| Francis Alÿs |
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born 1959 in Antwerpen, BE lives and works in Mexico City, MX In his three-channel video installation Cantos Patrióticos, Francis Alÿs once again proves himself to be a brilliant observer of his adopted home of Mexico City. This time, in contrast to his other works, he does not wander through the city himself, but instead sends a group of blind mariachi (1) on a voyage of discovery in this vast metropolis. The musicians give their own rather quirky inter - pretation of one of the famous paseos by the keen walker Alÿs. Like many of his other works, this project is a cross between art and documentation. The Mexican street musicians are both 'observers' of the movements in the city's streets and 'actors' within the urban setting. The artist exploits the potential of a three-channel installation with two monitors and a wall projection to narrate several stories simultaneously. Once again, as he so often does, he has documented this work in sketches, notes and studies. In an interview, Alÿs freely admitted that there was “something paradoxical about the Cantos. [...]
(1) Mariachi is a term used to describe a typically Mexican form of music and the musicians who perform it. A mariachi group generally consists of seven to twelve musicians. Karsten Löckemann Translation: Ishbel Flett
 Francis Alÿs, Cantos Patrióticos, 1998/99 3-channel video installation (2 monitors, 1 projection), color, sound Edition 2/4 7' 40" Loop |