Catalina Parra
| Catalina Parra | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 9, 1940 Santiago, Chile |
| Nationality | Chilean |
Catalina Parra (born May 9, 1940) is a Chilean artist. She is best known for her work using photomontage to create statements against political inequalities in the Americas, particularly in Santiago, Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.[1]
Early life
Catalina Parra was born on May 9, 1940, in Santiago, Chile, to a prominent Chilean family.[2] Her father Nicanor Parra was an artist and poet; her aunt Violetta Parra was a folklorist and visual artist.[2] Her family was known for protesting against the brutal violence of the Pinochet dictatorship. Catalina Parra began creating art after she moved to Germany with her husband, the German-born art critic Ronald Key.[3][2]
Parra attended the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile (Universidad de Chile).[2]
Germany (1963-1972)
When Parra moved to Germany, she developed interest into the photomontage art technique through the influence of the Fluxus Movement. Her first work consisted on collages incorporating her drawings and printed material of personal significance.[4] Parra's first exhibition was at the Gallerie Press in Konstanz, Germany, in 1971.[2]
Chile (1970s)
Parra returned to Chile during a period of turmoil under the regime of General Augusto Pinochet. During her time in Chile, Parra began to incorporate items from the news into her collages to convey messages of political oppression and violence in Chile.[3]
During her time in Chile. Parra created Reconstructions (Reconstructions), politically inspired collages in which she would stitch or join fragments of newspaper articles, photographs or advertisements together with thread, card gauze, and tape.[3] During her time in Chile she held her first exhibit, Imbunches (1977). This exhibit established Parra as a renowned artist.[4] Parra also became well-known for contributing to literary magazines Manuscriptos (Manuscripts) and V.I.S.U.A.L.'[3]
United States and Argentina (1980-present)
In 1980, Parra received a Guggenheim Fellowship from John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which allowed her to move to New York City in the United States.[3][2] During her time in the United States she used American mass media as her new material.[3]
During this time she created pieces including Coming your way (Banff, 1994), The Human touch (1989) and Here, there, everywhere (1992). In these works, Parra critically examines military interventions as well as the empty promises of financial institutions and capitalist consumer society. She is most well known for her visual work USA, Where Liberty is a Statue (1987), a thirty-second video that was played on the Spectacolor billboard in Times Square as part of the Public Art Fund project titled Messages to the Public (1982–1990). The art consisted of an animation using the words of her father, the Chilean poet Nicanor Parra. The piece questions the idealized American vision of freedom and liberty.[3] In 1996, Parra's work was included in the exhibition Latin American Women Artists, 1915-1995.[2]
In 1990, Parra taught as an artist-in-residence at El Museo del Barrio, an art school in New York dedicated to teaching varying forms of art to disadvantaged youths.[3][2] Parra was also recognized in the Latin American Women Artist Association, primarily for her role in educating disadvantaged youths and promoting minority rights.[3] In 1995, Parra received a fellowship from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in New York City.[2]
In 2000, Parra was given the position of Agregada Cultural de Chile en Argentina (Aggregate of Culture of Chile in Argentina), she worked in this position until 2009, when she once again returned to New York, where she currently resides.[1]
Notes
- 1 2 Jacob, Mary J, Noreen Tomassi, and Ivo Mesquita. American Visions : Visiones De Las Américas : Artistic and Cultural Identity in the Western Hemisphere. New York, N.Y: ACA Books in association with Arts International, 1994. Print.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Catalina Parra, May 09 1940 - present, Clara database, National Museum of Women in the Arts.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Oelker, Dieter. Los Diez: Un Grupo De Literatos Y Artistas Chilenos Entre El Modernismo Y La Vanguardia, Iberoamericana (1977-2000). 17 (1993): 5-19. Print.
- 1 2 Torruella, Leval S, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, and Inverna Lockpez. Míra!: The Canadian Club Hispanic Art Tour Iii, 1988-1989. Farmington Hills, MI. Hiram Walker, Inc. 1988. Print
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