Alfredo Jaar and His Work From Time to Time, 1996, Essay Example

For the purposes of this paper I will discuss artist Alfredo Jaar and his work From Time to Time, 1996, C-print mounted on Plexiglas. The dimensions of the artwork are 49 x 38 1/8 inches and the frame is 50 x 39x 1 ½ inches.

Biography

Born in Santiago, Chile, 1956, Alfredo Jaar’s work bears reference to military and political corruption and balancing of powers between developing nations. “There are many subjects addressed in his works including the holocaust in Rwanda, gold mining in Brazil, toxic pollution in Brazil and border related issues between Mexico and the United States.” (“Alfredo Jaar Biography”). One of his video works portrays the extreme poverty in Angola, Muxima (2006). Another is  his works The Gramsci Trilogy (2004-05)-a series of installations dedicated to the Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, who was imprisoned under Mussolini’s Fascist regime. Amongst the awards he has received in his career are the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award (2000); a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award (1987); and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1987); and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1985).

Artists Theme and Interests

His essential desires were to speak forcefully against the injustices in society by placing the camera figuratively and literally in the public’s hands. He was an architect interested in ephemeral structure and a photographer interested in all different dimensions of pictures. “Further he was a master of indirection.” (Jaar, Jacob & Princenthal, 2005).  “Jaar was always trying to create an intellectual and emotional balance in his work. He wanted the audience to connect with his work both visually and through communication.” (“The Rwanda Project”). Jaar incorporated his skills as an architect to aid him in creating visually efficient aids for people to see what was beyond the dark side in some places of Rwanda. This project lasted six years for him to accomplish these set out tasks.

Artist Works and Meaning of Art Work

From Time to Time, 1996, C-print mounted on Plexiglas. The dimensions of the artwork are 49 x 38 1/8 inches and the frame is 50 x 39x 1 ½ inches. “This photographic piece provides a fascinating insight into Jaar’s 25-year long engagement with Africa and his contribution to the ongoing debate among art and cultural critics about documentary photography’s contested relationship to suffering.” (“Alfredo Jaar solos at South London gallery”).  Other photography contributions to this cultural engagement with Africa include The Power of Words (1984), Searching for Africa in Life (1996), From Time to Time (2006) and Greed (2007).

Contemporary Meaning

Art and activism show that Jaar’s art is defined as contemporary, for art and activism reiterate the notion that political is personal and art expresses this notion through the use of photography. Contemporary art is those expressions of art that derive from the 1960’s and 1970’s to present or art produced since World War II. Many of Jaar’s works are displayed at contemporary art museums across the states and Europe.

References

Alfredo Jaar Biography. (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2009 from, http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/jaar/index.html

Jaar A., Jacob M. & Princenthal N. (2005) Alfredo Jaar: the fire this time Retrieved September 24, 2009 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=mLlPAAAAMAAJ&q=theme+of+from+time+to+time+by+jaar&dq=theme+of+from+time+to+time+by+jaar&ei=3jq8Sr7WGKT8ygT-hOXZDw

Alfredo Jaar solos at South London Gallery. (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2009 from, http://www.artknowledgenews.com/Alfredo_Jaar_South_London_Gallery.html

The Rwanda Project. (n.d.) Retrieved September 24, 2009 from, http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/jaar/clip1.html