YOUR WORK?

24:08 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR ONLINE AUDIENCE AND THOSE WHO SAW YOUR SHOW AT GALERIA AFA?

24:58 WHAT DID THIS SOLO SHOW MEAN TO YOU?

25:57 THE TITLE OF THIS SHOW WAS “HISTORIA DEL ARTE (HDA)”, WHY THIS TITLE AND WHAT ARE YOUR REFERENCES TO THE HISTORY OF ART?

29:18 IN REGARDS TO PHOTOGRAPHY, YOU SPECIFICALLY MENTION AUGUST SANDER AS A GREAT INFLUENCE, HOW SO?

33:16 HOW MUCH DO YOU INTERVENE IN THE SESSIONS IN TERMS OF COMPOSITION?

36:15 ARE THERE SPECIFIC ASPECTS THAT YOU SEPARATE FROM A LARGER SCENE?

38:50 HOW DO YOU STRUCTURE YOUR ARCHIVE? IS IT A ‘DEAD’ OR ‘ACTIVE’ ARCHIVE?

42:18 DO YOU INHABIT A NICHE, ONE THAT IS NOT PART OF CHILEAN ART?

43:32 HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO THE CRITICISM ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL AND POTENTIAL GLORIFICATION OF UNSAFE SEX?

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Jack Ceitelis has been photographing the landscapes and industries of Chile for more than fifty years. In the 1960s, he participated in the landmark exhibition “Rostro de Chile” and worked with Luis Ladrón de Guevara on countless assignments to document the modernization of Chile’s energy and mining sector. In this interview, he talks about his beginnings, the practical issues of his profession at the time, and how politics increasingly changed the job of a photographer.

00:04 HOW DID YOU LEARN TO USE A CAMERA AND WHAT WERE YOUR INFLUENCES?

04:13 HOW DID YOUR JOB AS A PHOTOGRAPHER LOOK LIKE IN THE 1960s AND HOW DID OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS, LIKE ANTONIO QUINTANA, WORK?

06:06 HOW DID YOU PRODUCE AND USE PHOTO MURALS?

08:10 HOW DID YOU AND LUIS LADRÓN DE GUEVARA MEET?

08:47 HOW DID YOU TRAVEL TO THE VARIOUS SITES ALL ACROSS CHILE?

12:16 WERE COMPANIES ACTIVELY PURSUING A GOAL THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY?

13:02 WAS PHOTOGRAPHY CONSIDERED ART? DID THIS EXTEND TO INDUSTRIAL PHOTOGRAPHY?

14:17 DID YOU WORK FOR POLITICAL PARTIES AND WAS THAT WORK TIED TO YOUR PERSONAL CONVICTION?

16:17 DID POLITICS PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR PROFESSION DURING THE DICTATORSHIP?

17:35 WAS THERE A SOCIAL ASPECT TO YOUR WORK IN A RAPIDLY ADVANCING INDUSTRY?20:16 WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND THE EXHIBITION “ROSTRO DE CHILE” (1960)?

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Nicholas Jackson is a visual artist based in Viña del Mar. In his work, he interrogates what constitutes an image in a variety of media. In this interview, he talks about the influence of 1960s conceptual art on his work, as well as his inspiration by everyday objects and his take on photography in terms of the copy and authorship.

00:04 TRAINED AS AN ENGINEER, HOW DID YOU START YOUR ARTISTIC CAREER?

06:18 HOW DOES CONCEPTUAL ART OF THE 1960s AND 70s INFLUENCE YOUR WORK?

11:53 HOW CAN WE TRANSLATE THE LESSONS OF 70s CONCEPTUAL ART IN THE U.S. TO THE CHILE OF TODAY?

17:06 WHERE DO YOU POSITION YOURSELF IN A FIELD WHICH IS VERY MUCH DIVIDED INTO MEDIA SPECIFICITIES?

23:17 MANY OF YOUR WORKS DEAL WITH LANGUAGE, IS THIS A GENERAL CONCERN IN YOUR PRACTICE?

26:58 HOW DOES THE QUOTIDIAN INSPIRE YOU?

30:02 IS YOUR WORK A CRITIQUE OF OR HOMAGE TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT?

32:00 WORKING IN DIFFERENT MEDIA, WOULD YOU AGREE TO THE PRINCIPLE THAT FORM AND CONTENT HAVE TO COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER?

36:22 HOW DO YOU USE THE “COPY AS ANTHROPOLOGICAL GESTURE”?

41:02 THIS CONTINGENCY OF PHOTOGRAPHY ALSO MAKES YOU QUESTION AUTHORSHIP IN PHOTOGRAPHY?

42:17 YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A “CREATOR OF FICTIONS”, HOW SO?

45:43 HOW DO YOU EXPOSE THESE FICTIONS?

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Sebastian Mejia is a Peruvian-born photographer working in Santiago de Chile. His typologies of palm trees and other environmental objects in the city introduced a classical tradition of photography to Chile. In this interview, he talks about photography as an international art, the documentary tradition, and the practical context of working with analog technology today.

00:04 WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A PERUVIAN, A COLOMBIAN, A CHILEAN, A LATIN AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHER, OR NEITHER?

01:06 ARE THERE DIFFERENCES IN THE TOPICS AND AESTHETICS OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN THESE COUNTRIES?

02:37 IS SOMETHING LOST IN THE GLOBALIZATION OF PHOTOGRAPHY?

03:37 YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS RARELY GIVE HINTS TO THE ACTUAL PLACE, LIKE THE CITY OF SANTIAGO. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR THE UNIVERSAL IMAGE OF A CITY?

04:33 WHILE WALKING THROUGH THE STREETS OF SANTIAGO, HOW MUCH DO YOU INTERVENE AS PHOTOGRAPHER IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT?

05:42 DO YOU RE-INTRODUCE YOUR FRAGMENTS OF THE CITY INTO THE CITIY’S CONTEXT?

07:05 HOW DO YOU DEFINE “DOCUMENTARY” AND WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A “DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER”?

08:53 DESPITE ITS UNIVERSALISM, IS YOUR WORK AN HOMAGE TO SANTIAGO?

10:31 MUST PHOTOGRAPHY BE CRITICAL?

11:25 CAN PHOTOGRAPHY BE CRITICAL IF IT IS NOT “ART PHOTOGRAPHY”?

12:46 YOUR SERIES “PORTRAITS” DOES NOT DEPICT ANY PEOPLE. WHAT IS A PORTRAIT FOR YOU, AND HOW DOES IT APPLY TO THIS SERIES?

14:28 DO YOU ALWAYS WORK IN SERIES AND WHY?

15:48 WHAT IS THE IDEAL PRESENTATION FORMAT FOR YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?

17:45 WHO ARE YOUR ARTISTIC INFLUENCES, BOTH LATIN AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL?

24:58 HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE PHOTOGRAPHIC STRATEGIES, FOR EXAMPLE FROM THE US IN THE 1960S AND 70S, TO CHILE IN 2016?

28:54 IS YOUR WORK RECEIVED DIFFERENTLY IN THE US THAN IN CHILE?

30:14 YOUR WAY OF TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS LIKE A FLANEUR, IS IT LIKE A “SCHOOL OF SEEING”?

31:56 WHAT DO YOU TEACH IN YOUR CLASSES?

35:36 WHAT EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE AND WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO USE IT?

39:30 IS PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT READILY AVAILABLE IN CHILE?

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Cristian Maturana works in various regions throughout Chile. Beginning in the desert of the North, he currently investigates environmental issues in the temperate South. In this interview, he talks about the influence of a specific landscape on his work, photography as a medium to include its surroundings, and the political substrate of his projects.

00:04 WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A CHILEAN ARTIST, A LATIN AMERICAN ARTIST, OR NEITHER?

01:47  HOW DO YOUR WORKS STAND IN RELATION TO THE LANDSCAPE AROUND YOU?

03:01 HOW DOES THE LANDSCAPE SHAPE YOUR EXPERIENCES?

05:19 HOW DO YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS RELATE TO THE ENVIRONMENT?

08:13 WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ‘CONQUISTA’ OF THE SPANISH COLONIZERS, CAPITALIST EXTRACTORS, AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER?

10:15 WHAT IS FOR YOU ‘THE PHOTOGRAPHIC’?

11:19 HOW IMPORTANT IS THE OBJECT IN YOUR WORK?

13:16 HOW DO YOU APPROACH THE LIMITS OF PHOTOGRAPHY, THE VISIBLE, AND THE TERRITORY?

16:00 WHAT ROLE DOES THE QUESTION OF IDENTITY PLAY IN YOUR WORK?

18:51 WHAT IS A PORTRAIT FOR YOU?

19:53 HOW DOES THE DISTRIBUTION AND REPRODUCTION OF YOUR PIECES WORK?

22:07 TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECTS ‘CAMBALACHE’ AND ‘9000 TON’.

26:12 HOW DOES CHILE’S HISTORY, IN PARTICULAR THE DICATORSHIP 1973-1990, INFLUENCE YOUR WORK?

27:55 WHO OR WHAT ARE YOUR ARTISTIC INFLUENCES?

29:46 HOW DOES WORKING IN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH DIFFER FROM WORKING IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF SANTIAGO?

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Carlos Silva is an artist and curator based in Valparaíso. Concerned about recent changes in the infrastructure and representation of spaces, he explores the possibilities of the image to reveal hidden visual structures in our everyday life. In this interview, he talks about the double role as producer and mediator of art, the connection of his work to his environment, and gives an extensive overview of alternative art spaces in the city, funding opportunities for art projects nationally, and artistic education in different institutions.

00:00:05 WOULD YOU CALL YOURSELF A CHILEAN ARTIST, A LATIN AMERICAN ARTIST, OR NEITHER?

00:00:55 YOU ARE ARTIST AND CURATOR AT THE SAME TIME, HOW DO YOU COMBINE THESE TWO ACTIVITIES?

00:03:35 TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXHIBITION SPACE ‘NEKOE’.

00:07:27 HOW DOES NEKOE FIT INTO THE ARTISTIC LANDSCAPE OF VALPARAÍSO?

00:11:00 HOW DOES THE CULTURAL LIFE IN VALPARAÍSO STAND IN RELATION TO SANTIAGO AND OTHER REGIONS?

00:15:18 TELL US ABOUT THE ‘CED’, THE ‘CIRCUITO DE ESPACIOS DOMESTICOS’.

00:21:54 WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ALTERNATIVE SPACES AND INSTITUTIONS?

00:29:03 YOUR WORK DEALS WITH THE USE AND DEPICTION OF SPACE. HOW DO YOU EMPLOY PHOTOGRAPHY AND INSTALLATIONS IN YOUR WORK?

00:32:31 HOW DO YOU REPRESENT SPACE THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, LIKE IN YOUR SERIES ‘CARACOLES’?

00:37:46 HOW IMPORTANT IS THE OBJECT FOR YOU IN YOUR WORK?

00:43:45 HOW DO YOU PRODUCE YOUR WORKS? WHAT KIND OF INFRASTRUCTURE IS THERE?

00:48:23 WHO DO YOU CURRENTLY PRINT WITH?

00:50:37 HOW DO YOU THEMATIZE THE INTERFERENCE OF THE HUMAN IN NATURE, AS IN ‘PARTNERS’?

00:55:11 IN HOW FAR IN YOUR WORK CONNECTED TO THE CITY OF VALPARAÍSO?

00:57:07 WHAT ARE YOUR CURRENT AND FUTURE PROJECTS?

01:01:34 WHAT ROLE PLAYS ANALOG AND DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOU?

01:03:39 HOW DOES ARTS EDUCATION IN CHILE LOOK LIKE, ESPECIALLY IN REGARD TO PHOTOGRAPHY?

01:09:52  WHAT KIND OF HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY IS TAUGHT IN UNIVERSITIES AND WHAT ARE YOUR ARTISTIC INFLUENCES?

01:14:14 HOW DO YOU AND OTHER ARTISTS USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN ARTISTIC AND PROMOTIONAL TOOL?

01:20:19 DO SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORT THE EFFORT TO DECENTRALIZE THE COUNTRY?