[spectre] I want to generate a dynamic setting. Interview with Rosina Gómez-Baeza

[dom/]

I want to generate a dynamic setting. Interview with Rosina Gómez-Baeza
Domenico Quaranta

It was difficult to be more promising. The LABoral Art and Industrial
Creation Centre, opened in March 2007 in Gijon (Asturias), with its rich
and gorgeous opening program seems to announce a serious engagement at
the intersection of art, design and new technologies. In this short
interview, Rosina Gómez-Baeza Tinturé, Director of the Center and former
Director of Arco Art Fair, talks about her ambitions.
The interview was conducted via email some weeks ago, while writing an
article for Flash Art. In the meantime, LABoral appointed a Chief
Curator (Austrian artist and engineer Erich Berger, the former Art
Director and Curator of The Interface & Society Project of Oslo) and
opened a new show, It's Simply Beautiful.

DQ. LABoral opened in March with two big exhibitions, curated by
international curators such as Christiane Paul (Whitney Museum), Jemima
Rellie (Tate Gallery), Carl Goodman (Museum of the Moving Image). Why
didn't you involve Spanish curators? Are you going to do it in the
future? And why don't you have a stable curator?

RG. The LABoral mission is underpinned by diversity and a desire to be a
true reflection of a global vision of the emerging trends in the art
world and the creative industries. I want to generate a dynamic setting,
capable of stimulating interaction between creators, technicians and
scientists from different parts of the world. This engagement with the
outside world (outside Spain, outside Asturias) had to be made explicit
from the inception of our exhibition programming. Thus my choice of our
very talented curatorial team. The name of our Chief Curator will be
made public at the end of June.

DQ. What's your relation with the territory? Do you want to be a window
on the international scene of New Media Art or to help developing a
local New Media Art scene (or both)?

RG. Both, naturally. I was actually born here, close to the Universidad
Laboral complex which houses our Centre and most of the Universidad de
Asturias technical schools plus a technological hub. There is political
unanimity in considering the ICT sector as strategic sector for
development of the origin. Asturias is also a region particularly
focused on encouraging relations between groups of persons from
different origins,promoting the exchange of ideas and technologies and
the development of art practices based on shared experiences. These
particularities of the region are highly conducive to creative vitality
and innovation. As a resource centre we will of course also focus on
facilitating the necessary resources for local artists.

DQ. The New Media Art world and the Contemporary Art world often act as
two parallel lines that never cross. Coming from Arco - the only art
fair that opened to New Media Art, by the way - are you trying to make
LABoral kind of a bridge between those two worlds?

RG. Why not?  This project will provide a platform for an intense and
profound dialogue between different forms of artistic expression,
providing room for the various disciplines, which must exist in harmony
as essential parts of the innovative path through art and creation at
the beginning of the 21st century.

DQ. LABoral is an art center, not a museum. Nevertheless, do you have in
mind to start a collection of art works?

RG. Setting up a centre dedicated to production, education, exhibition
and diffusion of art and technology and the creative industries, is a
response to a need expressed by many creators, technicians and
producers. The fact that there are no centres for research and
experimentation in Spain means that LABoral has a practically unlimited
potential. We hope to be able to enrich the current debates. That will
be our priority but of course we would like to "anchor" our findings and
be able to trace the first technological advances: light, camera,
cinema, video, computer, and their use by the artist and industry. A
collection that would reflect the work of both pioneers and emerging
artists is of course at the back of my head.

DQ. What about your future projects?

RG. During the first phase of the programming at LABoral, we will
outline a critical route through our historical-artistic legacy while
underscoring the contributions of new technologies. We hope to reflect
the truly overwhelming visual culture of the moment. "Emergentes" will
open in November. Curated by José-Carlos Mariátegui and coproduced with
Fundación Telefónica, it addresses new forms of art in Latin America,
mostly from the multidisciplinary research field.
Research is indeed one of LABoral's pivotal concerns, backing up
exhibition concepts but also paving the way for new exhibitions. I
cannot understand the two separately. We are starting our workshops this
coming month of July with a very interesting program focusing on
videogames from a practical angle, tackling phenomena such as Second
Life, 8bit music, modding. In August we have put together our second
series of workshops with Hangar, exploring new tools for creators from
various perspectives: image, sound and hardware.

DQ. Can you tell me something about the show curated by Peter Doroshenko
and Jèrôme Sans that will open at LABoral in July?

RG. "It's Simply Beautiful" rethinks the concept of beauty in today's
world. It will have a very different feel to Feedback or LABcyberspaces,
as it includes only five artists taking over approximately 3.000 square
metres. I believe strongly in producing new work, and not just limiting
the role of the institution to borrowing preexisting pieces going from
one institution to another. Peter and Jérôme selected four artists from
France (Fabien Verschaere), the UK (Mark Titchner), the US (Dzine) and
Thailand (Surasi Kusolwong), but also visited local studios and chose to
include Carlos Coronas, a very interesting artist born and based in
Asturias.

DQ. What's your view on the future of New Media Art? There will be a
sustainable market for it?

RG. Today´s art reflects the sea changes taking place in society. I
think there is an enormous feeling of optimism in the art world in
general and an intense and profound dialogue between different forms of
art which certainly encourages and generates a dynamic setting, capable
of attracting larger, younger audiences interested in those emerging
trends which reflect today´s visual culture. These new art practices
appeal to the new audiences, respond to their demands.

+ http://www.laboralcentrodearte.org/


-- 

Domenico Quaranta

mob. +39 340 2392478
email. qrndnc at yahoo.it
home. vicolo San Giorgio 18 - 25122 brescia (BS)
web. http://www.domenicoquaranta.net/