Archives are Machines: : A Review of Artistic Discourses on Art and Archives in Iberoamerica, 2011-2022

Abstract

This article offers a critical analysis of the use of the term “archive” in discussions about visual arts in IberoAmerica between 2011 and 2022: Why has this term gained currency in the IberoAmerican art world during the last decades? What is it used for? How do artworks function when they are understood as archives? What are the main themes in these discussions? We propose to frame our analysis in four interpretive hypotheses. 1) The use of the term “archive” in discussions on contemporary IberoAmerican visual arts can be understood through the model of the machine, that is, in terms of certain functions the archive performs. 2) Archives in IberoAmerican visual arts have three basic functions: collecting, montaging and mobilizing. 3) Archives are communitarian machines: they emerge from communities, create communities, and require communities for their operation. 4) Archives are time machines: they shape our memory and our future. Understanding archives as machines allows us to see how artistic practices and discussions about archives in IberoAmerican visual arts are linked to shared aspirations to come to terms with violent pasts and histories of exclusion, with the need to strengthen public deliberation, and the will to defend democracy. In this region, the relationships between art and archival have made it possible to read history against the grain and to coordinate the work of artists, archivists, communities and cultural managers with the concrete demands of social movements and their need for recognition. The poetics of archive in contemporary IberoAmerican art is oriented towards creating the new, not towards repeating the past.

Alternate abstract:

Este artículo ofrece un análisis crítico del uso del término archivoen las discusiones sobre artes visuales en Iberoamérica entre 2011 y 2022: ¿Por qué ha cobrado vigencia este término en el mundo del arte iberoamericano durante las últimas décadas? ¿Para qué se utiliza? ¿Cómo funcionan las obras de arte cuando se las entiende como archivos? ¿Cuáles son los temas principales en estas discusiones? Se propone enmarcar este análisis en cuatro hipótesis interpretativas. 1) El uso del término archivoen las discusiones sobre artes visuales iberoamericanas actuales se puede entender mejor a través del modelo de la máquina, es decir, en términos de las funciones que desempeña. 2) Los archivos en las artes visuales iberoamericanas tienen tres funciones básicas: coleccionar, montar y movilizar. 3) Los archivos son máquinas comunitarias: surgen de comunidades, crean comunidades y requieren comunidades para su funcionamiento. 4) Los archivos son máquinas del tiempo: moldean nuestra memoria y nuestro futuro. Entender los archivos como máquinas nos permite ver cómo las prácticas artísticas y las discusiones sobre archivos en las artes visuales iberoamericanas están vinculadas con aspiraciones compartidas de tramitar pasados violentos e historias de exclusión, con la necesidad de fortalecer la deliberación pública y con la voluntad de defender la democracia. En esta región, las relaciones entre arte y archivo han permitido leer la historia a contracorriente y articular el trabajo de artistas, archiveros, comunidades y gestores culturales con las demandas concretas de los movimientos sociales y su necesidad de reconocimiento. Las poéticas del archivo en las artes visuales en Iberoamérica se orientan a la creación de lo nuevo, no a la repetición del pasado.

Alternate abstract:

This article offers a critical analysis of the use of the term “archive” in discussions about visual arts in IberoAmerica between 2011 and 2022: Why has this term gained currency in the IberoAmerican art world during the last decades? What is it used for? How do artworks function when they are understood as archives? What are the main themes in these discussions? We propose to frame our analysis in four interpretive hypotheses. 1) The use of the term “archive” in discussions on contemporary IberoAmerican visual arts can be understood through the model of the machine, that is, in terms of certain functions the archive performs. 2) Archives in IberoAmerican visual arts have three basic functions: collecting, montaging and mobilizing. 3) Archives are communitarian machines: they emerge from communities, create communities, and require communities for their operation. 4) Archives are time machines: they shape our memory and our future. Understanding archives as machines allows us to see how artistic practices and discussions about archives in IberoAmerican visual arts are linked to shared aspirations to come to terms with violent pasts and histories of exclusion, with the need to strengthen public deliberation, and the will to defend democracy. In this region, the relationships between art and archival have made it possible to read history against the grain and to coordinate the work of artists, archivists, communities and cultural managers with the concrete demands of social movements and their need for recognition. The poetics of archive in contemporary IberoAmerican art is oriented towards creating the new, not towards repeating the past.