For more than a year so far, RACI decided to visit one of the organizations of its Network every month, to share a day of exchange and to know in first person the work they do. In this case, on Friday 25th August, the RACI team visited the headquarters of the Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires (MAMBA), in the neighborhood of San Telmo, Capital Federal.
MAMBA was founded in 1956 as an avant-garde space to spread and promote Modern and Contemporary Art in all its expressions. Its mission is not simply to preserve and disseminate its cultural heritage, but to generate debate and create a nexus between the public and the problems expressed by the new artistic manifestations.
The Museum has grown over the years. On the one hand, its heritage has grown, mainly through donations, among which are the ones made by famous artists such as Alberto Heredia, Antonio Seguí, and León Ferrari. On the other hand, while in the beginning the Museum operated in different locations; in 1986 it obtained its own place, an old building that previously belonged to the tobacco company Nobleza Piccardo. An adjoining building was added later on, and currently works are being carried out to join the two of them.
After entering the red brick, English architectural style building where the Museum is located, the RACI team was welcomed by Verena Schobinger y Chantal Casaerdozain, both members of the Association of Friends of the Museum of Modern Art, with the breakfast and ready to start a pleasant talk. They explained the history if the museum, the association, the challenges they face, and what they currently offer and hope they can continue to offer the community.
After the exchange, the RACI Team took a guided tour of the museum, where the two exhibitions taking place could be appreciated.
The first exhibition was that of Tomás Saraceno: “How to catch the universe in a web”. It consists of two rooms: the first one is on the second floor, it’s large and mostly occupied by cobwebs (the largest built and displayed so far) formed by thousands of spiders for six months. Framed in different shapes, cobwebs form structures similar to nebulae and galaxies, inviting to think the universe as a network of interconnections. The second one combines this same idea (arachnology and astrophysics) with sound and vision, focusing on them. In almost total darkness, a beam of light makes visible the dust inside the room, and transforms it into image and sound according to its movement. At the back of the room is the projection of these particles, and there are comfortable places to sit in the dark and enjoy the experience.
The second exhibition is a retrospective of the work of Liliana Maresca, an Argentine visual arts artist emblematic of the 80s and 90s. The installation covered her works over a period of 12 years, so their diversity is big.
From RACI we deeply thank the entire MAMBA team for having received us and made it possible to get to know the organization more closely, and invite everyone to approach the museum and experience everything it has to offer.
For more information on MAMBA, go to http://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/museoartemoderno.