imagining materiality and civilization by los carpinteros

‘avião’ by los carpinteros, 2011 piper comanche aircraft with wooden and feathered arrows 215 x 1100 x 780cm

the cuban artistic duo los carpinteros, comprised of marco castillo and dagoberto rodríguez present sculptural works in the molinas room of faena arts center in buenos aires, argentina, on show until august 12th. both a plane and neighborhood have been formed by the art collaborative in an attempt to answer the question ‘how far is it good to be civilized‘? los carpinteros has assembled a re-appropriation of large-scale industrial objects for this installation, resulting in an ironic to response to the notion of western civilization and the imposition of this cultural system upon other organized societies.

the piper comanche aircraft in the center of the bright exhibition space stands as the base of the work ‘avião’. the small vehicle is decorated by a collection of wooden arrows which seem to have been shot into the belly and wings of the plane. the piece is representative of the culture shock and disorientation experienced by the many communities when confronted with the endless advancement of technology.

for the artists’ continued exploration of the interaction between a theoretical community newly confronted with modern urban life, ‘el barrio’ consists of a pile of houses constructed from cardboard and velcro. these structures seem to rise from the gallery floor, alluding to the precariousness of finding one’s home within an urban center and the disorientation associated with this stereotypically chaotic environment.

a front view of the arrow decorated plane