León Ferrari: The Words of Others

The Words of Others: León Ferrari and Rhetoric in Times of War is the most significant solo exhibition of work by Argentinian artist León Ferrari (Buenos Aires, 1920–2013) in the US and features the first full performance of his seminal 1967 publication Palabras ajenas (The Words of Others). 

The exhibit focuses primarily on Ferrari’s influential practice from the 1960s to the 1980s, with a particular emphasis on Ferrari’s literary collages, most notably Palabras ajenas, an important Vietnam era anti-war piece written in the form of a dramatic script. Ferrari created the work by cutting and assembling texts and quotations from various sources, including news agencies, history books, the Bible, and speeches by such political and religious figures as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara, Pope Paul VI and Adolph Hitler.

The September 16 durational performance in the theater at REDCAT is the first time the entire piece will be performed. Partial readings have been held at the Arts Lab in London (1968) and in Buenos Aires at the Larrañaga Theater (1972). A cast of 30 readers will create a “chorus” of contemporary voices to interpret the text, which represents an essential political piece in Ferrari’s body of work. Ferrari’s literary collages share the experimental impulse of figures such as Julio Cortázar and Bertolt Brecht in literature and theater, as well as the political unrest of the counterculture movement of the 1960s.

The exhibition features several of Ferrari’s fundamental early works, including Carta a un general (Letter to a General) (1963), Dios (God) (1964) and El árbol embarazador (The impregnating tree) (1964), along with numerous later pieces, such as Juicio Final (Last Judgment) (1985), Relecturas de la Biblia (Re-readings of the Bible) (1984–88), Congreso (Congress) (2002) and Hongo nuclear (negro), (Nuclear Fungus (Black)) (2007), which trace a history of war and political and religious aggression. In addition, an extensive repertoire of documents are included in the exhibition.

Two new publications accompany the exhibition: a bilingual catalog published by JRP|Ringier, including new critical essays that analyze Ferrari’s relationship with theatrical experimentation, photojournalism, religious iconography, and figures of power and authority of the 1960s and 1970s.  REDCAT and X Artists’ Books have published the first complete English edition of The Words of Others.

Curators: Ruth Estévez with Miguel A. López and Agustín Díez Fischer

Public program:

Performance: The Words of Others
September 16, 1–8pm
Direction, dramaturgy and set design: José A. Sánchez, Juan Ernesto Díaz and Ruth Estévez
Translation: Jen Hofer with Tupac Cruz and Román Luján (Antena)
Associate researcher: Carmen Amengual
Readers: Edgar Arceneaux, Camila Ascencio, Rafael López Barrantes, Samantha Bartow, Nao Bustamante, José Luis Blondet, Marissa Chibas, Ashlyn Delaire, Carlo Figlio, Jessica Fleischmann, Andrea Fraser, Charles Gaines, Alexandra Grant, Jen Hofer, Ashley Hunt, Rett Keeter, Daniel Lavery, Mireya Lucio, Michael Ned Holte, Roberto Martin, Fernando Mitre, Paige McGhee, Alyxaundrea Munson, Silke Otto-Knapp, Mac Rasmus, Christopher Rivas, Juan Rivera, Connie Samaras, Hannah Trujillo and Kristin Wetenkamp

Special thanks to the School of Theater at CalArts.

Lecture: Bojana Cvejić. “When WAR was the Political Unconscious of DANCE”
November 21, 2017, 7pm

Conversation: Marc Cooper and Suzi Weissman. “Media and Democracy: From the Vietnam War to the Consolidation of ‘Alternative Facts’ in the Digital Era.”
December 5, 2017, 7pm
 

Exhibition itinerary:
Pérez Art Museum Miami: February 16–August 12, 2018

The exhibition is part of the Getty-led Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, a far reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles.

Major support for this exhibition is provided through grants from the Getty Foundation.

Special thanks to Fundación Augusto y León Ferrari Arte y Acervo (FALFAA), for their support and for providing access to León Ferrari’s archives over the years. Special thanks to Silvia and Hugo Sigman Collection, Sicardi Gallery, María Cristina and Pablo Henning collection, Dr. Carlos Bacino collection, Houston and Allison and David Ayers collection.