Transcending Institutional Critique: Pepón Osorio’s Scene of The Crime (Whose Crime?) (1993)

Clara Derrac Soria

doi:10.24310/BoLArte.2020.v41i.8097

Authors

Clara Derrac Soria Columbia University in the City of New York United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/BoLArte.2020.v41i.8097

Keywords:

Pepón Osorio, Institutional Critique, Latino, Whitney Biennial 1993, Kitsch, Installation art.

Abstract

As part of the controversial 1993 Whitney Biennial, Puerto Rican artist Pepón Osorio recreated the interior of a Nuyorican home in his work Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?). This paper aims to unpack the installation’s critical dimension, to argue that it goes beyond the mere institutional critique. To that end, I will first examine the particular disruption of the aseptic museum’s space prompted by Osorio’s installation. Secondly, I will analyze the artist’s intentional use of Kitsch as a gesture of cultural resistance: through the exaggerated accumulation of objects and imageries, Osorio deftly called into question the conventional systems of visibility that operate within the institutional realm.

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Author Biography

Clara Derrac Soria, Columbia University in the City of New York

Clara Derrac Soria (Columbia University) is a 2019 -2021 Fulbright Scholar and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in "Modern Art: Critical & Curatorial Studies" (MODA) at Columbia University, New York. She holds a Master's degree in History of Contemporary Art and Visual Culture (Honors Thesis) from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (2016), and a Bachelor's degree in Art History from the Universidad de Granada (2014). Her main lines of research focus on institutional critique, as well as on artistic practices that combine art and education. She has worked in several institutions and museums in Spain, such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Matadero Madrid and the Instituto Cervantes. Among other scholarships, Clara has been awarded an Erasmus scholarship to study at the University of Artois (France) during the 2013-2014 academic year, and in 2017 she was awarded an ARGO scholarship by the Spanish Ministry of Culture to work at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York.

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

CAMNITZER, Luis (1993), The Whitney Biennial, Third Text, 7, 23, 128–130.

FOSTER, Hal, KRAUSS, Rosalind, KOLBOWSKI, Silvia, KWON, Miwon, y BUCHLOH, Benjamin (1993), The Politics of the Signifier: A Conversation on the Whitney Biennial, October, 66, 3–27.

FUSCO, Coco (1995), English is broken here: Notes on cultural fusion in the Americas, New Press, Nueva York.

GONZÁLEZ, Jennifer A. (2008.), Subject to display: Reframing race in contemporary installation art, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

----------. (2013), Pepón Osorio, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, Los Angeles.

INDYCH, Anna (2001), Nuyorican Baroque: Pepón Osorio’s Chucherías, Art Journal, 60, 1, 72–83.

JONES, Kellie (1991), “Domestic Prayer / Oración Doméstica” en Con to’ los hierros: A retrospective of the work of Pepón Osorio, Museo del Barrio, Nueva York, 30 – 32.

KIMBALL, Roger (1993), Of chocolate, lard, and politics, National Review, 45, 8, 54.

KITCHIN, Rob (1999), Creating an Awareness of Others: Highlighting the Role of Space and Place, Geography, 84, 1, 45–54.

MERCER, Kobena (1990). Black Art and the Burden of Representation, Third Text, 4, 10, 61-78.

----------. (2016), Travel & See:Black diaspora art practices since the 1980s, Duke University Press, Durham.

MOSQUERA, Gerardo (1992), The Marco Polo Syndrome: Some Problems around Art and Eurocentrism, Third Text, 6, 21.

NORIEGA, Chon A. (2013), “Foreword” en GONZÁLEZ, Jennifer, Pepón Osorio, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, Los Angeles.

OLALQUIAGA, Celeste (1996), “Holy Kitschen: Collecting Religious Junk from the Street”, en MOSQUERA, Gerardo (ed.), Beyond the fantastic: Contemporary art criticism from Latin America, The Institute of International Visual Arts, Londres, 270-288.

OSORIO, Pepón (1991), Con to’ los hierros: A retrospective of the work of Pepón Osorio, Museo del Barrio, Nueva York.

--------.(2019) “Interview with Pepón Osorio. Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?)” en https://art21.org/read/pepon-osorio-scene-of-the-crime-whosecrime(Fecha de Consulta: 28-11-2019)

RAMOS, Liliana (2000), “Hollywood Kills. Performance of a do-it-yourself dialogue kit” en Pepón Osorio: From Door to Door /Pepón Osorio: De Puerta en Puerta, EAP Press, San Juan, 68-83.

SCOTT, David (2005) The Ethics of Stuart Hall, Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, 9 1, 1–16.

SUSSMAN, Elisabeth (2005), Then and Now: Whitney Biennial 1993, Art Journal, 64, 1, 74–79.

References

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FRASER, Andrea (2011), «An Artist Statement (1992)», in ALBERRO, A. and STIMSON, B. (eds.), Institutional Critique: An Anthology of Artists’ Writings, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 318-329.

FOSTER, Hal, KRAUSS, Rosalind, KOLBOWSKI, Silvia, KWON, Miwon, and BUCHLOH, Benjamin (1993), «The Politics of the Signifier: A Conversation on the Whitney Biennial», October, n.º 66, pp. 3-27.

FUSCO, Coco (1995), English is broken here: Notes on cultural fusion in the Americas, New Press, New York.

GONZÁLEZ, Jennifer A. (2008), Subject to display: Reframing race in contemporary installation art, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

— (2013), Pepón Osorio, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, Los Angeles.

INDYCH, Anna (2001), «Nuyorican Baroque: Pepón Osorio’s Chucherías», Art Journal, vol. 60, n.º 1, pp. 72-83.

JONES, Kellie (1991), «Domestic Prayer / Oración Doméstica», in Con to’ los hierros: A retrospective of the work of Pepón Osorio, Museo del Barrio, New York, pp. 30-32.

KIMBALL, Roger (1993), «Of chocolate, lard, and politics», National Review, vol. 45, n.º 8, p. 54.

KITCHIN, Rob (1999), «Creating an Awareness of Others: Highlighting the Role of Space and Place», Geography, vol. 84, n.º 1, pp. 45-54.

KWON, Miwon (2002), One place after another: Site-specific art and locational identity, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

MERCER, Kobena (1990), «Black Art and the Burden of Representation», Third Text, vol. 4, n.º 10, pp. 61-78.

— (2016), Travel & See: Black diaspora art practices since the 1980s, Duke University Press, Durham.

MOSQUERA, Gerardo (1992), «The Marco Polo Syndrome: Some Problems around Art and Eurocentrism», Third Text, vol. 6, n.º 21, pp. 35-41.

NORIEGA, Chon A. (2013), «Foreword», in GONZÁLEZ, Jennifer, Pepón Osorio, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, Los Angeles.

OLALQUIAGA, Celeste (1996), «Holy Kitschen: Collecting Religious Junk from the Street», in MOSQUERA, Gerardo (ed.), Beyond the fantastic: Contemporary art criticism from Latin America, The Institute of International Visual Arts, London, pp. 270-288.

— (1998), The Artificial Kingdom: A Treasury of the Kitsch Experience, Pantheon Books, New York.

OSORIO, Pepón (1991), Con to’ los hierros: A retrospective of the work of Pepón Osorio, Museo del Barrio, New York.

— «Interview with Pepón Osorio. Scene of the Crime (Whose Crime?)». In: https://art21.org/read/pepon-osorio-scene-of-the-crime-whosecrime (date of access: 11-28-2019).

RAMOS, Liliana (2000), «Hollywood Kills. Performance of a do-it-yourself dialogue kit», in Pepón Osorio: From Door to Door / Pepón Osorio: De Puerta en Puerta, EAP Press, San Juan, pp. 68-83.

SCOTT, David (2005), «The Ethics of Stuart Hall», Small Axe: A Caribbean Journal of Criticism, vol. 9, n.º 1, pp. 1-16.

SUSSMAN, Elisabeth (2005), «Then and Now: Whitney Biennial 1993», Art Journal, vol. 64, n.º 1, pp. 74-79.