La narración escondida / The hidden narration (Entrevista a Susana Solano)

A.- Oh yes, I had already told you, but this had to do with a summer assignment. Zaire has a very comprehensive geography, and it also has an enthralling history. It is a very wealthy country, whilst it is also one of the poorest. It is the perfect example of the prototype of a corrupt society, or of a corrupt government. In any case, studying this country responded to the notion of studying as a discipline, because last summer I worked very little on "art." That is why I found the Congo interesting... the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is neither a republic nor democratic. Yet, there it is, suffering along with other countries, like Sudan, Nigeria... and so many others.

Q.- What about South Africa?

A.- I've never been. I prefer humbler, poorer places. I have visited certain countries a couple of times.

Q.- Has this lengthy relationship with Africa had a bearing on your artistic work?

A.- I think it has. Perhaps it has also influenced the strictly aesthetic aspects as well. However, I think the influence lies more in the "moral" dimension, in a more, let's say, inner dimension, than in a manifest sense.

Q.- Ethics more than aesthetics?

A.- It is also aesthetic. I have sometimes used travel photos, and this has led to the combination of two opposed realties... Although they are not really that different, since they share a lot of common elements. We also experience harsh situations, very harsh situations, situations that do not appear in Africa. And the other way round. For example, in Africa the elders are respected and loved. They are cared for. The knowledge of the old men is important to these societies. In our culture the opposite occurs, elders are spurned.

Q.- We value youth.

A.- More than youth, we cherish the body.

Q.- Would we be right to say that your evident ethical sensitivity stems from your contact with Africa?

A.- No. I would say that that concern, that unease one experiences, is congenital to anybody who works in the art sector. There is suffering. You want to explain situations that make you feel uncomfortable... And, in the end, art doesn't help that much. Sometimes quite the opposite, it buries you deeper in that unease.

Q.- You are obviously concerned about the state of the world.

A.- In my opinion, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in 1948, is very plain. I think everyone has the right to a safe, healthy environment, and that includes, as we all know, human, cultural, economic, social rights, etc. As I said before, I think we are in the midst of a crisis of ethical sensitivity. Artists are involved in their environment, it affects them, even in a special way, and they end up transferring this to their work.

Q.- Have the consequences of 9-11 affected you in any way?

A.- The world changed when the Berlin Wall came down. Brutal genocides have taken place in Africa, Europe and Asia throughout the last century. There have always been tribal conflicts. Mankind is a predator, and wants to exert power. This is getting out of hand with the new technology and the new weaponry.

Q.- Going back to sculpture, are there any key figures that have influenced your work?

A.- Well, I could state a few. For example, I think Rodin is very important.

Q.- Why?

A.- He broke away from traditional, classical elements; he went beyond what was established, so to say. In any case, I could also mention Brancusi, Calder, Mucha...

Q.- Mucha?

A.- He was also a groundbreaker, like Bruce Nauman. Or Franz West. People who have exercised their freedom; they have the capacity to expand.

Q.- In other words, what you find interesting is that they have exercised their freedom.

A.- Yes, but their contribution, what their works have meant, is even more interesting. Some changes have taken place in history, very slow changes, and those persons have had a part in them, favouring a radical transformation of what we know as art, or sculpture.

Q.- What about in fields other than sculpture -photography, cinema, video, for example-, are there any artists you find interesting?

A.- I like Iranian cinema -Kiarostami and his disciples. I really enjoy Herzog's cinema, or Tarkovsky's...

Q.- Going back to plastic arts, what differences and what similarities do you see between sculpture and installations?

A.- I don't really know. I use practically all mediums. I don't think there should be differences. It is just a case of using a different resource. I know that lately artists seem to favour video-installations, but that's only normal, given the arrival of new technologies. Anyway, I think that is good. I am sure that if I had been born in the sixties I would use video or installations more frequently.

Q.- Yet sculpture and installations have a deeper relationship, a more intense relationship if you wish, with space than other genres.

A.- I don't know about that. A few years back I was very interested in art theory and all those differences and maxims. However, for me, this art thing is now part of a way of life. I no longer make differences. When I see works by other artists, I let myself be guided by an attitude based on not trying to discover anything. I simply try to take the work as a gift given to me by others, like when you are given something when you are walking along the road, or when your family or friends give you a present. That's what I have to say about contemplating other artists' work. Going back to the limitation of genres, I'm not interested in establishing hermetic theories. I don't want to theorise.

Q.- Nonetheless, to create a sculpture or an installation, you, as an artist and not as a theoretician, obviously need to establish a specific relationship with space, without having to go through a theoretical mediation.

A.- That's right. In all, when you are going to work with an external area, you consider that specific setting, the place, its geography, the people, the light, the architecture around it, etc. Yet, there are no guidelines when you're working in a studio. They do not exist. The studio is not a neutral, clear, space, but the actual work itself is conceived in a neutral space, since its final location is not predetermined.

Q.- Do you construct the work in a mental space.

A.- Sure. That requires a different behaviour. For example, for videos, one creates a plot. One does not walk around with a video recording any old thing. You choose a starting point, a musical stimulus you are going shape, or something that makes you feel uncomfortable. When creating a sculpture, you have to consider scale. When you work on the model, you have to bear in mind the effect of the light in terms of the size the piece will finally be.

Q.- What is the difference between the model and the final work?

A.- I work insofar as I have a space. So, I "draw" the piece using the material directly, but creating a smaller version of the final work. I draw it with iron or with wire netting, or with clay or wood, directly. I immerse myself in the dimensions, working to scale. I do not design it on paper, unless, after doing the first sketch with material, I create subsequent drafts. Or if an architect is helping me to design some plans, usually based on the small-scale material. I prefer to create a model directly using the material given the role my hands have in this action, the importance of the gesture, of folding, creasing... Hands are also machines. I would say they are small machines that can materialise creases, folds,

twists. Elements that can be subsequently created in a different scale using modern machinery. I like making gestures, hands, valuable.

Q.- Frank Gehry stated that he starts working on his projects by crumpling up a piece of paper...