Born in Argentina and based in Mexico City, Máximo González is a contemporary artist perhaps best known for his inspired use of devalued currencies. I first mentioned his work in this post on the "Poetics of the Handmade" show at MOCA in Los Angeles two years ago.
The above clip documents "Inflation," an installation he did recently at MUAC on the UNAM campus. It consists of 1,000 metallic balloons left to deflate into a field of crumpled, shimmering plastic -- for months. When I caught it, a silvery light had been placed above the space, giving the whole work an alien kind of glow. The balloons are printed with the figure 10c on one side and the insignia of the Mexican republic on the other, representing coins that are hardly used any longer, deflating before our eyes.
Watch Máximo talk about his work with dead money here; it's a highly recommended mini-doc. "The work with the money in particular is that," he says, "Use all the significances, concepts, ideas, the histories of the countries, the symbols, and with humor and irony ... trap them, give it a meaning, and make it more valuable."
Hola, Daniel! Qué buena cobertura! Qué completo! Sos un amor! Gracias! Ivan y Maxi
Posted by: Ivan | 14 July 2009 at 12:56 AM
Gracias, Ivan. xD.
Posted by: Daniel Hernandez | 23 July 2009 at 01:54 PM