From June 25 through 29 and within the framework of
arteBA ‘10,
Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 and
Julio Ernesto Gutierrez Conte accompanied artist Marta
Minujín in the
presentation of her latest work, the “Golden Multidirectional Obelisk.”
In line with the celebration of the Bicentennial of our country and
as a further proof of its sound commitment with local art and culture,
AA2000 decided to support one of the most famous plastic artists from
our country.
The work titled “Golden Multidirectional Obelisk,” which is seven
meters high, comprises five structures of our famous monument. One of
them is in vertical position, while the other four adopt different
positions, each with a different inclination.
According to Marta Minujín herself, “The multidirectional Obelisk
shocks the spectator, making him feel that everything is changing around
him, depending on the perspective from where it sees it, and forcing
him to think about Argentina, which is in constant change, always moving
up and down.”
Accordingly, Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 had an important
institutional presence. The public got near the Obelisk to take some
pictures with the work. Moreover, the models dressed like Marta were the
hot attraction. The pictures were posted in Facebook, where people
could find and label them with their own names.
The Obelisk’s history
The first obelisk Marta Minujín worked on dates back to 1964. On that
occasion, she covered it with Laponia ice cream of different tastes
that people could then eat.
In 1973, she used jellies of different colors on the lights that lit
the obelisk in Washington DC, United States. This really shocked the
people passing by as they could see the emblematic monument changing
from the traditional white to a red color.
Back in Buenos Aires and after a long stay in the United States and
France, she decided to lay down another obelisk. Thus, she conceived the
“Laid down Obelisk,” which was 74 meters high. Her work was presented
in the First Latin American Art Biennial in Sao Paulo in 1978. Minujín
also documented the trip of her work from Argentina to Brazil.
One year later, she created the famous “Obelisk made with Panettone,”
which was 30 meters in height, on occasion of the Nations Fair
organized in Buenos Aires. The monument was covered with 30,000
panettones that were later distributed among the people present. This
has been the first edible art monument built in the world.
Some years later, she created the “Silver Multidirectional Obelisk,”
which was assembled at Isidro Ruiz Moreno square, in the intersection
between Cerrito and Posadas streets in the City of Buenos Aires, in
homage to the Queen of the River Plate.
This time and for arteBA ‘10, the 19th Contemporaneous Art Fair,
Marta Minujín presented the new golden version of such emblematic
monument.
