[no title] Possibly 1976 - 2007

Curator: León Ferrari, the Argentinian artist who lived from 1920 to 2013, made this untitled piece. It seems to be a collage using newsprint. What strikes you initially? Editor: The density of the text is overwhelming, almost oppressive. It feels less like a document and more like a suffocating blanket. Curator: Ferrari often used text and collage to confront political repression and injustice in Argentina. The newspaper clippings here report on political asylum, condemnations, and assassinations. Editor: Knowing the context, I see the labor involved in cutting and pasting these pieces. It's a deliberate act of re-appropriation, turning the very instruments of state control—the media—against themselves. Curator: Exactly. Ferrari challenges the official narratives by exposing the undercurrents of violence and silencing that were rampant. The act of assembling these disparate news items creates a new narrative, doesn't it? Editor: Absolutely. It makes me think about the labor of journalism, the printing process, and how these materials become evidence of a specific political climate. Curator: It's a powerful reminder of art’s capacity to both document and resist. Editor: A testament to the enduring power of bearing witness through accessible materials.