Nina Dotti

Nina Dotti
Nina Dotti character.
Created by	Andreina Fuentes
Information
Title	Nina Dotti

Nina Dotti is a character created and interpreted by Venezuelan-born conceptual and performance artist, Nina Fuentes.

Character profile

In her role as Nina Dotti, Fuentes, employs a multi-dimensional approach to exploring a wide-ranging host of social, cultural, and political issues confronting contemporary society, from a piercing critical perspective. Nina Dotti born multimedia Miami-based contemporary artist. A pioneering artist in her native Venezuela for the rights of the LGBT community, she has also been described as a feminist artist. Her message is highly critical, intimate, and personal. Her work is Neo-conceptual, nurtured by a Duchampian influence, and a distinct pop and surrealistic aesthetic. Her installations are characterized by the use of non-traditional materials and domestic items, making them particularly political.

Early career

Nina has always been interested in the representation of social stereotypes (especially feminist issues) and the defense of sexual minorities. This gave her the opportunity to assume an artistic alter-ego that would make a blunt statement regarding her identity: Nina Dotti would be her new name, inspired by Italian photographer Tina Modotti, who had to change her identity so she could work as an artist. This represented a perfect analogy for what Nina had always stood for: Equal rights, end of discrimination, and the opportunity to be whoever we want to be. She signed her new work "Plataforma: Forma de hacer plata" (Money-making Platform) (2005) produced for the "Transito" NGO (2005) and inspired from the platform shoes used by transsexuals. In that same year, Nina took to the streets of Chicago, where she performed on the streets wearing a wedding dress, during which symbolic blessings were given to both homosexual and heterosexual couples as a way to express equality.

Performances, exhibits and installations 2006–2014

Let it Go the Best is yet to come

Pastel de Boda (Wedding Cake)

"Pastel de Boda" (Wedding Cake) would also be presented in Miami's Hardcore Art Contemporary Spaces (HACS), in a performance in which Dotti would "marry" her crowd. This was followed by "Hot Flashes Bar", presented during the Arte Americas Art Fair in 2006 where Dotti had the opportunity to share with women in a bar, her positive views of menopause, suggesting humor as a way to replace unhealthy medical treatment like Hormone Replacement Therapy in what she calls Humor Replacement Therapy, thus empowering women to face menopause as a normal and wonderful cycle of life and experience a new kind of sexuality, as opposed to being limited by it. Other installations such as the The Wedding cake were presented in the gardens of the International Community Church at Lincoln Road in South Beach, Miami during the city's Art Basel 2006. This piece consisted of an immense wedding cake topped with real couples. From here on wards, "Picture Perfect Wedding Toppers" would become her means to express her firm belief that anyone can become a top figure in a wedding cake and experience life from above, from the most idealistic and romantic vantage point. The cake had three huge tiers that people climbed up to, "Groom" and "Bride" accessories and wedding rings were available to wear and exchange. Couples from all sexual orientations and also entire families climbed up the challenging wooden stairs situated behind the decorated cake. The piece was accompanied by a music piece created in collaboration with artists Franchesca Saiden and Iris Cegarra with more than 480 wedding songs of all religions and different countries.^[1] In March 2007, San Juan, Puerto Rico, saw her performances at the "Circa '07" art exhibit in which she received favorable critical reviews with "Blue Pillar Bar", calling it a Celebration of Menopause and Andropause [3]. This was followed by "Dotti's 99 Cent Clichés" presented at Miami's Hard Core Art Space (HACS), with a kitsch ensemble of the now famous Dollar stores, Dotti mocks the consumer frenzy that marks our society.

Superwoman

Based on the Supergirl comics and transformed into her own interpretation of what a superwoman should be: "free, capable of living with her complexity in a non-conflictive way" [4]. Also in 2006, and as the result of her simultaneous endeavors as art merchant and known gallery owner, Nina is invited to exhibit in Paris where she exhibits two of her best-known installations "Wedding Cake" and "P.M.S." at Gallerie 13 Jeanette Mariani, where her pieces reveal a three-edged speech symbolized by the three roles a modern woman must juggle simultaneously: a princess to her parents, a mother to her children, and a superwoman in front of life. A versatile and educated artist, Nina has explored all major artistic disciplines. From Sculpting to Photography and from Mixed Media to Painting, her scope is a broad one in terms of different ways to express an always-direct message. Diverse materials are used freely on her installations, and this pattern is consistent with her attitude towards life, where freedom to choose always prevails. With her usual strong political speech, by 2008, Nina took part on an exhibition called "Cartografías Meridionales" (Southern Cartography) presented at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rosario, in the city of Rosario, Argentina, in which her P.M.S. performance was shown again.^[2]

Golden Nina

“I always feel like smiling, all my dreams come true, my path is paved in gold, and I love the real me” By 2012, Nina had expanded her horizons in terms of Plastic Arts. Already a well-known gallery owner and patron of the arts, her sights were turned toward producing Art as a sole creative activity. Dot 51 Gallery in Miami was the setting in which The Tipping Point^[3] would be showcased, presenting a blend of different proposals ranging from video installations to sculptures and to photography, all encased in a solid gold concept, which represents a metaphor regarding the power of wealth and its impact on everyday society and life as expressed on Dotti's series of photographs titled Golden Nina.

Doña Delincuente

D Delincuente

During one of Nina's many trips to Colombia, she had the opportunity to speak with her grandmother about her origins, only to discover that her great-grandfather owned brothels, that some lands under her family's name are yet to be claimed, as well as learning of her Jewish Sephardi origins. This generated an exhibit in the city of Bucaramanga (2014) titled "Doña Delincuente – 13 historias" (Madame Delinquent – 13 Stories),^[4] and later her works are represented by Artemisia gallery. This new "character" created by Nina is inspired by modern Latin American Syncretism in which criminals are revered as saints, with statues for veneration and prayer, as well as a prayer dedicated to Doña Delincuencia. This captured the attention of the citizens of the city, leading to the production of a brand of drink, as well as a local tobacco brand.

Miss Wynwood

Miss Wynwood

Currently, Nina is involved in new artistic character. One of them is based on the story of a Venezuelan Miss Universe-turned-into-Politician called Irene Sáez, who after chairing the position of Mayor of Chacao (Caracas' highest-end municipality), was lured by one of the old establishment parties to oppose Hugo Chávez only to later be dumped by her own party shortly before Election Day. Nina takes this concept to the next level and turns herself into a beauty queen now elected as the Mayor of Wynwood and walking the streets in a provocative performance called "Miss Wynwood" recently presented at Miami's Art Basel 2014 edition.

Current works

In May 2015, Nina started editing a newspaper, [The Wynwood Times] that comprises news, art, dining, trends, and social issues with humor and irony in both print and digital versions.

In July 2015, Nina took her exhibit Depójate/TakeThe Load Off to Kiosco Galería in Santa Cruz de La Sierra, Bolivia.^[5]

Popular culture

On 16 February 2015, President Day, "Nina Fuentes Day" is declared by the Board of Miami-Dade County Commissioners, recognizing the artist as an "ambassador of the arts" in the South Florida community and accepted by Miss Wynwood during a performance at The Chill Concept, where a copy of the document is buried on the grounds in a time capsule before a live audience.^[6]

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.