In this interview, Doris Salcedo replies to the following questions, which were asked of all the artists who took part in the exhibition Nuevos Nombres-Seguimiento [New Names—Follow-up]: How would you define contemporary? How does your work identify with contemporary trends? What relationship do you see between your own work and current art? Are you tied to any particular tradition? Which one? What made you choose the materials you use in your work? How would you define the opposite of your work? Do you think that art should express or perform a critical or social function, or does your work not fit within those parameters? Why does one become an artist? What does it mean? Salcedo sees her work as the product of a desire to build her art around people and their significant experiences, rejecting what she sees as the narcissism of many artists. She therefore seeks to create “metaphors of life” inspired by the work of eighteenth-century painters such as the Spaniard Francisco de Goya or the contemporary artist Joseph Beuys, who “explored the traumas experienced by a particular society.” She feels especially inclined toward the creation of “installations” given her interest in generating images rather than objects. In her opinion, an artist comes to understand a particular reality as she creates a work of art, which in turn allows her to suggest alternative routes a society might take.     

This interview is included in the catalogue for the exhibition Nuevos Nombres-Seguimiento [New Names—Follow-up], that was curated by the Colombian critic Carolina Ponce de León (b. 1957) as part of the program Nuevos Nombres [New Names] that she organized from 1985 for the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango in Bogotá. Other participants in this exhibition included Nadín Ospina (b. 1960), Luis Luna (b. 1958), José Antonio Suárez (b. 1955), Maria Fernanda Cardoso (b. 1963), and Carlos Salazar (b. 1957). According to Ponce de León, the common goal shared by these artists was to “portray, define, or create a particular relationship with culture.”

Since Doris Salcedo (b. 1958) replied to the same questions that were asked of all participants, this interview provides an opportunity to compare her ideas with those expressed by her Colombian colleagues. It also provides early insight into her work and her perception of her role as an artist, the role of art in the late twentieth century, her language and materials, and the artists that influenced her work.

Additional information on this early stage of Salcedo’s work can be found in the introductory articles in the catalogues El Hierro, Escultura [Iron, Sculpture] (Bogotá: Galería Garcés Velásquez, 1989), and Doris Salcedo (Bogotá: Galería Garcés Velásquez, 1990), as well as in articles by Beatriz González, “Análisis de la obra de Doris Salcedo, Hilda Piedrahita y Marta Calderón. ¡Sí hay jóvenes con talento!” [Review of the Work of Doris Salcedo, Hilda Piedrahita, and Marta Calderón: There Certainly Are Talented Young Artists!], El Tiempo (July 14, 1990) and “El florecimiento del joven talento” [The Flowering of Young Talent], Art Nexus (May, 1991), pp. 72–77.