Santiago Sierra’s Proyecto Juárez Censored in Mexico
Sierra’s earthwork was somehow to be lit on fire on Mar. 24, 2007, and webcast live on www.santiago-sierra.com. The performance was cancelled, however, after local authorities claimed that fumes from the work would be hazardous to the environment. The claim was disputed by the project’s sponsors, who said it would produce pollution equivalent to the emissions of two buses on a 20-kilometer ride. Sierra’s work was the first in a series of 17 public art works sponsored by El Palacio Negro, a local nonprofit organization headed by Mariana David, with help from the Spanish Embassy and other groups (other artists involved in the project include Miguel Calderón, Yoshua Okón, Javier Tellez and Artur Zmijewski).
245 Cubic Meters, Santiago Sierra, 2006
Sierra’s most recent provocations include setting up a kind of “homemade gas chamber” in a Cologne synagogue in 2006 as a protest against “the banalization of the Holocaust” and, more recently, buying Regina Galindo’s Golden Lion from the 2005 Venice Biennale “in order to resell it for a higher price,” a project that opened at the Prometeogallery di Ida Pisani in Milan in January 2007.”
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Adrian:
May 30th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
How do I access more info regarding Proyecto Juarez’? The Website seems to be down.
Sergio:
June 5th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Adrian:
Word has it that the site was taken down by the Mexican Govt. We are trying to obtain more (and correct) information regarding this matter. For now, there are other sites with similar info, but you may also want to look at the Walker Art Center’s Blog, http://blogs.walkerart.org/offcenter/2007/05/31/sierras-word-fire-snuffed/.
Cheers, and keep in touch.
SMS
Beatrice Rivera:
September 24th, 2009 at 12:29 am
I think Santiago Sierra has a daring talent, to provoke the audience. That is what art is all about, what is the point otherwise. I personally drew a drawing about the holocaust. Named Derailed, it’s posted on ovation tv. I’d love for Sierra to see it, and comment on my art. Is there anyway that is possible, his opinion on my art.. would be an honor.