Monday, August 15, 2011

Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone

In a park in Armenia, Colombia, there was a performance called "El que esté libre de pecado que tire la primera piedra" ("Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone"). During the performance, an artist stripped nude and stood in front of a tree, as waiting for the stones to be thrown at him. Later on, he handed something (I'm not sure what, soap?).

During the performance, a reporter was completely outraged. He could not stop staring and yelling: "This is immoral! This might be a homosexual act!". Sure, the reporter showed a lot of ignorance and intolerance (and even homophobia) with his reaction, but wasn't that the point? To provoke, to bring those demons out of the human mind and expose them just as the artist exposed his body.

The reporter held his cell phone just as if he was holding the stone. Perhaps the modern stone is the cell phone used to throw the public forces against everything that we cannot accept.

Perhaps without this reaction the performance would have missed its mark. The sin wouldn't have been exposed. Intolerance, fear, repression, ignorance. Homophobia, but why homophobia? What is homosexual about a nude body? Perhaps the reporter becomes homosexual when he takes his clothes off to shower in the morning? Or does he shower with his eyes closed?

So, the video is obviously in Spanish, but the language of gestures is universal enough.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Luiz Gustavo Martins - Brazil

I almost don't know anything about Gustavo Martins. I found him through Flickr, where there is some brief biographical information:

"Degree in fine arts by Puc, I work in the area of illustration and participated in some halls of humor.
Later in 2010 I started to focus my work in the arts, where I realized I had more creative freedom than picturing memories from the past that hour mix with the realities today."


I love the innocence and matter of fact ways of his characters, and the strong, almost blocky compositions. His use of curtains, windows, walls etc to create the scene and frame is quite classical.

o dia das canções de amor de Aline Maria - " Aline Maria's love songs day"
o dia das canções de amor de Aline Maria - " Aline Maria's love songs day"


retrato para Luzia,a cabrocha que abriu as portas do céu. - "picture for Luzia,the woman who opened the gates of heaven."

retrato para Luzia,a cabrocha que abriu as portas do céu. - "picture for Luzia,the woman who opened the gates of heaven."
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinsland/