To the Grand Old Oak behind the Grapevine, To the Slippery Elm in the East, To the Multiflora Rose and Perilla Mint, And at the Blue Mistflower, do I cease.
Atop Ingomar Mound, I give Tobacco and thanks, Where Osage Orange and Honey-Locust defend A stone pyre kindled at the height of the heart Thy Holy Spirit, O my God, do Thee send!
Amen, amen, and amen!
Appear to me in the Frostweed— In the leaves and in the flowers and in the roots, In the scented bark of the ancient trees, And among the Sassafras shoots.
Arrow shafts of light pierce my eyelids, Icy feathers of wind caress my hands. Earth gathers Herself beneath my feet Where the rushing waters touch the land.
P. D. Newman has been immersed in the study and practice of alchemy and theurgy for more than two decades. A member of the Masonic Fraternity, the Society of Rosicrucians, and the Martinist Order, he lectures internationally and has published articles in many esoteric journals, including The Scottish Rite Journal, The Masonic Society Journal, and Invisible College. The author of Alchemically Stoned and Angels in Vermilion, he lives in Tupelo, Mississippi.
The gods have “inner” or “spiritual” eyes (oju inun) with which to see the world of heaven and “outside eyes” (oju ode) with which to view the word of men and women. When a person comes under the influence of a spirit, his ordinary eyes swell to accommodate the inner eyes, the eyes of god. He will look broadly across the whole of all the devotees, he will open his eyes abnormally. Araba Eko, Lagos. 13 Janurary 1972. Flash of the Spirit. African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy Robert Farris Thompson 1983
Ritual contact with divinity underscores the religious aspirations of the Yoruba. To become possessed by the spirit of the Yoruba deity, which is a formal goal of the religion, is to “make the god”, to capture numinous flowing force within one’s body. When this happens, the face of the devotee usually freezes into a mask, a mask often (but not always) held during the time of possession by the spirit. Aṣhe is untranslatable.
Flash of the Spirit.African and Afro-American Art and Philosophy Robert Farris Thompson 1983
Bámigbóyè: A Master Sculptor of the Yorùbá Tradition. Mask, carved wood.James Green With Olúṣẹ̀yẹ Adéṣọlá, Anne Turner Gunnison, Efeoghene Igor, Will Rea, and Cathy Silverman. Yale University Press 2022
Ayayema es uno de los espíritus del mundo sobrenatural Kawéskar. Para los Kawéskar -canoeros de los archipiélagos del fin del mundo- existe un orden en la naturaleza, una armonía. Si esta se rompe cuando alguien se enferma o se produce un accidente, es causado por Ayayema, un espíritu poderoso que en su ser, lleva esa propiedad de alterar el orden. Ayayema proviene de hóutk’a álowe “más allá del horizonte”, que es la tierra de los espíritus que transitan desde ese mundo al mundo de los hombres. Él es un depredador, se alimenta de la energía vital de los seres vivos, viene al mundo de los hombres a cazar.
“YO SOY LA VOZ DEL CIELO SUR
QUE TRAE EL INVIERNO Y EL ANGOSTO DIA AUSTRAL
SOMBRAS ENORMES QUE SE LEVANTAN EN LA NOCHE
ALLÍ DONDE VIVE AYAYEMA
ESPÍRITU DEL RUIDO QUE RONCA ENTRE MONTAÑAS Y GLACIARES
QUE CAMINA EN LA ESPESURA DEL BOSQUE Y EL PANTANO
MITAD LLANTO HUMANO, MITAD GRITO DE BESTIA
ÉL TRAE AL VIENTO QUE VUELCA LAS CANOAS
ALLÍ HABITA RONDANDO LA NOCHE
ESCALANDO EL AGUA DE LAS CASCADAS
TRAYENDO EL MAL TIEMPO QUE HEMOS APRENDIDO A VER
EN EL PASO DE UNA BANDADA DE LOROS
QUE HEMOS COMBATIDO QUEMANDO UN DIENTE DE LOBA
Y HECHANDO SUS CENIZAS AL MAR.” (*)
“I AM THE VOICE OF THE SOUTH SKY
THAT BRINGS THE WINTER AND THE NARROW SOUTHERN DAY
HUGE SHADOWS THAT RISE AT NIGHT
WHERE AYAYEMA LIVES
THE SPIRIT OF THE NOISE THAT SNORES AMONG MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS
THAT WALKS IN THE THICKNESS OF THE FOREST AND THE SWAMP
HALF WEEPING HUMAN, HALF THE CRY OF A BEAST
HE BRINGS THE WIND THAT OVERTURNS THE CANOES
THERE HE LIVES WANDERING AROUND THE NIGHT
CLIMBING THE WATER OF THE WATERFALLS
BRINGING THE BAD WEATHER THAT WE HAVE LEARNED TO SEE
IN THE PASSAGE OF A FLOCK OF PARROTS
THAT WE HAVE FIGHTED BY BURNING A WOLF’S TEETH
AND MAKING THEIR ASHES INTO THE SEA.” (*)
(*)Fragments from “Viaje al Archipiélago de los Chonos”, poem and documentary film written by Claudio Rodriguez Lanfranco.
En los Ceremoniales Kawéskar se usaban máscaras que representaban estos espíritus, usadas por los hombres, ya que las mujeres no podían llevarlas. Éstas máscaras, así como la pintura corporal, están más relacionadas con usos rituales que artísticos. Entre los Kawéskar existía un repertorio de canciones para estas ocasiones. Como parte de su rica tradición oral, estas experiencias se transmitían a los iniciados de generación en generación en cánticos alrededor de grandes fogatas donde Ayayema era un protagonista. Es el único tipo de expresión musical que se conoce de este pueblo. Las canciones ceremoniales se desconocen hoy y solo se cuenta con el testimonio de la literatura especializada.
“Kuosá jeksólok ak’uás æs čačár tawaisélok aksǽmhar os
aselái eik’olájer-s kuos ko at ku kiáu afsenák at árka æs sa
“Y después el finado, el espíritu, el alma de mi difunto papá, decían, contaban en aquella carpa, se sentía hablar, en la carpa que quedaba más arriba de la mía. Y a los espíritus les decían Ayayema así los llamaban. A él me mandaron, me mandaron animándome y le pregunté a él: “Padre, ¿eres tú el que está hablando?”, así dije. Y me respondió el espíritu que mora más allá del horizonte: “Sí”, así [dijo], “¿por qué me estás preguntando?
Los cuentos, relatos de viaje y las historias de vida Kawéskar, constituyen lo que se ha llamado “arte de la palabra”. Joel Sherzer y Greg Urban (1986) manifiestan que “Ningún indígena sudamericano ha ganado jamás el premio Nobel por su actuación (performance) oral u oratoria política. Sin embargo, todos los días y todas las noches los miembros de remotas sociedades de Brasil, Ecuador, Panamá, Chile, que viven en medioambientes no tecnológicos, están creando y desplegando una notable diversidad de formas verbales caracterizadas por riqueza metafórica, procesos poéticos y retóricos y estilos intensamente personales, todos los cuales son parte íntima de la reproducción y transmisión de sus tradiciones culturales y estéticas”.
Entre los Kawéskar se desarrolló durante siglos este arte de la palabra y fue la única manera de transmitir el conocimiento y de expresar estéticamente mediante la palabra (cf. O. Aguilera)
Poemas sobre máscaras desde poemario inédito Luz de lluvia escrito por Claudia Vila Molina
Grietas de la máscara
No nos es dado seguir hablando
ni de encontrar rastros perdidos
el azul juega con sus colores
y se forman raíces a tu alrededor
Son formas ennegrecidas
del sucio mineral de tu sangre,
espacio leve disgregado
en torno a esa máscara.
Tiempo ancestral
Recorro espacios cerrados
la memoria archiva actos conocidos
y solo vapor emerge desde estados de la imaginación,
mi mente perpetra esos instintos
(armonía remota de un entramado salvaje)
lucho por la veracidad de signos confiscados
y es penetrante tu esencia
ese código agrieta mis destinos
y películas convergen hacia tu manantial
Algo nos rodea desde siempre,
imagen pétrea instalada en cuencas de la prehistoria,
Es un asunto de querer magnetizar los elementos encontrados. Unirlos como si fueran una solución a un problema, sin tener , ni presentarse como problema. Al encontrar un objeto se van produciendo solas las uniones, la visión de esa reunión empieza a crear se su propia obra. Una inspiración creativa que se gesta a través de las palabras y las acciones. Arte de acción, teatro, poesía, plástica.
Nacido el año de 1961 y dedicado a la creación artística desde entonces, cuento en la actualidad con 62 años y perseveró con entusiasmo en la creación de poesía, obra plástica y conciertos de poesía.
Francisco Rios Araya blends the ancient diversity between Paracas culture and Chilote mythology to build a new mythic hybrid. Rios creates a séance with the memories of archaeological sites, improvised ceremony and masks.
Mun gee dik lives in rocks and along shadows near lake Manitou…it is said this spirit hid a cache of weapons in a cave from the marauding Iroquois…some believe weapons are hidden to this day and include modern firearms that were lost or thought stolen…the Great War hero Kawbenaw is said to still be alive and is keeping these weapons…someday mun gee dik and Kawbenaw will make themselves known
written and created by Duncan Neganigwane Pheasant
Mitchell Pluto
In August 1869, Alexander Jay Russell, a railroad photographer, captured an image of an unidentified entity during a total solar eclipse in Western Montana Territory. Russell’s journal entry depicted the creature as a tree-like being that glided along the ground and through the trees, mimicking every texture it encountered. The dark visor was the only consistent characteristic.
Photos found at an estate sale in 2023 are now in the possession of the Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives. Certain independent researchers suggest that this camouflaged entity possesses the capacity to swiftly adjust its chromatophores, enabling it to blend into any surroundings without being easily observed or recognized. This trait resembles that of Cephalopoda, the only organism known to exhibit such capabilities.
Many witnesses in Montana reported similar encounters during the solar eclipse on February 26, 1979, like Russell’s. Authorities have not yet released any official comments to the public.
welding mask with painted copper leaf by Mitchell Pluto. Wild Plains Horse Plains, Montana
epilogue
Ulen the elegant trickster. Plays tricks with his double, 1923. Photograph by Martin Gusinde
“In 1923, the Ulen only appeared once and then simply to amuse the public. A man went to the camp and told the women and children to observe the Hain closely. Awhile later, they saw Ulen’s large head protruding from one side of the Hain, his right arm arched over it. He started fixedly at the audience for several minutes and then vanished, only to reappear instantly on the other side of the hut, with his left arm arched over his head, still staring. The public marveled at the speed at the speed with which he cover the distance of some eight metres. The public did not know that the “backstage” there were two rigorously identical Ulens, posed at each side of the Hain. A third man gave them signals as to the exact moment at which they were to protrude their heads. The performers practiced a great deal in order to coordinate their movements and remain immobile for several minutes.”
Chapman, Anne (2008) Hain, Selknam Initiation Ceremony. Initiation ceremony of the Selknam of Tierra Del Fuego 12 160-162
Sanite Belair, Haitian Héroïne of the Revolution of 1803 by François Cauvin 2021.
François Cauvin is an acclaimed Haitian artist based in Montreal. His iconic portrait of Toussaint Louverture with a guinea fowl forming his hat is the cover image of Sudhir Hazareesingh’s Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture. The famous portrait has now travelled far and wide as this book won the Wolfson Prize, the UK’s most prestigious history prize. Recently he has completed portraits of Haiti’s revolutionary women, including Sanite Belair and Marie-Jeanne Lamartinière. With funding from the Glasgow Knowledge Exchange Fund, Cauvin will speak with Rachel Douglas at UK museums and the Houses of Parliament on the topic “Visual Aftershocks of the Haitian Revolution.”
Nouvelle toile par François Cauvin ” Marie Jeanne Lamartinière “ Acrylique sur canevas. 2023. Contrairement a ce que le noirisme duvalieriste nous a fait croire , Marie Jeanne Lamartiniere etait metisse ,d’un pere francais et d’une mere africaine. Demolition des mythes pour une nouvelle Haiti sans prejuges.
”Black Spartacus” by Sudhir Hazareesingh. Painting François Cauvin
Meesha Goldberg is a Korean American artist and poet living in Charlottesville, VA. Her experiences growing food, serving as an activist, and journeying to sacred places have made her a powerful advocate for the Earth. Goldberg has exhibited her work in solo shows around the United States, with her debut poetry chapbook “The Seed is Waiting in the Dark” forthcoming in 2024 through Finishing Line Press. Her art crosses the boundaries of genre to both experience and express transformational repair. Performance, ritual, painting, film, and poetry merge in durational, place-based works and gallery installations that insist upon the re-enchantment of the world.
The Seed Is Waiting in the Dark by Meesha Goldberg
This title will be released on January 19, 2024
The Seed is Waiting in the Darkconfronts the realities of ecological catastrophe and diasporic displacement with the lyric intensity of a life lived reckoning with questions of collective survival. Included within this debut collection are five of Goldberg’s paintings, which poignantly illustrate these feral, visionary poems. Full of grief, grace, and lessons from the land, The Seed is Waiting in the Dark conjures ancestral instincts to claim belonging within the cycles of natural life.
Toda ciudad hiede a sombras las cuales son a su vez sus cementos, que la ocultan, a ella, la de la piel perlada y ojos evocadores. Filo emergido del océano antiguo bajo la oscuridad nubosa de la palabra sonido del reino animal que dibuja su notocorda (o notocordio) por consejo de los cantos cámbricos de células turgentes y cada cuerda se compone según designio con ese diseño urdido en los albores del primer sentir del todo música que continúa con su decibel arcano y transversal.
Born in 1961, he entered the Faculty of Arts of the University of Chile in 1980, from where he was exonerated at the end of 1981. There he had classes with artists such as Luis Lobo Parga, Adolfo Couve and Luis Advis among others. It was then that he began his studies in fine arts at the Institute of Contemporary Art, where he was a student of Sergio Sosa, Milan Ivelic, Gaspar Galaz and Enrique Zamudio, among a long list of notable academics. He interrupted these studies to enter Graphic Design, where he would meet great masters, such as his friend Claudio Cortes, or the outstanding Antonio Pérez and Patricio de la O. At the end of this training, he returned for one more year to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and finally , studied a Color diploma at the Catholic University of Chile during 1992.
He is considered one of the most notable representatives of surrealist painting; His works have been exhibited in Italy, France, Spain and the United States.
“Sol, el cuarto cielo” Acrílico sobre tela y madera. 50 x 50 cm 2023
Writing is an art, which requires a life and I don’t know how to write, I know how to paint, after 25 years, I don’t stop learning and growing. Words can probe the deepest reality, but it is not the only way, you can have few words and still have a profound impact on the nuances of reality, you can have songs in your mind, plastic and colors.
I have colors.
When I look at a painter I also see words. Meanings, ways of seeing the world and nature, that have been transferred, inherited from one artist to another. As if we all spoke the same language, a hidden one. Hidden it is, behind the colors that live in my mind.
I do not hide in the colors, from the unbearable reality. I want to think that I shape it, I want to think that it can be inhabited in other realities. I want to think that I win the fight, freedom from myself, freedom from reality. I want to be able to see a space, a small work of art and it reminds me of this, it speaks to me about the spirit, I want to inhabit dreams. Imagine the psyche of a great musician, composing songs in his mind, or a poet spinning beautiful phrases full of meaning. Evading the weight of the psychic constructions of the most common social dynamics. What a beautiful girl, that guy looked at me ugly, how badly that old man drives, how fat, how tall, DO RE MI FA SOL LA SI, isn’t it perhaps a transmutation.
I don’t know how to write, I can put these meaningful sentences, which I will regret later, not a poet. Nor from what I have painted, a constant growth, the practice of a static that comes from colors and forms. A way of meditating, a way of praying, perhaps that is why I am building altars today.
Allí se ubicaron en un improvisado toldo levantado con ramas de calafate, apoyados bajo una gigantesca roca que le daba la espalda al viento que corría desde el NorEste y que traía las nubes del Atlántico.
La fogata ardió esta vez a cargo Ocetán quien no tardó en reunir material combustible para alimentar las llamas y depositar cuidadosamente sobre el suelo los hongos recolectados durante su pasada por los faldeos de la Sierra Boquerón.
Extrajo de su bolsa (mujii) los hongos y raíces que forman la dieta invernal del fueguino hongos que crecen sobre el suelo esponjoso de los pantanos donde sus raíces pequeñas se internan quedando solo visible la parte superior algo más colorida por la acción de la luz.
El sabroso shanamain, el suave y transparente Ahuichi, cubierto de pintas blancas y rojas la chahuata que crece allí en todos los árboles vivos y el lechoso chagadakaamáin que sabe muy bien asado cubierto entre las cenizas calientes del fuego.
Mientras los ojos de ella ardían en la noche Selcha hurgueteó en el componente mineral que formaba las rocas y con el pehí (cuchillo) raspó hasta dar con una veta de marcado tono rojizo que llamó su atención por la inusual extensión que ocupaba en la superficie del granito
Derritiendo luego un trozo de grasa de guanaco y separando la roca del pigmento, mezcló ambos logrando una masa colorida y viscosa que afinó machacándola en un improvisado mortero ubicado en la roca.
Untó los dedos en la pintura tibia dibujando primero en su cuerpo y luego en el de su pareja desnuda la simbología de su clan y mientras el silencio de la noche se apoderaba de ese paisaje solitario, se alimentaron bajo las estrellas, al alero de estos grandes bloques abandonados por antiguas glaciaciones sobre la inmensidad de la pampa, allí donde durante milenios la luz de la luna recortaba sus pálidas siluetas graníticas en el azul de la noche, anunciándolas mucho más inmensas y misteriosas que durante los angostos días antárticos.
Entonces sólo el aullido de algún animal nochero se hacía sentir muy lejano trazando su oscuro guión en la noche, y pronto ambos se durmieron abrazados por la naturaleza que sabiamente todo lo acoge
-DCXCI-
“Trashumancia”, poema inédito del libro “Cuando la Tierra se Acaba”, de Claudio Rodriguez Lanfranco.
born in Valparaíso in 1968. After living in Patagonia and in the United States, a product of a scholarship, his first painting exhibitions back to the nineties in Valdivia. Later he moved to Santiago and the Fifth Region, where his visual and literary work materializes in a body of work that addresses different forms of expression, such as painting and drawing, experimental and documentary video, visual poetry and muralism, with public art projects installed in Santiago, Valparaíso. As a visual artist he has exhibited his paintings in 15 solo shows and in more than 60 group shows in Chile, Europe and the United States, and his poetic texts have been published in regional, national and international poetry collections, his work being awarded in different state funds for artistic creation such as Fondart, Cntv, Fondo Carnavales Cultural Centers of Valparaíso, among others. Currently the painter lives and works between Valparaíso, Santiago and Concón, where he develops his artistic projects and teacher training, being in charge of university graduates, painting and mural workshops, becoming a teacher for generations of students and artists who have worked with him.
MY LITTLE SELK’NAM ARMY IS A PAINTING WITHOUT ANY RUSH AND THAT HAS BEEN CREATED OVER TIME, FORMING A VISUAL ASSEMBLY STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION MADE IN PRINCIPLE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDS OF MARTÍN GUSINDE AND OTHER STYLE ARCHIVES , BUT WHICH THEN WAS INSTALLED WITH ITS OWN IMAGINARY. WITH THIS WORK I ALSO PAY A DEBT TO MY HISTORY AS A PAINTER, BODY PAINTING BEING ONE OF THE THEMES THAT HAS DIAGONALLY CROSSED ALL OF MY WORK.
“MY LITTLE SELKNAM ARMY”IT IS AN EXERCISE OF REPRESENTATION THROUGH PAINTING OF THIS RITUAL PATTERN OF FUEGIAN CREATION: AN AESTHETIC RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SUPERNATURAL AND A WAY OF UPDATING THE MYTH OF ORIGIN THROUGH A PROPOSAL FOR CONTEMPORARY CREATION THAT AT THE SAME TIME SEEKS TO RESIST FORGETTING.
-ASPECTS OF ETERNAL ADOLESCENCE-
A COUPLE OF NIGHTS AGO I LISTENED TO A SPECIALIST IN THEMES OF EMOTIONAL GROWTH -A SOCIOLOGIST I BELIEVE- TALK ABOUT THE BEHAVIOR OF MODERN ADOLESCENTS WITH REGARD TO THEIR INTEGRATION INTO THE ENVIRONMENT AND OTHER BEHAVIORS RELATED TO THEIR SOCIAL AND GROUP VALIDATION. QUITE KNOWLEDGEABLE ON THESE ISSUES, THE SOCIOLOGIST EXPLAINED CLEARLY REFERRING TO THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LOSS OF RITES OF PASSAGE IN CURRENT SOCIETIES, WHICH WOULD MEAN FOR THE ADOLESCENT GROUP TODAY, A STRONG DEFICIENCY IN THE SOCIAL AND PERSONAL AFFECTIVE FIELD, BY NOT HAVING NO CLEAR GENERATIONAL SIGN THAT CONFIRMS WHEN IS THAT EXACT MOMENT WHEN YOU STOP BEING A CHILD TO BECOME AN ADULT IN FULL MATURITY. THIS WOULD EXPLAIN THE SENSATION OF NOT BELONGING SOMETIMES MANIFESTED BY THE ADOLESCENT GROUP AND WOULD BE ADJUSTED IN SOME CASES,
THIS LACK OF SECURITY REGARDING THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD WOULD AFFECT ADOLESCENTS IN ALMOST ALL CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES AND WOULD BE EXTENDERED BY A SYSTEM THAT APPEARS TO IGNORE THE TRANSCENDENCE OF THESE GENERATIONAL ISSUES OR EVOLUTIONARY PROCESSES OF VITAL IMPORTANCE, SUCH AS THOSE THAT THEY ANNOUNCE THE GREAT CHANGES IN THE HUMAN BEING.
TO ADOLESCENCE COMES FROM ADOLESCENCE, TIME OF AILMENTS AND CHANGES. LEAVING AWAY THE FIRST MENSTRUATION OR THE CASE OF SEXUAL INITIATION IN MEN, TRADITIONALLY MARKED BY THE LITTLE GIRL ON TURN THAT DAD CHOOSES, THERE ARE FEW OR NONE OF THE SPACES OF RITUAL TRUST THAT WE PRACTICE SERIOUSLY AS PARENTS AND SONS. IT IS PARADOXICAL THAT REACHING THE AGE OF MAJORITY IS TODAY, IN A COUNTRY THAT BOASTS OF PRIVILEGING FAMILY VALUES, TECHNICALLY NOTHING MORE THAN A MERE PROCEDURE, WHERE AT THE AGE OF 18 THE ADOLESCENT “AUTOMATICALLY” BEGINS TO CARRY A CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY THAT THEY MUST CULTIVATE . FAR FROM ANY CEREMONY, IT IS NOT CURIOUS THEN THAT FINALLY THERE ARE EVERY FEWER RITES THAT CALL US TO COME TOGETHER OPENLY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DEATH, WHEN IT IS ALREADY TOO LATE.
FOR ANCIENT CULTURES SUCH AS THE SELKNAM, ONE OF OUR ORIGINAL AUTRAL PEOPLES, THESE CEREMONIES OR RITES OF PASSAGE WERE VERY IMPORTANT, EVEN CAUSING GREAT GENDER WARS FOR POWER AND DOMINATION OF THESE FESTIVALS, WHERE THE HOUSE WAS THROWN DOWN -O EL TOLDO- THROUGH THE WINDOW TO PAY TRIBUTE TO THE KEY MOMENT THROUGH WHICH THEIR CELEBRATIONS PASSED FOR THE ONLY TIME IN LIFE.
THE HAIN CLEARLY EMERGES AS THAT SACRED CEREMONY THAT USED THEATER AND SURVIVAL REPRESENTATIONS TO TEST THE MEASURE OF THE INITIATES, PREPARING THEM FOR A PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATIONS WITHIN THE MILESTONE THAT WOULD MARK A NEW EVENT IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THE KLOKÉTEN NOVICE IN FRONT OF HIS TRIBE, WHO AT THAT MOMENT JOINTLY DECIDED THEIR PASS TO PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL MATURITY. A SACRED ACT WHICH WOULD GIVE THEIR LIVES BOTH STRUCTURE AND SIGNIFICANCE AND WHICH WOULD ALLOW THEM TO GENERATE THE TRUST WHICH THE INITIATED COULD LATER HAND ON FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE DEFINED WITH SUCH OPENNESS AND CLARITY, ALLOWED THE KLOKÉTEN TO BEGIN THE RITUAL PROCESS TO STOP BEING A CHILD AND THUS TAKE THE REINS OF ITS OWN MATURITY.
BEING AN ADULT, HOW COMPLICATED…. EVERYTHING WRITTEN IS BORN FROM ONE OF THE PICTURES OR “ FRAGMENTS”, WHICH I PAINTED YEARS AGO ON A TREE BARK (ABOVE IN THE PHOTO) AND WHERE THE SPIRIT OF HAIN MANIFESTS HOUSING IN THE PAINTED FIGURE OF AKLOKÉTEN . HERE IS REPRESENTED THE COMPLEX SYMBOLISM OF INITIAL OPPOSITION AND TRANSFORMATION BY WHICH THE KLOKÉTENHE WAS SUBJECTED INSIDE SECRET SOCIETIES THAT SEEKED TO TURN HIM INTO A MAN. THE FUSION OF A WORLD IN TRANSIT OR RITE OF PASSAGE IS INCORPORATED INTO THE PICTORICAL SIGN AND INTO THE HISTORY BROUGHT WITH IT BY THE SUPPORT, COLLECTED FOR THAT PURPOSE ON THE SLOPE OF THE VILLARRICA VOLCANO FROM THE CALCINATED REMAINS OF A CONIFER SPLIT BY LIGHTNING. JUST AS THE ANCIENTS DID TO MAKE THE RITUAL MASKS WHICH THEY USED IN THEIR CEREMONIES, I COLLECT THE BARK OF THE TREES TO PAINT THEM WITH PART OF THIS HISTORY THAT DISAPPEARS AND THAT ALSO BELONGS TO ME, BEING THE COLLECTION, A RITE THAT IS SIBLISHED TO THE PAINTING ALREADY THE TELLURIC TEXTURES OF THE EARTH, LIKE BROKEN FRAGMENTS FROM A NOT SO REMOTE PAST, AND IN WHICH WE STILL REFLECT OURSELVES.
-MY LITTLE SELK’NAM ARMY- I
THE VARIETY OF COSTUMES THAT THE SELK’NAM USED FOR THEIR PERFORMANCES DURING THE HAIN CEREMONY, THEY ARE BASED ON A CONCEPT OF CORPORALITY CREATED TO DELIVER THEIR IDEAS REGARDING RELIGIOUSNESS AND INFLUENCES TO WHICH THEY WERE SUBJECTED SINCE THEIR ORIGINS IN A DOMINANT MATRIARCHAL SOCIETY, IN WHICH THE BODY WAS THE MAIN COMMUNICATION INSTRUMENT OF MAN . THIS CONCEPT OF IMAGE, DESIGN AND MOVING COLORS ARE KEY ELEMENTS TO UNDERSTAND THE SYMBOLIC MESSAGE OF ITS CEREMONIES. IN THIS SECRET GAME, THE WORK OF THE SPIRITS WAS TO PUNISH HARDLY THOSE WHO OPPOSED THE ORDERS OF THE WOMEN.
THE PASSAGE OF TIME WOULD BE KNOWN AS THE UPDATING OF THE MYTH -ENDING THE FEMALE DOMINANCE IN CEREMONIES- THE REVEALED MEN FOUND A NEW HUT BUILT OF ROCK WITH SEVEN STONE POSTS DRAGGED FROM THEIR NATAL COUNTRIES. FIRST WACUS STARTED , THEN PAWUS AND AFTER SANU. THEY WERE STRONG AND TALL MEN. WHEN THE FIRST THREE PILLARS WERE WELL SECURED, HE BEGAN TO RAISE HIS SATE , THEN TALEN , THEN KEYAISK AND FINALLY YOISIK . EACH ONE OF THEM STOOD UNDER THE POST HE HAD RAISED, ASSUMING THE ROLE OF THE SEVEN SUPPORTSMAIN. THESE MEN ANCESTORS IN MYTHICAL TIMES WOULD BE TRANSFORMED AFTER THEIR DEATH IN DIFFERENT BEINGS OF THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, ACTING AS SIGNIFICANTS IN EACH EPISODE REPRESENTED IN THE RITUAL AND ESTABLISHING AN ORDER THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE THAT THEY WOULD HAVE MAINTAINED UNTIL HISTORICAL TIMES.
EACH ONE OF THE SEVEN REGIONS OF THE SELK’NAM TERRITORY HAD A SUPPORT ACCOMPANIED BY HIS XALPEN WIFE . XALPEN WAS A FEMALE SPIRIT OF GREAT POWER FEARED BY MEN AND WOMEN WHO LIVED UNDER THE EARTH AND CALLED ON MEN TO SATISFY THEIR LUSTFUL DESIRES. “IT IS ABOUT AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, IRRITABLE, CAPRICIOUSLY UNPREDICTABLE BEING, WHICH WITH GREAT PLEASURE CAUSES MEN THE MOST DIVERSE DISCOMFORT. She alternates them to satisfy her sexual desires with them, REGARDLESS THAT UNDERGROUND, THE INITIATES OF THE KLÓKETEN ARE PERMANENTLY AVAILABLE (…) SHE IS CONSIDERED A WOMAN OF GREAT PROCREATIVE POWER AND BECAUSE OF HER ARBITRARIOUSNESS, SHE IS HATED BY WOMEN WHO HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD MAKE AN EFFORT TO CALM IT OUT OF CONSIDERATIONS TOWARDS THEIR HUSBANDS AND CHILDREN” (M.GUSINDE 1990: 908)
EACH SUPPORT THEN WAS DECORATED WITH PAINTINGS AND DESIGNS DEFINED BY TRADITION. THEIR FIGURES AND MOVEMENTS WERE CONSIDERED BY THE SELK’NAM AS MAGNIFICENT AND BEAUTIFUL, ESPECIALLY AMONG WOMEN. SANUIT WAS THE SOORTE OF THE WEST . WITH A RED BODY AND ABUNDANT WHITE DOTS ORDERED SYMMETRICALLY THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE BODY, IT INDICATED THE SPIRIT’S BELONGING TO A SPECIFIC CARDINAL POINT THAT COULD BE EASILY INTERPRETED BY ALL BYSTANDERS THANKS TO THE PREDOMINANCE OF COLOR. ITS BODY ORNAMENTATION PRESENTED A DEFINED DESIGN PATTERN, WHICH SEEKED TO HIGHLIGHT A TALL, SLIM, STRONG AND AGILE FIGURE, SOMETIMES REPRESENTED BY MOVEMENTS SUCH AS FLIGHT: “SHOULDERS RAISED, ARMS FOLDED AND SLIGHTLY SEPARATED FROM THE BODY, AND HANDS CLOSED IN FISTS, THE “ACTOR” REPETITATIVELY LIFTS HIS FEET, MOVES HIS HEAD ENERGETICALLY, GIVES QUICK JUMPS, STOPS AFTER EACH ONE OF THEM AND THEN MAKES THE WHOLE BODY SHAKE” .
THE SEVEN MAIN SUPPORTS WERE SYMBOLICALLY RELATED TO THE “FOUR INVISIBLE MOUNTAINS OF INFINITY”, COMBINING A HIGH-LEVEL IDEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION OF CONCEPTUAL AND AESTHETIC ABSTRACTION. SOORTE SANU CAME FROM THE WEST KÉNENIK MOUNTAIN RANGE, PLACE OF THE SUNSET OF THE SUN EXPRESSED BY THE ORIGIN OF RED AND THE TRAIL OF DEATH. REPRESENTING AN OWN CULTURAL IMAGINERY THROUGH THE PERFORMANCE OF THE RITE WAS FOR THE SELK’NAM A COMPLEX SHOW OF ANTHROPOMORPHOLIC BEINGS WHOSE MASKS AND ACTIONS REVEALED THEIR PERSONALITY, THUS HELPING TO ORDER AND UPDATE A SYMBOLIC-TERRITORIAL SPACE SUPPORTED BY ATTITUDES AND SOCIAL VALUES.
-MY LITTLE SELK’NAM ARMY- II
IN THE YEARS OF THE HAIN MYTH, THE YOUNGER AND INEXPERIENCED MEN OCCUPY INSIDE THE CEREMONIAL, THE SITE OF THE SECONDARY SUPPORTS; AGILE AND FAST BODIES PREPARED AND DECORATED FOR DANCE WITH COLORS ONLY PARTIALLY VISIBLE TO OTHERS, THUS SHOWING THEIR SURPRISING SPEED AND BODY ENERGY. ULEM IS ONE OF THEM. HE RELATED WITH THE OTHER SOORTES THROUGH THE THREE MAIN COLORS AND HIS FENSE FOR MOVEMENT:
“THE BODY IS DARK RED AND WHITE HORIZONTAL STRIPES ARE APPLIED TO IT, LEAVING SHORT INTERMEDIATE SECTIONS”…”VERTICALLY FROM THE NECK PASSING THROUGH THE NAVEL, LOWERS A WHITE LINE. THE ULEM MASK IS MADE OF COLORED BARK LIGHTER RED WITH THREE WHITE LINES ON THE TOP”.
THIS POINT – LINE – STRIP REITERATING WITHIN THE FIELDS OF BODY DRAWING, REFERS TO THE MYTH OF THE SAME CHARACTERS: MALE SPIRITS WITH IDEAL PHYSICAL QUALITIES FOR A HUNTER-GATHERER IN THE TIME OF THE SELK’NAM SOCIETY: AGILITY, STRENGTH, SPEED AND BEAUTY.
EACH SUPPORT HAD TOTAL CREATION AUTONOMY AND BY NOT REPRESENTING A DEFINED PATTERN IN ITS DESIGN, IT WAS POSSIBLE TO RECOGNIZE EACH OF THEM BY THEIR MASKS.
ALL FIGURES WITH GREAT MOBILITY, BLENDED INTO THE BLACK ANTARCTIC NIGHTS, TRYING TO REPRESENT THE MOVEMENTS OF SOME LOCAL ANIMAL BROUGHT INTO THE FIELD OF THE CEREMONY, WITHOUT FORGETTING THAT DESPITE THEY ENJOYED GREAT FREEDOM, EACH OF THE CHARACTERIZATIONS WAS SUBORDINATED TO A PREVIOUSLY ESTABLISHED SCRIPT INHERITED FROM PREVIOUS GENERATIONS.
THIS SIGN OF BELONGING GAVE SENSE TO THE CYCLE OF LIFE, AND EACH YOUNG INITIATE WHO UNDERTAKEN THE RITUAL UNDERSTANDED IT SO. ULEM IS PART OF SOME 100 FIGURES PAINTED ON COIGÜE PLATE THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE POLYPTHYTHY MURAL “MY LITTLE SELKNAM ARMY” .
-MY LITTLE SELK’NAM ARMY- III
ACID LIKE A PAINTING COMPOSED OF SEVERAL PIECES THAT TOGETHER MAKE UP A MAJOR WORK, “MY LITTLE SELK’NAM ARMY” IS A POLYPTIC MURAL OF FIGURES IN OIL AND MIXED TECHNIQUES ON COIGUE AND MAÑÍO PLATES THAT I BEGAN TO PAINT IN 1998 AND WHICH I CONTINUE TO PAINTING UNTIL TODAY AS AN EXERCISE OF CREATION ON TRAVEL, CARRIED OUT DURING MY TEMPORARY TRANSIT THROUGH DIFFERENT PLACES IN CHILE SUCH AS THE ANDES MOUNTAINS, THE SOUTHERN CANALS, PATAGONIA OR THE ROUGH ARIDITY OF THE NORTHERN COASTS, TRAVELING ON SOLO EXPEDITIONS OVER THE DECK OF BOATS, BUS SEATS, LOANED CARS, MICROS OR PLANES; RESTING IN HOTELS, SHELTERS OR TENTS, WORKING AND WALKING IN WHICH ARE UP TO NOW 120 FIGURES OF BODY PAINTED IN A SIZE OF 16 X 10 CMS EACH AND WHICH FORM AS A WHOLE,
BODY PAINTING OF REAL AND INVENTED BEINGS, IMAGINED, TORN FROM THE BORDERS OF DEATH (AND OBLIVION) IN A FORMAT OF RITUAL REPRESENTATION THAT THE ANCIENTS KEPT UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF THE WHITE MAN AS A CEREMONY OF PASSAGE FOR THE NEW GENERATIONS OF INITIATES.
THIS IS THE ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC, MY TERRACOTTA ESCORT. A GUARD OF MOCETONES MADE OF MUD AND FUNERAL WOOD THAT STAND UP AMONG THE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE LIKE A MASTER BEAM THAT SPEAKS TO US WITH THE SILENCE OF THE EXHUMEED BODIES, THAT ADVENTURE OF NAMELESS GRAVES, EMPTY BASINS AND TRACES MISSING LIKE RUBBLE BURIED AMONG THE branches.
THE PETROGLYPHS OF THE CHOAPA VALLEY- TWOIN THE PATH
THE REGION BETWEEN THE ILLAPEL AND CHOAPA RIVERS CORRESPONDS TO THE SOUTH/EAST EXTREME OF THE PROVINCE OF THE SAME NAME, IN THE IV REGION OF CHILE. IT IS ALSO THE SOUTHERN LIMIT OF THE NORTE CHICO, A GEOGRAPHICAL AND CLIMATE TRANSITION ZONE TO THE ABSOLUTE ARIDITY OF THE NORTE GRANDE.
CROSSED BY A LARGE NUMBER OF TRANSVERSE VALLEYS, THIS REGION IS THE NARROWEST IN CHILE -90 KM WIDTH FROM THE SEA TO THE CORDILLERA- WHICH MAKES IT A USUAL HUMAN TRACK SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL. FULL OF MOUNTAIN PASSES THAT CROSS THE ANDES AT VERY LOW ALTITUDE, IT HAS BEEN A PLACE OF PERMANENT MOVEMENT OF HUMAN POPULATIONS SINCE PRE-HISPANIC TIMES. UNTIL TODAY IT IS COMMON TO SEE MUTLEEERS WITH CARAVANS OF MULES TRAVELING THE BEAUTIFUL FOOTPRINT THAT WINDS DRAWING THE NARROW VALLEY THAT FOLLOWS THE COURSE OF THE ILLAPEL RIVER, OR THROUGH THE FERTILE CAUCE OF THE CHOAPA, WHICH OFFERS A GOOD AMOUNT OF NATURAL VIEWPOINTS FROM WHICH THE ANCIENT HAD A PERFECT PANORAMIC OF THE VALLEY.
FOLLOWING A BRANCH OF THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO THE CAVILOLÉN SLOPE, WE GO INTO AN AREA FULL OF FERTILE TRANSVERSAL VALLEYS INHABITED BY MAN FOR MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND YEARS.
PLACE OF ORIGIN OF STRONG POPULAR MYTHS, TODAY WE TRY TO TRAVEL THROUGH THESE ROADS, AS A WAY TO REMAKE PART OF THE ANCIENT TRACES OCCUPIED BY THE NOMADIC SHEPHERDS AND AS POSSIBLE TO DISCOVER THE MYSTERIOUS REASON THAT MOTIVATED THESE MEN TO MARK THEIR PASSAGE THROUGH THESE PLACES , THROUGH THE STONE INSCRIPTION OF ROCK ART.
WE LEAVE THE CITY OF ILLAPEL BEHIND, TO PASS THROUGH THE MYSTERIOUS SALAMANCA -NATIONAL CAPITAL OF IMBUNCHE- AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE COURSE OF THE CHOAPA RIVER TO ITS ORIGIN, SOMETHING SOUTHEAST OF CUNCUMEN, OUR FIRST STOP.
NIGHT FALLS SLOWLY OVER THE GENTLE SLOPS OF THE MOUNTAINS, FROM WHERE THE CACTI RISE LIKE ANCIENT LOOTCH-OUTS OUTLINED AGAINST THE FADING COLOR OF THE SKIES.
THE WIND SLOWS DOWN AND A STRONG SILENCE APPEARS SPEEDING UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE EARTH, WHILE WE INSTALL OUR TENTS AND DREAM THAT ON FULL MOON NIGHTS, WITCHES WILL FLY OUT TO THEIR COVENS WHILE POETS WILL WRITE WITH A BONE PUNCH IN THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE OF A BLACK GOAT.
THRESHOLDS
“THRESHOLD IS THAT BRIDGE THAT IS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN ONE PLACE AND ANOTHER, THAT (IN)VISIBLE PATH OR LIMIT THAT SEPARATES THEM, IS THE MINIMUM SIGN, SKIN, TEXTURE OR MATTER, FIRST STEP OR ENTRANCE FOR THINGS TO HAPPEN, OPEN DOOR IN FRONT OF THE THE ABYSS OF A NON-EXISTENT SPACE WHICH IS ALSO THE WORLD OF PAINTING, WHICH MOVES, WHICH MUTS, WHICH CHANGES, WHICH DISAPPEARES; THRESHOLD IS THE FRONTIER AND THE REVERSE OF THINGS, IT IS AT THE SAME TIME THE BEGINNING AND THE END, ORIGIN AND DESTINATION, ENTRY AND EXIT; THRESHOLD IS PAINTING AT THE SPEED OF A NERVOUS IMPULSE STIMULATING UNKNOWN SPACES, EXPLORING A NON-PLACE AND FINDING THE PERMANENT FACES OF ITS ABSENCE IN IT.”
“THRESHOLDS”,SERIES OF 15 PAINTINGS, TWO SHOWN, IN MIXED TECHNIQUE ON COUCHÉ PAPER, 40 X 40 CMS EACH, MADE BETWEEN MY WORKSHOPS OF “LAS ANIMAS” IN VALDIVIA AND “RIO ACONCAGUA” IN CONCON, ON THE EDGE OF THE XXI CENTURY.
born in Valparaíso in 1968. After living in Patagonia and in United States product of a scholarship, his first painting exhibitions were date back to the nineties in Valdivia. Later he moved to Santiago and the Fifth Region, where his visual and literary work materializes in a body of work that addresses different forms of expression, such as painting and drawing, experimental and documentary video, visual poetry and muralism, with public art projects installed in Santiago, Valparaíso. As a visual artist he has exhibited his paintings in 15 solo shows and in more than 60 group shows in Chile, Europe and the United States, and his poetic texts have been published in regional, national and international poetry collections, his work being awarded in different state funds for artistic creation such as Fondart, Cntv, Fondo Carnavales Cultural Centers of Valparaíso, among others. Currently the painter lives and works between Valparaíso, Santiago and Concón, where he develops his artistic projects and teacher training, being in charge of university graduates, painting and mural workshops, becoming a teacher for generations of students and artists who have worked with him.
A DAY LIKE TODAY I WAKE UP WITH CERTAIN ANGUISH IN THE SOUL A DAY LIKE TODAY ALFREDO JAAR WINS THE NATIONAL AWARD OF PLASTIC ARTS, A DAY LIKE TODAY 1200 YOUNG PEOPLE FORM A CHAIN OF BODIES LYING IN THE ALAMEDA, A DAY LIKE TODAY I WRITE THIS POEM, A DAY LIKE TODAY THE MECHANICS OF THE AIR FORCE ADJUST THE MISSILES OF THE HAWKER HUNTERS WITH WHAT TOMORROW AT THIS SAME HOUR THEY WILL BE BOMBING THE CURRENCY
“SELK´NAM DEJANEIRO”, ATRÁS PODE VER A PEDRA DOS DOIS IRMAOS E A PARTE NORTE DA FAVELA ROCINHA. DA SÉRIE “MEU PEQUENO EXÉRCITO SELK’NAM”, PROJETO RIO DE JANEIRO / IPANEMA, FEVEREIRO DE 2023.-
THE MARKED STONES (POEM)
AN EGG OR A LONELY CIRCLE DISINTEGRATING INTO ATOMS TWO EGGS OR THE STONE ABACUS METRIC NUMERICAL SYSTEM – DECIMAL NOW BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY HALLUCINATORY EXPERIENCES…. THE SILENCE OF THE STONE IS THE LANGUAGE. A CIRCULAR INCORSION OF THRESHOLDS THAT OPEN AND CLOSE THAT ENTER AND EXIT LIKE TRAVELING IN TIME MAGNETIC SILENCE OF SIGNS THAT DETACH FROM THE STONESSTRANGE MONUMENTAL FIGURESSOMETIMES FIGURES THAT CHANGEBY JUMPING IN PIECESLIKE A SCIENCE FICTION TREATISE OR SATELLITES THAT GRAVITATE AROUND THE POINT OF A KNIFE AND FLOAT ABOVE THE ROCKS THAT HAVE SPRINTED OUT OF THE EARTH LIKE POWERFUL AND REBEL RUBBLE THAT HAS SEEN THE CENTURIES GO BY WITH THE RAPIDITY OF A SECOND. HUNTING SCENES IN LOS MELLIZOS…. WHAT IF WHEN YOU SEE THESE SCARS ETCHED LIKE STRETCH MARKS IN THE ROCK YOU WANT TO DO THE SAME? AND IF AT THE RISK OF DISCOVERING-YOU GET LOST?
–“KLOKETÉN TREPANDO EL FUERTE DUQUE DE CAXIAS“, DE LA SERIE “MI PEQUEÑO EJÉRCITO SELK’NAM”, PROYECTO RÍO DE JANEIRO / PRAIA DO LEME, FEBRERO 2023.-
-NATURAL SCENE- (STORY)-
Kaweskars! – shouted the technician leaning next to the camera tripod.
The man looked at the Director and saw how the guy quickly adjusted the lens ring to a more open diaphragm than normal, in order to capture the scene in its full magnitude. The Cameraman scratched his beard. They had been isolated three months ago in a lost location in the middle of the southern Patagonian archipelagos, waiting for that moment. – Kaweskars…- he murmured almost silently as he began to roll, and from the old woman’s lips emanated a song like a moan:
KAS _ TAP _ HAR AR _ LAW KET YERKSTA KA _ YOE _ SA YERK _ STA KA_YOE_SA
The Camera man held the face of the old woman who was singing in the foreground, confused by the smoke. The picture was impressive: of medium height and painted a dark reddish color, the old woman sported a large belly and short hair to her ears. Around her neck she wore a necklace of Snail Shells that hung between her breasts and on her back a Sea Wolf skin tied under her throat by a gut rope. The rest of her body was naked. She was -without a doubt- the matriarch of the toldero.
For a while, both Documentalists surveyed the scene. The script couldn’t be more exact: they called the technician to correct the sound and point the rod towards the woman who was at the center of the action. ORn white smoke rose on the beach, grouping in tall fumaroles…
I am the Voice of the Southern Sky That brings winter and the narrow Austral day… Huge shadows that rise in the Night Wherever it lives Ayayema! Spirit of Noise that snores between Mountains and Glaciers, Half Human crying, Half Beast cry He brings the Wind that overturns the canoes…..
It was one of those short days in Tierra Del Fuego and the echo of nomadic songs it made itself felt bouncing in the distant canyons. As the scene progresses, the credits of the production team begin to appear one by one.
AND it starts to get dark The Director crumples the script in his hands and curses, thankful for such disturbing accuracy.
TRIP TO THE CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO- (POEM)
OUR ANCIENTS, THE FATHERS OF THE ORAL TRADITION, RELATE THAT BACK IN THE BEGINNING WHEN THE ICE COVERED ALL THE LANDS AND A GOOD PART OF THE SEA A GROUP OF CANOES APPEARED, NO MORE THAN FIVE WERE WITH OUR GRANDPARENTS HUNTERS AND THEIR WIVES AND SOME CHILDREN. THEY ADVANCED TO THE SOUTH WHERE THE THICK MANTLES OF ICE BEGAN TO LEAVE THE LANDSCAPE FREE, WITHDRAWING AND SHAPING VALLEYS AND WILD MOUNTAINS A VISION OF LANDS THAT EMERGED FROM THE SEA TO FORM BAYS AND FJORDS, A DISMEMBERED RELIEF OF ISLANDS AND CHANNELS DRAWN BY THE ICES BY THE ADVANCE AND RECEDING OCEANS STRONG INLAND CURRENTS WHICH FRAGMENT THE COAST OF THE ARCHIPELAGO INTO AN IMPRESSIVE LABYRINTH AT THE END OF THE WORLD.
HERE IN THESE PLACES OUR ANCESTORS WALKED THE FROZEN BANKS AND REMAINED TO LIVE UNDER THE WESTERN SKY THIS IS HOW THEIR FIRST CHILDREN SPEAK, REPEATING ANCIENT VOICES THUS THEY TELL, FROM VERY ANCIENT THOSE WHO BROUGHT THE INHERITANCE OF THE SPIRITS AND CAME TO WHAT TO LIVE WITH THE LIGHTNING, WITH THE PILLÁN THE SPIRIT OF THE NATURAL FORCES. BETWEEN ISLANDS AND CHANNELS, COMPACT AND TORTOUS FORESTS WE HAVE INSTALLED OUR AWNINGS LEARNED TO HANDLE THE CYPRESS WOOD
TO BUILD OUR CANOES WITH THE POWER OF FIRE AND SHELLS.
HERE WE HAVE SAILED BRINGING THE FIRE, OUR FAMILIES ALWAYS SAILING IN THE WAKE OF THE WHALE , THE SEA WOLF IN THE FOOTPRINT OF THE HUEMUL OR THE OTTER HUNTING WITH A BONE HARPOON AND OUR FISHING DOGS.
WE KNOW THE BODY OF THE LARCH, THE TEPÚ AND THE CANELO THE HARDNESS OF THE LUMA FROM WHICH WE MAKE SPEARS AND YETAKANAS THAT WE TIE WITH WHALE BEEF.
HERE WE HAVE LIGHTED THE FIRES WITH FLINTS AND DANCED NAKED UNDER THE STARS, DISCOVERING THE RED EARTH OF THE ARCHIPELAGOS TO DYE OUR BODIES AND SEAL GREASE TO PROTECT US FROM THE COLD.
OUR WOMEN WEAVE THEIR FISHING NETS SPINNING THE BASKET OF THE QUANTÚ AND WASH THEIR HAIRS WITH THE BARK OF THE QUILLAY, THE JUNE THAT IS BORN IN THE SWAMPS MAKE THEIR BASKETS WITH WHICH THEY DIVE THROUGH THE CANALS, TAKING URCHINS AND MUSHROOMS
ALL KINDS OF FISH AND SEAFOOD FROM THE TRANSPARENT BOTTOM ALL OUR WOMEN SWIM NAKED THROUGH THE FROSTY WATERS OF THE CANAL AND THEN THEY SHRINK IN THE HEAT OF THE CAMPFIRE.
WE DO ALL THIS IN THE PLACE WHERE THE WILD RIVERS FALL INTO THE SEA WE NAVIGATE OUR CANOES DAY OR NIGHT WE LOOK FOR SHELTER ON A STONE ROCK OR ON AN ICE ISLAND AND WHEN THE SOUTHERN NIGHT FALLS HEAVY AND SILENT WE JOIN THE HEAT OF THE CAMPFIRES TO LISTEN TO THE BREATH OF OUR ANCESTORS STORIES OF SPIRITS THAT INTERVENE IN LIFE THROUGH AUME AND THAT ONLY OUR SHAMANS KNOW, THUS DISCOVERING THE HIDDEN MEANING OF THINGS…
(SHAMAN)
LISTEN TO MY VOICE THAT SPEAKS THROUGH ALL THE SACRED VOICES THE VOICE OF THE ALBATROSS / CORMORANT LISTEN TO MY VOICE AS IT SOARS IN A SONG THAT SPITS OUT OF MOUNTAIN RANGE AND VOLCANOES A ROCK ISLE / AN ENTIRE ARCHIPELAGO LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE FOUR HEAVENS ….
-SONG TO THE HEAVENS- I AM THE SKY FROM THE EASTERN THAT BRINGS THE MAGIC STONES, THE FLINT AND THE VOICE OF THE TUCUQUERE THAT STANDS CHALLENGINGLY UPON THE HIGH BRANCHES OF THE OAKS, LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE WIND THAT BLOWS FROM THE PLACE WHERE THE SUN IS BORN AND ALL THE POWERS CAPABLE OF ENSURE LIFE, WHERE THE IMBUNCHE LIVES THAT EATS AND FORNICATES.
LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE NORTH SKY THAT BRINGS THE ANCIENT EARTH SONGS THE VOICE OF THE ALBATROSS THAT FLOWS RIGHT FROM THE CENTER OF MEMORY, ANNOUNCES THE HUNTING TIMES THERE IS ITS DEEP SQUAWK OF A SEA BIRD THAT TEACHES HOW TO READ THE STARS, IN HIS DRY HEAD THE SHAMAN TRAVELS LIKE A STONE OF LIGHTNING AND IS DROPPED FROM THE SKIES TO BRING US THE INHERITANCE OF THE SOUND OF HIS FEATHERS WE MAKE ORNAMENTS FOR THE ARMS AND INHERIT HIS SIGHT, SPEED AND ENDURANCE.
I AM THE VOICE OF THE SOUTH SKY THAT BRINGS THE WINTER AND THE NARROW SOUTHERN DAY HUGE SHADOWS THAT RISE AT NIGHT WHERE AYAYEMA LIVES
THE SPIRIT OF THE NOISE THAT SNORES AMONG MOUNTAINS AND GLACIERS THAT WALKS IN THE THICKNESS OF THE FOREST AND THE SWAMP HALF WEEPING HUMAN, HALF THE CRY OF A BEAST THAT OVERTURNS THE CANOES CLIMBING THE WATER OF THE WATERFALLS BRINGING THE BAD WEATHER THAT WE HAVE LEARNED TO SEEIN THE PASSAGE OF A FLOCK OF PARROTSTHAT WE HAVE FIGHTED BY BURNING A WOLF’S TEETHAND MAKING THEIR ASHES INTO THE SEA. THERE COMES THE RED CLAY AND THE MINERAL EART
WITH WHICH WE LEARNED THE COLORS OF NATURE AND DECORATE OUR BODIES FOR HUNTING, LOVE AND CEREMONIES.
THE SOUTH BRINGS THE VOICE OF THE WHALES….
(SHAMAN IN TRANCE)
LISTEN TO THEIR SONG INVOKING THE BEINGS! WE SING AND DANCE IMITATING THE SONG OF THE WHALE DRINKING ITS THICK AND STRONG MILK GETTING DRUNK WITH THE FERMENTED FRUIT OF CANELO OUR NAKED SEXES POINT TO THE WIND WHEN THE COLD AND LUMINOUS SOUTHERN DAWN SURPRISES US .
THEN OUR FACES FOLLOW THE ADVANCE OF THE HEAVENS AND WE LEARN THAT DREAM IS THE PASS THROUGH WHICH THE DEAD ENTER THE WORLD OF THE LIVING.
LISTEN TO THE PULSE OF THE EARTH!
THE SENSATION OF BEING ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS IS SO KNOW BY OUR DEAD BURIED IN SACRED PLACES WRAPPED IN SEAL LEATHER AND ABANDONED TO THE WANDS…
LISTEN TO THE WESTERN SKY ITS VOICE OF OCEAN WHERE CANOES DIVE INTO DEEP WATERS , WHERE TEMPILCAHUÉ TRANSPORTS THE DEAD, HE IS THE RAILWAY OF THE SOULS WHERE THE SUN DIES HE LEADS THE JOURNEY TOWARDS THE SILENCE OF A WHITE ISLAND, IN HIS HANDS WE WILL REST FROM OUR JOURNEY ON EARTH.
(SHAMAN IN TRANCE)
LOOK AT HOW THE CORMORANT FLYES! OUR NECK AND ESOPHAGUS BIRD MUSICAL SOUND THAT WILL CARRY EVERY MAN LIKE AN ISLAND LOST IN THE IMMENSITY OF THE OCEAN. LOOK FROM WHERE THE RAIN CLOUDS THAT SHADE THE
COAST ARE BORN FROM! HOW THEY COME DOWN DARK AND LOW ! LOOK AT HOW OUR CANOES CLIMB IN THE SMALL! , AVOIDING ROCKY ISLANDS AND HUGE PIKES OF ICE THAT FALL INTO THE SEA…
WE CHONOS WILL CROSS THE THICK SEA UNTIL WE FIND A PLACE TO REST HERE WHERE THE WORLD ENDS HERE WHERE THE SEA BEGINS WHERE THE EARTH GETS SMALLER AND SMALLER LIKE A SEAGULL’S EGG AND SURPRISES US IN A DEEP SLEEP SMOKING THE PIPES OF OLD AGE.
“TRIP TO THE CHONOS ARCHIPELAGO”, A POEM BY CLAUDIO RODRIGUEZ LANFRANCO, WAS TAKEN IN THE YEAR 2001 TO THE DOCUMENTARY VIDEO FORMAT FOR THE TELEVISION SERIES “WHEN THE EARTH ENDS”. THE IMAGES THAT ACCOMPANY THIS POEM ARE PART OF THAT FILM.
JUEGO DE NAIPES SERIE DE DIBUJOS RECIÉN TERMINADO. LÁPIZ Y TÉMPERA SOBRE CARTÓN PREPARADO, MEDIDAS VARIABLES. VALPARAÍSO, 2022.
-THE PETROGLYPHS OF THE CHOAPA VALLEY- (PART V and FINAL)
BROKEN THE TWINS: SPEECH AND REALITY.
THE COURSE OF THE ILLAPEL RIVER AND THE RUSTIC STONE PIRCAS MARK THE SOLITUDE OF LA HUELLA. THE LOMA DE LOS CERROS LEADS TO THE NARROW CRANKS IN THE CORDILLERAS WHERE THE CARAVANS OF MULES WIND ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS AND THE SKILLFUL HAND OF THE MULETEER BLENDS WITH THE ROUTE, WHICH IS ALMOST LIKE A RITUAL. THE TRACK GOES UP, GOES DOWN AND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE QUEBRADA THE MULETEER LEAVES THE ROUTINE OF THE ROAD FOR A WHILE TO TAKE HIS ANIMALS TO DRINK NEXT TO THE MULES OF OTHER CARAVANS, WHO HAVE ALSO STOPPED LOOKING FOR REST AND COMPANY.
WALKING THE PASSES IN THE CORDILLERAS WHERE THE HILLS NARROW NEXT TO THE EDGE OF THE HEIGHT AND THE ORIGIN OF THE ILLAPEL RIVER WETS THE DRIED LIPS OF THE EARTH. CONTINUE THERE, CLOSE TO THE DUSTY TRACK WHERE LITTLE BY LITTLE GROUPS OF GOOD SIZED STONES INDICATE A CHANGE IN THE LANDSCAPE: THE VALLEY IS NOW A GREEN WOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ERODED PRE-CORDILLERAS WALLS THAT JEALOUSLY GUARD LIFE AND ALSO THE STEPS OF THE MAN.
MILKING THE RIVER AND RANDOMLY DISPOSED BY NATURAL LANDSLIDES OF ANCIENT MOUNTAINS, HUGE BLOCKS OF ROCK RISE OUT OF THE EARTH FORMING A PREHISTORIC PLAIN KNOWN AS THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF “LOS MELLIZOS”. THE WOMB OF THE ANDES OPENS INTO A CEREMONIAL SPACE WHERE MAN HAS MARKED HIS PASSAGE SINCE THE EARLY POTTERY PERIOD IN AN EXTENSION OF 500 X 300 MTS INTERVENED WITH THE SPACE UNCERTAINTY OF HUNDREDS OF PETROGLYPHS DISTRIBUTED IN 97 ROCK PANELS AND THE ONLY PICTOGRAPH FROM THE VALLEY.
RECOGNIZED AS A PLACE OF TRANSIT WITH 10 MOUNTAIN PASSES THAT LEAD TO THE INTERANDINE VALLEYS, THE “LOS MELLIZOS” SITE WAS A GRAZING PLACE SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL. THIS CONSTANT RE-OCCUPATION OF THE PLACE TRANSFORMS IT INTO A NON-PLACE, SYMBOLIC FACT AND POINT OF CONTACT, -ENTRY AND EXIT- BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT SPACES.
THREE BY THREE IS NINE: 1 FOOTPRINT OR PATH 3 TENTS (ONE MADE OF ROCK) 3 TREES (ON THE RIVER BANK) 3 MARIAS (CONSTELLATED STARS)
HERE IS OUR CAMP, UNDERSTOOD AS A NEW REOCCUPATION OF THIS NO-PLACE WHERE ROCK ART AND SPACE DEFINE EACH OTHER.
THE PETROGLYPHS PLACED IN THE ROCK AND THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE VALLEY ARE PART OF A LANDSCAPE WHERE THE STONE IS A SUPPORT AND A MESSAGE, CONCEIVED WITH A SPACE PURPOSE. THIS MONUMENTALITY GIVEN TO THE PLACE BY ITS PETROGLYPHS IMMERSES THIS PARTICULAR SPACE IN SIGNIFICANCE.
AND THE LOS MELLIZOS SITE BECOMES A RITUAL SPACE, IMPORTANT FOR TRANSIT FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER AS A PASSAGE, AN INVISIBLE DOOR BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT WORLDS.
WHAT DO THESE PETROGLYPHS SAY, THESE SCRATCHES IN THE STONE?
THE PASSAGE OF THE SUN LIGHTS UP THE VALLEY AND HELP THE ROCKS SHOW THEIR MONUMENTAL FIGURES, IDEOGRAMS THAT APPEAR AND DISAPPEAR DEPENDING ON THE POSITION OF THE CLOUDS, THE LIGHTNING OF THE SUN, AS WELL AS STARS IN BROAD LIGHT OF THE DAY.
A MAGNETIC SILENCE FLOODES THE PLACE, AS IF PERMANENT SIGNS WERE SPROUTING FROM THE STONES LIKE VOWELS OF AN INFINITE ABC THAT SPELLS NAMES, FACTS, PLACES FROM OTHER TIMES. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF YOUR RECORDED INSCRIPTION
? I
THE INCOGNITA DE LA PIEDRA HIDES A LANGUAGE CARRYING SIGNS RECORDED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF THE PAST AND WHICH REIGN IN “EL VAGAMUNDO” LIKE THE STONE BABBLING OF SOME DEAD LANGUAGE. WHAT DO THESE STONES MARKED BY MAN TELL US ABOUT
? WHAT DO THEY HIDE FROM US, WHAT DO THEY TELL US, WHAT WILL THEY TELL US? THE PETROGLYPHS ARE THERE TO REMIND US THAT WE HAVE PENDING THINGS WITH OUR PAST, AND THEY GRAVITATE IN “LOS MELLIZOS”, LIKE THE CHALLENGE OF A GHOST THAT DOES NOT THINK TO GO.
“THE PETROGLYPHS OF THE CHOAPA VALLEY” (PARTS IA TO V) ARE FRAGMENTS OF A POETIC JOURNEY CARRIED OUT TO DIFFERENT POINTS IN THE CHOAPA AREA AND IN PARTICULAR TO THE SITE OF LOS MELLIZOS, LOCATED UP THE RIVER OF ILLAPEL. WE CAMPED THERE TWO DAYS AND THEIR NIGHTS. A VIDEO OF THE JOURNEY TO THE SITE WAS RECORDED: A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE PETROGLYPHS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE VALLEY. IT WAS 2004. A FIRST VERSION OF THESE TEXTS WAS WRITTEN ON THE SITE AND THEN FINISHED IN CONCÓN, DURING THE SUMMER OF THAT SAME YEAR.“
TRÓPICO DE FUEGO DIÁLOGOS COLABORATIVOS ENTRE NATURALEZA Y ARTE. INSTALACIÓN TEMPORAL EN EL JARDIM BOTÂNICO DO RIO DE JANEIRO. PINTURAS DE LA SERIE MI PEQUEÑO EJÉRCITO SELK´NAM, PROYECTO RÍO DE JANEIRO 2023.
-ANTIPODES-
LEAVE THE WORKSHOP, LEAVE YOUR HOUSE HEADING NORTH TO MEET OTHER PLACES, TRAVEL FAR TO OPEN PLACES HOPE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. GOING UP THE ROUTE 5 HUNDRED KILOMETERS UP THE SHORE, DOZENS OF OYSTERS BUZZ ALONG THE ROAD, THEY GO PASSING, THEY SIGN TO US.
BECOMING A LITTLE NOMAD AND ON THE RADIO, A LITTLE SONG FROM PAT METHENY OR THE POLICE.
I REMEMBER TOTORALILLO BEACH IN THE SUMMER OF 2004, WHEN WE WENT TO THE LONG WAVES PENINSULA, WHERE MANY GROUPED TO SURF WHILE WE SAT TO WATCH THE SEA, AND IN FRONT OF THE WAVES DRINK BEER ON A HORIZON OF HUGE STONE BLOCKS . OR THAT TIME IN PUNTA CHOROS WHEN THE WIND WAS RELENTLESS AND HOWLED ALL NIGHT NEXT TO THE ROUGH SEA, TODAY RECORDED ON A HOME VIDEO.
PSCAR A TENT, YOUR KNIFE AND PUT AN IMPOSSIBLE ROUTE.
THROWING UP THE ROAD, OPENING UP TO LANDSCAPES AS DIFFERENT AS VALLEYS, HILLS, DUNES, FACES, HANDS, SEAFOOD OR SANDY CLIFFS; AND LET YOURSELF BE CARRIED BY THE FINDINGS, AS VALUABLE SIGNS. FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCT, ERASE ALL TRACES AND GET LOST IN THE HOT SUMMER STEAM.
LEAVE THE WORKSHOP AND TRAVEL, CROSSING A MAP THAT DISAPPEARS.
FRAGMENTOS DEL TALLER HARRINGTON, MI ACTUAL ESTUDIO EN UNA CASONA DE 1906. VALPARAÍSO INVIERNO 2023
CLAUDIO RODRIGUEZ LANFRANCO
born in Valparaíso in 1968. After living in Patagonia and in United States product of a scholarship, his first painting exhibitions were date back to the nineties in Valdivia. Later he moved to Santiago and the Fifth Region, where his visual and literary work materializes in a body of work that addresses different forms of expression, such as painting and drawing, experimental and documentary video, visual poetry and muralism, with public art projects installed in Santiago, Valparaíso. As a visual artist he has exhibited his paintings in 15 solo shows and in more than 60 group shows in Chile, Europe and the United States, and his poetic texts have been published in regional, national and international poetry collections, his work being awarded in different state funds for artistic creation such as Fondart, Cntv, Fondo Carnavales Cultural Centers of Valparaíso, among others. Currently the painter lives and works between Valparaíso, Santiago and Concón, where he develops his artistic projects and teacher training, being in charge of university graduates, painting and mural workshops, becoming a teacher for generations of students and artists who have worked with him.
Mitchell Pluto 