BeBoz (english)

An article (December 1, 2007) from Ñ Magazine, a prestigious supplement of Clarin, the most popular newspaper in Argentina, le 1er Décembre 2007, about the Loncopue Be Art  Competition.

From Patagonia to the world

"Sixty artists, in a 6.000 inhabitants town, took part in the project of a Belgian artist. Their artworks will be part of an itinerant exhibition.

It is certainly the first plastic art exhibition carried out in Loncopué, Neuquén, where live no more than 6,000 inhabitants. There are no museums or art galleries; you may find primary and high schools and wind, lots of wind.

A flight from Buenos Aires, a car in Neuquen’s capital, and a long route through some road cuts and strikes, were necessary to reach Loncopué. The first road cut was at Cutral Có. Then, at Zapala some people were about to cut a route, settled at one side of it. The second cut took place when we arrived at Loncopué. The journey by car, from Neuquén to Loncopué, that should have lasted two hours, took five or six. We were told that wind, loneliness and some blocked ways were part of daily life in this region.

And there, immersed in this tough and urgent reality, more than one hundred local people took part in this unique experience: “Be Art” Compettion, one of Julien Friedler´s - a Belgian artist - projects, which spreads out in different parts of the world. “Be art” can be defined as an attempt to transcend the art field so as to project it in the social field. Julien Friedler´s project is based on the hypothesis that there is still a creative field, which has not been explored by any conventional channel. The work and the ambitious project of the Belgian can be found in www.beboz.org. But this, is really, about the work people from Loncopué did, in response to this project, co-ordinated by the Argentine, Carmen Ferreyra, resident in New York.

 In this case, it was about a contest, which gathered seventy-five artworks, done by sixty local craftsmen from: Loncopué, Las Lajas, El Huecú, Caviahue, among other towns. Different kind of works were exhibited, ceramic pieces, engravings, stone and wooden sculptures, paintings, “collages” and pieces of “mapuche” knitting – there are many “Mapuches“  (native Inhabitants of the place) in this zone.     

Twenty-five of them have been chosen to be part of a worldwide, itinerant exhibition. Next year they will be exhibited in Munich, Germany, and later they will be part of Julien Friedler´s main project: “The Forest of Souls”.

Surely, people that took part in this contest were glad because of the chance to show their works to their community; neighbours and other artists. The exhibition lasted one day and it took place at the church hall of Loncopué, far from conventional art exhibitions. People could enjoy some wine and appetisers; some of them were shy and showing a kind of reverence for being in an art exhibition, although it was their own. There was no luxury, nor vanity; no pretentious conversations were heard that day.    

The Jury: Carmen Ferreyra, an art critic from Buenos Aires and a local teacher, chose three works: a magnificent stone sculpture, without title, which represented a “Mapuche” head, made by the artist Jorge Orlando Bagli; a picture called “Loncopué” painted by Eugenia Fernández Melé and a textile work -“Morral”-, done by Susana Osés. The audience clapped enthusiastically at the twenty-five works announced. They are art, they are part of Loncopué´s identity, and now they will travel around the world. "  

 
 
EDUARDO VILLAR

"From Loncopue to the rest of the world" is an article from the Argentinian newspaper Rio Negro (December 19, 2007), about the Loncopue Be Art  Competition.

"Far from the artistic circles of the great cultural capitals, Jorge Orlando Bagli had his glory day as an artist, surrounded by his friends, in the church hall of Loncopué, the village where he lives and works as a lorry driver and the doorman of a school."

The articles explains that with Be Art, "Julien Friedler´s main aim is to transcend the art field so as to project it in the social field (…), with the purpose of enhancing the creative potential lying in everyone."

The journalist gives then some details about the competition : the places from where the participants came ("Loncopue, Las Lajas, Caviahue, Las Ovejas"), the amount and type of the works, and the winners (Jorge Bagli, Eugenia Fernandez Mele et Susana Ozes). He concludes with some words of the winner himself.

The 4th Be Art Show in Latin America had something special. It took place on December 5, 2007, during the "noche de la exposicion" (Gallery Night), DacilArt Gallery, in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The star of the show was obviously Jack Balance, the famous character from Julien Friedler’s Book of Boz.

This colorful character was in the object of an auction sale, which would provide the buyer the right to bring him back home for 3 days and draw, paint, picture him,… Julien Friedler describes this process as "collector’s art", according this Be Art proposition : "To seek art in unexpected places." Besides, a lottery was organized, with this prize : a 10 minutes date with Jack Balance during the night.

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Loncopue is a small town, a place where the wind blows, in the Neuquén province, in Argentina. It’s the place Julien Friedler and Carmen Ferreyra, representing Spirit of Boz in Latin America, chose for the first Be Art Competition, which took place at the end of October 2007.

This competition was open to everyone, artists or not, "profesionales y aficionados", just as the other Be Art projects, on the proposition that "in everyone there’s an artist sleeping."

The poster announcing the event.

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D-Mode, a fashion magazine from Argentina features a interview of Carmen, who is in charge of the "Around The Boz In 80 Days" project in South America.

 "A restless student, currently completing Bachelor degrees in both History of Art and French at Columbia University in New York, Carmen Ferreyra is spending her summer months bringing "Around the Boz in 80 Years" to South America. An offspring of the artist’s previous work, Be Art,  Julien Friedler’s "Around the Boz In 80 Years" focuses on a simple questionnaire. Since the opening "NIght of Boz" event in Brussels on December 2, 2006, the piece has rapidly propagated throughout the world. Over 7,000 questionnaires have been recollected from different cities in Israel, China, Belgium, Rwanda, France, the United States, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. It’s art for the masses, created by the masses - simple and accessible to everyone.

How did you come to work with Julien Friedler ?
Through Columbia. Universities in the US are an indisputable source for job-seekers.

What is this piece about ?
It’s based on a questionnaire, which may seem simple at first sight but is made up of existential questions, that many of us prefer to avoid. For example, "are you happy ?" Not everyone dares to answers such a question.

What is your role in this piece ?
Basically, to reproduce it in this part of the world. I create different work teams across various cities, and they go out and talk about the piece to other people, as well as hand out and collect the questionnaires.

What sort of methodology do these teams use ?
This group of students and young professionals move through different cultural centers and public spaces, inviting people to envision a forest inspired by the fantasies of an artist.

Where is this piece currently taking place ?
Everywhere in the world : China, Israel, USA, France, Rwanda, Belgium… and now South America, which I’m in charge of.

Which cities have you visited for this project ?
Beginning in March, when I officially began my travels, I’ve created work teams in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Rosario, Lonco hué (Neuquén province), Gualequaychu, Santiago de Chile, and Montevideo.

What will you do with all the questionnaires ?
They will go from vulnerable pieces of paper to indestructible metal structures. For every 500 questionnaires, we will fill a metal box, and all these boxes will form a "Forest of Souls" in Monaco, at the Friedler Foundation for Contemporary Art.

Who is this questionnaire targeted towards ?
Everyone, absolutely everyone- regardless of credo, age, or background - is invited to participate in the creation and nurturing of this forest.

What upcoming events does Julien Friedler have in mind ?
Well… there will be quite a few, considering that this piece will be active thoughout 80 years! For now, we have ‘In Quest" on August 4 in Ostend, Belgium, followed by "La Demoiselle d’Avignon Revisited" in New York, starting in November 16 at the Francis Naumann Gallery. We are also planning an event in Buenos Aires, so there should be a Night of Boz event in BA territory very soon."

The Argentinian Noktambularte blog (dedicated to the free creation)  has 2 posts about Be Boz and the Be Art art show held on August, 25,2007, in Buenos Aires.

>  The first one : Buscar el potencial creativo

>  The second one : Cooperativa del Boz

Montevideo, Uruguay

After  Rwanda and Argentina, the "Around The Boz In 80 Years" project stopped in China, in Uruguay and in Chile. Check all details and pictures in the "Forest of Souls" section.

Shanghai, China

This interview of Majo Carvajal, who coordinates the Boz team in Buenos Aires, in Argentina, has been posted on www.cronicasmoviles.com.ar with a text by Cecilia Santoro. As everyone can’t read Spanish, here is a translation of this text.

"Capturing the souls of most quantity of possible people. That is the (original, ambitious, utopic, maybe?) objective of The Spirit of Boz, a project directed by the plastic artist Julien Friedler. Although this is not the only characteristic that stands out about this project, that covers several countries (Argentina, United States, Rwanda, France) and that the creator aims to have this finished in… eighty years.

The soul hunting is done through questionnaires that groups of work – one by each chosen land – deliver to whom would like to participate, without caring about race, beliefs, political affinities or education. The six questions that the participants must answer are those that might keep many people awake:

1) DOES GOD EXIST?
2) HOW DO YOU CHARACTERIZE THIS PERIOD?
3) HOW DO YOU SEE THE FUTURE?
4) ARE YOU HAPPY?
5) IS SEXUALITY IMPORTANT?
6) WHO AM I?

The idea is to immortalize the questionnaires collected around the world in metal boxes, which will be taken – it is estimated – to Italy, to be installed in a “Forest of Souls.” But, except for this first step, the questionnaires, no one knows yet how this project will continue; it is just mystery around the Spirit of Boz.

In Argentina this project is under the direction of Carmen Ferreyra, and coordinated by Majo Carvajal, who talked to Crónicas Móviles(…)"

Translated from Spanish by Carmen.

More details about Julien Friedler’s "Around The Boz in 80 Years" project and the questionnaire itself can be found here.