Alejandro Casazi's work encompasses a broad range of book art, drawing, installations, video and more, but his primary focus and preferred medium falls under experimental print making. Growing up in Bogota, Colombia, Casazi was very familiar with violent experiences young children aren't typically exposed to. Every week in his class he and other students would be interrupted by emergency training sessions in preparation for bomb attacks. Such was the life of citizens living in Colombia during a hostile period of civil war. Casazi's background and familiarity with unfortunate events led him to an interest in death, the equality of humanity, and the calmness of breath, which are all themes present in his work. Casazi came to Santa Barbara and became an undergrad in visual arts, focusing his attention on projects that were not political or social statements but rather expressions of the simplistic human condition.
The works Casazi exhibited during today's lecture included Colombian Souvenirs, Kissing the Pavement, Empathela Ballare, and F.A.T. LAB. While the former delve into Casazi's Colombian history and memories of guerilla warfare and dangerous encounters, the latter convey his interest in the synchronization of human bodies at one moment in one place.
My favorite piece was his M.F.A. work for SB titled Empathela Ballare. The installation involved five spheres with speakers inside of each, which created slight vibrations throughout the spheres. In order to hear the sounds being made, the audience is forced to participate by pressing their ear and chest against the spheres. In doing so, their heart beat naturally begins to synchronize itself with the rhythm of the vibrations, ultimately unifying everyone's heart beat with the other participants. I thought it was a very beautiful expression of coming together and experiencing a shared moment.
Empathela Ballare Installation, 2009.
Participants within the installation.
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