ARCHIVED - Daniel Canogar in Murcia: Incontable

The Sala Verónicas in Murcia hosts ‘Incontable’ by Daniel Canogar until 19th April

To put it quite simply, this is an exhibition even those who think they don´t like contemporary art will find interesting, thought provoking and may even admit to enjoying.

Daniel Canogar is difficult to pigeonhole: technically he’s a visual artist specialising in photography, video, and installation art, but that slightly pompous description fails to convey the technical genius which transforms pieces of junk into living works of art, the creative genius which can take worn-out keyboards and use them to transmit the most influential books in the history of mankind through an archaeological landscape of destitution and yet create something so mesmerizingly beautiful as Sikka Magnum, a piece composed of 360 dvd’s, purchased in a fleamarket for 1 euro a piece, re-activating the past and taking onlookers through a pulsing womb of light and back into the good old days when dvd’s first brought light, colour and movement into our homes.

The exhibition radiates out from this one piece, positioned in the location formerly occupied by an altar in the former Convent of Las Verónicas, which is now a blank and stunningly unique location on which an artist can paint their own palette of creativity. Canogar said that although his work has taken him into the realms of creating large-scale public artworks, ( go to his web and watch the introductory video about projects and be amazed by Waves in the Houston Centre,  Constelaciones, the largest photo-mosaic in Europe created for two pedestrian bridges over the Manzanares River, in MRío Park, Madrid or storming Times Square in New York) he couldn´t resist the opportunity to create an exhibition for this intimate and atmospheric space.  

Sikka Magnum fills the room with dancing light, its title taken from the word “sikka” the predecessors to sequins which highlighted the wealth and power of those who wore them as far back as the days of  the Babylonian Empire nearly 4,000 years ago, a symbol of the power, wealth, glamour and even divinity of those who had the wherewithal to control the scenario played out to onlookers, in much the same way as these dvd’s portray an artificial world of glamour in the film studios of Hollywood where they were created, stars of the silver screen the gods and goddesses of our own fantasy worlds of feelgood perfection. Images from each film are projected back onto the surface of their corresponding dvd, their sound layered to create an audio-visual mosaic, filling the church with light and colour which touches every corner and every other artwork, the subject of bringing life back to discarded objects the core theme around which this exhibition revolves.

Canogar said that he chose this piece to suit the setting because it reminded him of a Baroque window, a glorious focal point from which the message of God was broadcast, and which filled churches worldwide with dancing colour, strong messages of power and divinity and exercising control over an illiterate population, in much the same way as the original sikka.

The light from sikka even penetrates the intimate interior of the convent where nuns watched from behind the fretwork of their silent world, the colours ghostly on the white walls, touching the final piece in this exhibition, linking them together through a common theme of regeneration and communication.

Sikka is the start point from which the other works were chosen: ‘Frecuencia’, formed from 33 television screens brought back to life with white noise and test charts, reminiscent of a time before 24/7 digital broadcasting revolutionised our lifestyle choices, ‘Flicker’, made with 35mm film on which images of screen classics are projected, recalling the transition from celluloid to digital, and works from the Small Data series which explore the passage of time, and the rapidity in which pieces which were once so fundamental to our daily lives become obsolete.

Finally, at the rear of the building is Aphasiac Mapping, a deceptively simple installation formed by an old iron table and keys salvaged from keyboards thrown into skips. These have been laid out to imitate an archaeological excavation, an echo of civilisations past and a reminder that one day our own presence will be viewed with curiosity by our own descendants, the technology of today the archaeology of the future.For Canoger, these keyboards were repositories of our thoughts, and through this work he attempts to set free texts which may have been written or commented on through these keyboards, bringing them back to life.

Using overhead projection the animation begins, highlighting individual letters which gain their own life, flowing into one another to form sentences, a dialogue of some of the most influential texts ever written. Words are fundamental in the belief system, development and cultural influences of mankind since the written word first began to influence communication, and these words merge and flow together, the 40 most influential written works ever known fusing onto the table in relentlessly regimental lines, uncontrollable, unstoppable, yet serving as precise instruments for mass communication: Mao’s little red book, the Bible,Mein Kampf, the Bill of Rights, texts which changed the course of world history.

Gradually the words burn out and ignite, exploring the incendiary potential of words for profound social transformation, words which change the course of history. Who can ever forget “I have a dream.”

‘Incontable’ by Daniel Canogar is in the Sala Verónicas until the 19th April

Opening times for the exhibition are: Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm and on Sundays from 10am to 2pm

Entry is free.

Click for map, Sala Verónicas Murcia

Images: Copyright Murcia Today

More information about Daniel  Canogar
Daniel Canogar has created numerous public art pieces, including Waves, a permanent sculptural installation made with LED tiles, for the atrium of 2 Houston Center, Houston; Travesías, a flexible LED screen commissioned for the atrium of the European Union Council in Brussels during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union in 2010; Constelaciones, the largest photo-mosaic in Europe created for two pedestrian bridges over the Manzanares River, in MRío Park, Madrid; Nodi, two photo-murals in the Arensa Train Station in Naples; Clandestinos, a video-projection presented on various emblematic monuments including the Arcos de Lapa in Rio de Janeiro, the Puerta de Alcalá in Madrid and the church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome.

His recent work includes Asalto New York, a video-projection on the façade of an abandoned factory in Brooklyn, NY; “Latidos”, a solo exhibition at Espacio Fundación Telefónica Buenos Aires; “Vórtices”, an exhibition exploring issues of water and sustainability at the Fundación Canal Isabel II in Madrid; Synaptic Passage, an installation commissioned for the exhibition "Brain: The Inside Story" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York; and two installations at the Sundance Film Festival 2011 in Park City, Utah.

He has exhibited in the Reina Sofia Contemporary Art Museum, Madrid; the Palacio Velázquez, Madrid; Max Estrella Gallery, Madrid; bitforms Gallery, New York; Filomena Soares Gallery, Lisbon; Guy Bärtschi Gallery, Geneve; Mimmo Scognamiglio Artecontemporanea, Milano; the Santa Mónica Art Center, Barcelona; the Alejandro Otero Museum, Caracas; the Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio; the Offenes Kulturhaus Center for Contemporary Art, Linz; the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfallen, Dusseldorf; Hamburger Banhof Museum, Berlin; Borusan Contemporary Museum, Istanbul; the American Museum of Natural History, New York; the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh and the Mattress Factory Museum, Pittsburgh.

Publications by Canogar include “Ciudades Efímeras: Exposiciones Universales, Espectáculo y Tecnología”, Julio Ollero Editor, Madrid, 1992; “Ingrávidos”, Fundación Telefónica, Madrid, 2003; as well as numerous essays on architecture of the image, contemporary photography and new media art.

Web: www.danielcanogar.com