pedro reyes - baby marx
walker art center - perlman gallery
august 11 – november 27, 2011
organized by the walker art center
curators: bartholomew ryan and camille washington


still from baby marx
image courtesy of the artist

the mexican artist will use the perlman gallery and the entire walker campus to film
a documentary version of his ongoing work 'baby marx', which examines the debate
between socialism and capitalism.

On Alienation. Baby Marx at the Walker Art Center from Pedro Reyes on Vimeo.

still from baby marx
image courtesy of the artist

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following text from walker art center

'the walker presents the latest phase and first us exhibition of baby marx, an ongoing project
by mexican artist pedro reyes that looks at the potential for mass entertainment to operate
as a radical educational tool. an architect by training, reyes works across platforms and
disciplines-including design, installation, and video-to explore sites and scenarios of
collective interaction. originally conceived for television, baby marx is set in a small town
library where a group of precocious children have brought karl marx and adam smith back
to life by zapping their influential books in a glitch-prone 'smart-o-wave' microwave oven.
the founders of communism and the free market confront each other and their legacies,
haunted by the twin specters of joseph stalin and bernie madoff, as well as the latest global
economic crisis.'


baby marx puppets
image © designboom


baby marx puppets
image © designboom


studies for baby marx puppets
image courtesy of the artist

'featuring the intricate set pieces and handmade puppets used for a trailer shot in japan and
a pilot episode filmed in mexico city, the exhibition is an investigation of the entire baby marx
project to date. unlike earlier phases, this version uses the tools and procedures of documentary
film making to reflect on the question 'what is baby marx?' more specifically, what does this
work have to say about the contemporary moment and our complicated relationships with
philosophies filtered through years of contradictory interpretations? the exhibition includes
an in-gallery production studio and a series of public events offering a lively meditation on
the intersections of entertainment, ideology, and contemporary art.'

Marx and Smith discuss Warhol from Pedro Reyes on Vimeo.

positioning of puppet from baby marx
image courtesy of the artist


baby marx puppeteers
image courtesy of the artist


still from baby marx trailer
image courtesy of the artist


more information about the show can be found on the artist's blog

read designboom's interview with pedro reyes here