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Quote by Alfredo Jaar

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Let there be light: the Rwanda Project 1994-1998

This book delves into the historical events surrounding the Rwandan genocide, providing an in-depth analysis of the period from 1994 to 1998. It examines the political, social, and cultural factors that contributed to the tragedy, as well as the subsequent efforts towards reconciliation and recovery in Rwanda. more

Author

Alfredo Jaar
Alfredo Jaar

Alfredo Jaar is a Chilean-born artist renowned for his multimedia installations and video art. His works explore themes of memory, history, and human experience, often using public spaces and digital media as platforms for display. more

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“For me, what was important was to record everything I saw around me, and to do this as methodically as possible. In these circumstances a good photograph is a picture that comes as close as possible to reality. But the camera never manages to record what your eyes see, or what you feel at the moment. The camera always creates a new reality.”

“Reality cannot be photographed or represented. We can only create a new reality. And my dilemma is how to make art out of a reality that most of us would rather ignore. How do you make art when the world is in such a state? My answer has been to make mistakes, but when I can, to choose them. We are all guilt victims choosing mistakes, and as Godard said, the very definition of the human condition is in the mise-en-scéne itself.”

“We struggle against easel painting not because it is an aesthetic form of painting, but because it is not modern, for it does not succeed in bringing out the technical side, it is a redundant, exclusive art, and cannot be of any use to the masses. Hence we are struggling not against painting but against photography carried out as if it were an etching, a drawing, a picture in sepia or watercolor.”