Francis Alÿs
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Francis Alÿs
(Contemporary artists)
Phaidon, 2007
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Description and Table of Contents
Description
Though primarily based in Mexico, Belgian artist Francis Alys (b. 1959) is a compulsive wanderer. Gaining international attention in the late 1990s, the works of Francis Alys (pronounced 'ah-leece') are based on his walks in various locations all over the world. Whether tracing the meandering Green Line in Jerusalem, interceding in the drift of the sand dunes outside in Lima, Peru, or documenting the varieties of people carting their wares around Mexico City, Alys examines current socio-political situations in specific urban sites, weaving his own fables into the tangled social fabric via performances, postcards, paintings, sketches, 'tourist' videos and a variety of other innovative media.
Francis Alys is represented by David Zwirner Gallery, 525 W 19th Street, New York 10011, susan@davidzwirner.com and Lisson Gallery, 52-54 Bell Street, London NW1 5DA, contact@lisson.co.uk
Table of Contents
Interview - Critic and curator Russell Ferguson travels to Mexico City to walk the streets with the artist, discussing Alys's personal and artistic explorations along the way. * Survey - Cuauhtemoc Medina traces Alys's ongoing critique of urbanism and modern life from his studies at the architecture academy in Venice to his negotations with day-to-day life in Mexico City and finally to his emergence as an acclaimed artist of international scope. * Focus - Jean Fisher discusses When Faith Moves Mountains (2002), a 'project of geological displacement' whereby some 500 volunteers moved an enormous sand dune a few inches from its original position, one shovel-full at a time. * Artist's Choice - Augusto Monterroso's 'The Black Sheep' and 'The Two Tails, or the Eclectic Philosopher' (1969) are fables whose instant timelessness have made them classics throughout the Spanish-speaking world. * Artist's Writings - Alys discusses his own practices in texts which such evocative titles as 'As Long as I'm Walking', '10 Predicaments' and 'The Elements'. * Chronology and Bibliography
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