All photos: Latitudes | www.lttds.org

A year after 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' at Fundació Suñol in Barcelona, New York artist Lawrence Weiner opened on Friday 23rd a new exhibition in Spain at the Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castelló (www.eacc.es). 'Under the Sun' includes an exhibition in EACC (on view until 28 March 2010) as well as a public piece in a city centre park which will open in a second phase, in early February 2010. Below Weiner's text from the exhibition invitation:

THE MARKING OF A SPACE WITHIN A PUBLIC PARK THAT IS DEPENDENT UPON MEANING NOT MEANS
THE PLACING OF A CLUSTER OF STRUCTURES THAT AFFORD A PLACE DEMARKED AT THAT MOMENT
BY THE RESULT OF A FLICK OF A WRIST
A FORM THAT CAN FLY A KITE OR KILL A BULL WITH GRACE
THAT SETS ASIDE A PLACE FOR THE MOMENT THAT IS YOURS
BEING ONLY ONE METER HIGH THEY AFFORD NOT PROTECTION BUT A DEMARCATION OF SOVEREIGN
TERRITORY WHEN OCCUPIED
TWISTED & TURNED UNDER THE SUN

Update February 2010:

Completing the first part of his 'Under the Sun' exhibition for Castelló, the artist recently inaugurated a permanent public work at 'El Pinar', Castellón. As written in the press release the project brings to mind 'the bullfighting but also the lightness and the elegance of a wave that takes shape in the space as its own territory.' More images here.

Images courtesy of EACC. Photos: Ángel Sánchez

As the 2008–9 artistic cycle turns for many towards a holiday exodus and 'out of office' autoresponders, below is a selection of some unseen and 'behind the scenes' moments from our projects since last summer.
Thank you to everyone y felices vacaciones!
– Latitudes



(Three images above): MCL with Lawrence Weiner during the installation of Lawrence Weiner's exhibition 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' at the Fundació Suñol, Barcelona, in October–November 2008; during the press conference; Lawrence, Latitudes and Fundació Suñol team (Sergi Aguilar, Maga Ruiz, Xavier De Luca, Mireia Arnau and Jaume Brunet) photographed by Pierre-Jean Moulis after tossing a horseshoe upon the crest of a wave.

16–19 October 2008: presentation of the Danish artist Tue Greenfort 'transparent' bins outside Frieze Art Fair, London, commissioned by the Royal Society of Arts' 'Arts & Ecology' programme.

5–9 November 2008: Leaving the 'X, Y, etc!' Videolounge in Artissima Art Fair, Torino, Italy; admiring the phenomenal long table arrangement Artissima dinner hosted at the equally phenomenal Venaria Reale.


November 2009: fourth visit to Rotterdam – evening boat trip with some of 'Portscapes' artists, site visit to the port with the Port of Rotterdam's Sjaak Poppe (Hans Schabus and Roman Keller alongside) and discussions in Marjolijn Dijkman's studio (Roman Keller and Christina Hemauer – with Ilana Halperin on Skype)


November 2009: ‘La, la, la, la: on winning and losing’ co-curator Aimar Arriola arranging a work with artist Verónica Aguilera and (below) selecting images with Fermín Jimenez Landa and Oriol Vilanova.


8 February: SKOR curator Theo Tegelaers and Jan Dibbets during the filming of Jan Dibbets' '6 Hours Tide Object with Correction of Perspective'; some of 'Portscapes' artists including Bik Van der Pol and Marjolijn Dijkman visit the beach while waiting for the tide to go up; Christiane Bosman (SKOR press coordinator) and curator Theo Tegelaers from SKOR at 'Portscapes' during Art Rotterdam opening evening.

18 February: Vena (por la) talk with (the then) Walker Art Center associate curator Doryun Chong (now associate curator at MoMA in New York)

April 2009 - The Associació d'Art Crítics de Catalunya awards Fundació Suñol for their exhibition programme (Latitudes-curated projects Lawrence Weiner's 'THE CREST OF THE WAVE' and the Land Art film programme 'A Stake in the Mud, A Hole in the Reel. Land Art's Expanded Field, 1968–2008' were part of this season)


(7 images above): First Neapolitan lunch with Simon Fujiwara and Jordi Mitjà: deep-fried maceroni; Erick Beltrán installing during 'Provenances', Umberto di Marino, Naples; preparing Simon's 'Museum of incest'; subtitling session with Nicoletta Daldanise; delightful Sicilian cuisine at Umberto's house, documenting Erick's work during the opening night and audience during Simon's performance 'The Museum of Incest: A Guided Tour' (publication here)

(5 above): Arrival day in Beijing with Ignasi Aballí; laying out the Barcelona posters for 'Scenic viewpoints'; (around 3.30am...) installation of 'Nothing, or Something' at Yintai Centre with Suitcase Art Projects artistic director Carol Yinghua Lu and Ignasi; checking the vinyl is straight with Ignasi ('El País' always at hand) and a quiet conversation with Carol on the escalators.


(2 Above): During the installation of 'The Garden of Forking Paths', Maisterravalbuena, Madrid, May 2009 and post-opening beer landscape at Maisterravalbuena office, 29 May 2009.

Hans Schabus mulls over the location for his Portscapes project, the image 'Europahaven, Port of Rotterdam, 17 Juni 2009', 15 June 2009

(2 above): At Latitudes' temporary office space during the non-profit festival 'No Soul for Sale', in New York, 24-28 June 2009 (with Michael Jackson breaking news on screen).

The Bruce High Quality Foundation in full (we are indebted to them for their fantastic 1983 Burger King set up)


(3 above) Installing Graham Gussin work during 'Sequelism Part 3. Possible, Probable or Preferable futures' in Arnolfini, Bristol (July 2009); hanging around with participating artists Francesc Ruiz and Haegue Yang as well as Nav Haq (Arnolfini curator) before dinner; and knitting lessons from Haegue at Arnolfini's bar.

[All photos: Latitudes | www.lttds.org]

During 'NO SOUL FOR SALE' we are presenting several publications and paraphernalia related to our projects, including:

– Compendium of essays, artists' projects, etc. 'Land, Art: A Cultural Ecology Handbook' (Royal Society of Arts/Arts Council England, 2006)
– Magazine UOVO #14 'Ecology, Luxury and Degradation' (The Bookmakers Ed., Summer 2007)
– Exhibition catalogue 'Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities' (The Bookmakers Ed., February 2008)
– Artist book by Simon Fujiwara 'The Museum of Incest: A Guide' (Archive Books, May 2009)

We also have DVDs of Jan Dibbets' recent film '6 Hours of Tide Object with Correction of Perspective' (as part of Portscapes) and a public sculpture produced in October 2008 by Lawrence Weiner on occasion of his exhibition 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' at Fundació Suñol, Barcelona (we also have the exhibition booklet available).

The Bruce High Quality Foundation also have a computer available from where visitors can burn DVDs for $5 as well as some of their publications.

Ayer noche tuvo lugar la 25a edición de los Premios ACCA de la Crítica de Arte otorgados por l'Associació Catalana de Crítics d'Art (ACCA) a las exposiciones, iniciativas y publicaciones que marcaron la temporada artística 2008.

El Nivell Zero de la Fundació Suñol recibió el premio al ciclo de exposiciones de arte contemporáneo. El director de la Fundació Sergi Aguilar (véase foto 2 abajo) recogió el premio y agradeció al Sr. Suñol la confianza depositada en él, así como a la Associació y al público por el apoyo ofrecido a una "iniciativa privada que trabaja con vocación de ofrecer una programación pública".

Durante la temporada 2008, el Nivell Zero acogió dos proyectos comisariados por Latitudes: la proyección del ciclo itinerante de video y film 'Una estaca en el lodo, un hoyo en la cinta. El campo expandido del Land Art, 1968-2008' (Julio) y la exposición y proyecto público 'Lawrence Weiner: La cresta de la ola' (Octubre–Noviembre) (véase foto 3 abajo).


FUNDACIÓ SUÑOL
Passeig de Gràcia, 98
08008 Barcelona
www.fundaciosunol.org

Latitudes' project ‘THE CREST OF A WAVE’ by Lawrence Weiner opened in Barcelona on 8 October 2008.

The project was divided in four parts – as an ephemeral sculpture (sugar packets distributed throughout Barcelona), a wall installation and a sound work at Nivell Zero space of Fundació Suñol ... and an action, now documented. The latter was a physical manifestation of the statement common to each part: "A CLOTH OF COTTON WRAPPED AROUND A HORSESHOE OF IRON TOSSED UPON THE CREST OF A WAVE", i.e. an iron horseshoe was wrapped in cotton cloth (here typical catalan material used for 'farcells'/cloth bundles) and was tossed upon a wave’s crest.

The action took place on the 'rompeolas' of the Barcelona port/ferry terminal on 6 October 2008. Horseshoes were thrown in waves by Lawrence Weiner, Sergi Aguilar (artist and director of Fundació Suñol), and Latitudes (Mariana Cánepa Luna and Max Andrews). Video shot by Xavier de Luca, and edited by bang!bang!

Looking back at the past year is a infectious exercise at this point in the calendar. We would like to thank everyone that has visited or taken part in our projects, from the small ones to the 3 year-long collaborations, whether from nearby or far away.

Our 2008 began as intense preparations were well underway for the group exhibition 'Greenwashing. Environment: Perils, Promises and Perplexities' at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (29.02 –18.05.2008) co-curated with Ilaria Bonacossa. 'Greenwashing...' presented the work of 25 artists and artists groups (11 of those produced new work). A 192 page catalogue was published by The Bookmakers Ed., Turin – you can buy a copy here (English/Italian editions).

Following 'Greenwashing...' we presented 'A Stake in the Mud, A Hole in the Reel: Land Art's Expanded Field 1968–2008', a film and video programme curated at the invitation of the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City that later toured to 8 venues between April and October: MARCO, Vigo; Stadtkino (Kunsthalle Basel), Basel, Switzerland; CAAC, Sevilla; Fundació Suñol, Barcelona; Barn Hongersdijk Farmstead, Wilhelminapolder, The Netherlands; Spike Island, Bristol, United Kingdom; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Móstoles. For further information you can read an essay in the Winter 2008-9 (upcoming) issue of Art & Co magazine or download press articles and programmes here.

Before the end of the summer we were part of the jury for the Premi Miquel Casablancas, an award for Spanish artists under 36. From around 200 portfolios and projects submitted Latitudes, together with Aimar Arriola, selected four artists to participate in the exhibition later in the year: ‘La, la, la, la: on winning and losing’ (29.11.2008 – 10.01.2009).

The summer was filled with more research and work to be done, which was carried out thanks to the support and hospitality of the Deutsche Börse Residency Programme, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Germany.

The 2008-9 season began with the exciting realisation of 'The Crest of a Wave’, a four-part project by Lawrence Weiner at Fundació Suñol, Barcelona (08.10 – 15.11.08) that had a great press, radio, specialised media and TV coverage (see post 12 November); followed by the conclusion of the 3 year-long public commission by Tue Greenfort which was presented in a discrete mode alongside his Frieze Art Fair project (16-19 October). This commission was an initiative of the RSA Arts & Ecology programme, London, which has recently become the Arts & Ecology center. Soon there will be a small publication gathering the history of the commission as well visual documentation of the project.

In November, as part of Artissima 15 Latitudes presented 'X, Y, etc!', a video programme comprised of around 40 works that was inspired by Charles Fort's research methodology, the paranormal and anomalous phenomena, the uncanny and the unexplained.

And now looking a little towards what's to come in 2009 ... since May 2008 (see previous posts here and here) we have been working on 'Portscapes', a series of artists’ projects that will take place throughout 2009 alongside the construction of ‘Maasvlakte 2’, a 1,000 hectare area of reclaimed land that will extend the Port of Rotterdam, Europe's largest seaport and industrial area. Mirroring a port's function of transit and exchange 'Portscapes' will involve Rotterdam-based artists and those from countries including China, Austria, Mexico, Scotland and the US, with the aim of considering the physical and conceptual implications of the new lands of Maasvlakte 2, as well as the city-port as a distributive network across artistic, marine and mercantile registers. 'Portscapes' will be introduced during Art Rotterdam (5–8 February 2009) by a small ‘prologue’ publication designed by Ben Laloua / Didier Pascal.

Throughout 2008 we have also contributed several catalogue essays, articles, exhibition reviews, artists profiles, etc. a selection of which can be downloaded from our writing archive.

Happy New Year!

Following is a selection of the press reviews, radio and TV programmes that have covered the four part project 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' by Lawrence Weiner on view at Fundació Suñol until Saturday 15 November:

• Frederic Montornés, 'Lawrence Weiner', Exit Express #39, Noviembre 2008, p. 38 (Castellano, pdf, 228 KB)
• Violant Porcel, 'En la cresta de la ola', Suplement Culturas, La Vanguardia, 05.11.08 (Castellano, pdf, 108 KB)
  
• Pilar Parcerisas, 'Una de cotó, ferro i sucre', Suplement Cultura, Avui, 01.11.09 (Catalan, pdf, 280kb)
• 'La Cresta d'una Ona' Canal Cultura TV (video link, Catalan, 2min 23sec)
• iCat FM Radio (Catalan, mp3 audio, 1min 27sec, 684kb)
• Joana Hurtado, La cresta d’una ona, Time Out, semana 17.10.08 (Catalan, jpg, 124kb)
• Roberta Bosco, '300,000 sobres de azúcar para una creación artística', El País, 10.10.08, p.39
• 'Layers of Lawrence Weiner in Barcelona', www.FlashArtOnline.com, 09.10.08
• Montse Frisach, 'Sobres de sucre artístics', Avui, 08.10.08, p.42 (Catalan, pdf, 284kb)
  

Full list of press clippings, press releases, etc. related to the exhibition and a slideshow of the project. Download the small publication of the exhibition (Catalan, Spanish and English, pdf, 600 KB).

[Images: Jean-Pierre Moulis, the artist and Latitudes]

The second and third parts of the project 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' by Lawrence Weiner will be presented this evening at Nivell Zero (image above): an adaptation of the sentence painted on the exterior wall of the courtyard in Catalan, Spanish and English. In the interior space the same statement was recorded within a catchy musical composition based on a track by Ned Sublette and The Persuasions.

The last element of the project took place as a small event realised by the Mediterranean on Monday 6th: an iron horseshoe was wrapped in cotton cloth and was tossed upon a wave's crest.

The first part of the project coincided with the 24th September festivities of the patron saint of Barcelona: La Mercè (see post 23.09.08 to read more). 300,000 white sugar sachets were distributed throughout emblematic cafés, restaurants and bars [map of locations: http://www.mapme.com/map/thecrestofawave] to sweeten our conversations.

Exhibition runs until Saturday 15 November. The Nivell Zero opens Monday to Saturday, 16–20h. Read press: here (Avui, 08.10.08, in Catalan), here (El Punt, 08.10.08, in Catalan) and here (FlashArtOnline, 09.10.08)

Nivell Zero at Fundació Suñol
c/ Rosselló, 240
08008 Barcelona
T. (+34) 934 961 032
www.fundaciosunol.org

– –
Above: Installation at Nivell Zero–Fundació Suñol of 'A CLOTH OF COTTON WRAPPED AROUND A HORSESHOE OF IRON TOSSED UPON THE CREST OF A WAVE', Cat. #929, 2006–2008. Courtesy the artist. Below: Lawrence Weiner with a horseshoe wrapped around a cloth of cotton. Courtesy the artist/Latitudes. All photos: Latitudes

(English below / Català a continuació)

_CASTELLANO_

Coincidiendo con las fiestas de la Mercè, la patrona de Barcelona, se ha distribuido una escultura efímera de Lawrence Weiner en más de 70 emblemáticos bares, restaurantes y cafés de Barcelona [MAPA localización], un dulce regalo para acompañar nuestros cafés con leche, cortados o carajillos y la tertulia. Impreso sobre miles de sobres estándar de 7 gramos de azúcar en tres idiomas, la llamativa y reconocible tipografía de la declaración (statement) UN PAÑO DE ALGODÓN ENVUELTO ALREDEDOR DE UNA HERRADURA DE HIERRO LANZADO CONTRA LA CRESTA DE UNA OLA, va acompañada de un emblema en forma de diagrama que evoca la trayectoria de una determinada herradura sobre una ola. Más información...

Esta es la primera manifestación de un proyecto en cuatro partes comisariado por Latitudes que inaugurará el 8 de Octubre, 19.30h, en el Nivell Zero de la Fundació Suñol.

_ENGLISH_

Coinciding with the festivities of Mercè, the patron saint of Barcelona, an ephemeral sculpture by Lawrence Weiner has been distributed throughout 70 emblematic bars, cafes and restaurants in the city [MAP of locations] to accompany one’s café con leche, cortado, carajillo, or conversation. Printed on hundreds of thousands of standard 7 gram white sugar sachets in three languages, Weiner’s striking typographic rendition of the statement A CLOTH OF COTTON WRAPPED AROUND A HORSESHOE OF IRON TOSSED UPON THE CREST OF A WAVE, is accompanied by an emblem which evokes the trajectory of a certain horseshoe over a wave in diagrammatic form. Further reading...

This is the first manifestation of a four-part project curated by Latitudes that will open on the 8th of October, 19.30h, at the Nivell Zero space of Fundació Suñol.

_CATALÀ_

Coincidint amb les festes de la Mercè, la patrona de Barcelona, s'ha distribuit una escultura efímera de Lawrence Weiner a més de 70 emblemàtic bars, restaurants i cafès de la ciutat comtal [MAPA localitzacions], un dolç regal per acompanyar els nostres cafès amb llet, tallats o cigalons, per exemple, i la tertúlia. Imprès sobre milers de sobres estàndard de 7 grams de sucre i en tres idiomes, la reconeixible tipografia de la declaració (statement) UN DRAP DE COTÓ EMBOLICAT AL VOLTANT D’UNA FERRADURA DE FERRO LLANÇAT CONTRA LA CRESTA D’UNA ONA, va acompanyada d’un emblema en forma de diagrama que evoca la trajectòria d’una ferradura sobre una ona. Més informació...

Aquesta és la primera manifestació d'un projecte en quatre parts comissariat per Latitudes que inaugurarà el 8 d'Octubre a les 19.30h, al Nivell Zero de la Fundació Suñol.

Detalle MAPA | MAP detail
(mapa entero aquí | full map here)
Listings of bars/restaurants/cafes


Nota de Lluís Permanyer, La Vanguardia, 23.09.08, página 33

Lawrence Weiner,’LA CRESTA DE UNA OLA’, 9 Octubre–15 Noviembre 2008
Nivell Zero, Fundació Suñol | c/ Rosselló 24, 08008 Barcelona | www.fundaciosunol.org

SAVE THE DATE
Private view: Wednesday 8 October, 19.30h
Exhibition: 'THE CREST OF A WAVE' by Lawrence Weiner
Dates: 9 October–15 November 2008
Venue: Nivell Zero, Fundació Suñol
Address: c/Rosselló, 24, 08008 Barcelona, SPAIN, www.fundaciosunol.org

After over two years of collaboration between Latitudes and New York artist Lawrence Weiner (1942, New York), the project ‘THE CREST OF A WAVE’ will be presented on 8 October at the Nivell Zero space at Fundació Suñol in October, coinciding with the beginning of the 2008–9 season.

‘THE CREST OF A WAVE’ is a four part project manifested as a distributed ephemeral sculpture, an installation, a sound work and an action – together each asks what might constitute a public sculpture. Weiner's new work triggers a chronicle of Spanish mercantile, maritime and equestrian power, textiles, trade and occupation.

In Barcelona his work has been seen in: 'Between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean Sea', Fundació Espai Poblenou (1995); 'Behind the facts. Interfunktionen 1968-1975', Fundació Miró (2004) and the 'Public Space / Two Audiences. Works and Documents from the Herbert Collection', MACBA (2006). In Spain, his work can be seen until the 26 October in the solo show 'Forever And A Day' at the Centro Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga.

Recent reviews: Roberta Smith, 'The Well-Shaped Phrase as Art ' (New York Times, 16 November 2007) and Steven Stern's Frieze review (March 2008) on Weiner's travelling retrospective ‘AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE’ (Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles and soon in K21 Kunsthsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf).


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[Above: Detail of the exhibition invite. Courtesy Moved Pictures, New York]