The chapter in the book Ciudad espejo [Mirror City] by the Arts Faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia [National University of Colombia] (2009), written by Natalia Gutiérrez,  explains in detail the importance of the discussion concerning global and local identity addressed in María Isabel Rueda’s work Lo uno y lo otro [One and the Other]. This work shows how young people in a city (Bogotá, for example) address and articulate contradictory ideas about “identity” in their daily lives. The project, produced between 2000 and 2004, consists of a series of large photographs of pedestrians in Bogotá wearing Che Guevara T-shirts. According to Gutiérrez, these people do not necessarily identify with the image on the shirt in ideological terms, nor do they treat it as they would a simple logo or brand of clothing. Instead, they see it as a flexible sort of common cultural archive that is both global and Latin American. This is such an imprecise definition that the concept of “unique identity” becomes challenging and sometimes impossible, leading to “the subject’s multiple identifications.” According to Gutiérrez, “Lo uno y lo otro [One and the Other] makes us think about contaminated identity, which is a liberating term because it refers to a permeable substance that has been made with the detritus of human activity. To be contaminated means to listen and accept.” This chapter also discusses Rueda’s importance within the context of the country’s artistic milieu, explores the methodology of her work, and includes 12 color photographs.  

This document opens the door to broader research into the works of the Colombian artist María Isabel Rueda (b. 1972). It is a valuable critical review of one of her most important works that also sheds light on her earlier work. Here, too, we can detect several of the themes that also interested some of her contemporary artists: the ambivalent concept of Latin American identity, the forms of communication created by inhabitants of large urban areas, and how these are expressed.

María Isabel Rueda stands out among the artists of her generation due to the clarity and sensitivity of her methodical, rigorous questioning of the mechanisms behind the function of contemporary images: their uses, their choices, and their hierarchies. Rueda also proposes new forms through which to understand and reorient such mechanisms, allowing her to address those images—hitherto burdened with meaning—in multiple, occasionally ambivalent ways.

Rueda’s work Lo uno y lo otro [One and the Other] expresses these concerns through a research project carried out on the streets of Bogotá, and the resulting collection of photographs. Some of her other works reflect her thoughts on the subject of drawing, and include collective projects that arose out of social networks forged in art workshops, classrooms, and photography classes that she has taught in a variety of places and circumstances in Bogotá.

In Rueda’s opinion, the photographs in Lo uno y lo otro are the result of a powerful initial attraction to her unknown subjects. These photographs attempt to create a fleeting bond between the photographer and her subjects, documenting genuine moments of trust when people appear comfortable and drawn to the camera. Rueda insists that she does not take random shots, and never photographs people without their knowledge or when they are unprepared.

Natalia Gutiérrez (b. 1955) has worked in the field of art criticism and curating in Colombia for the last 15 years, since 1994. She has published a number of books of her essays on art in Colombia, including: Cruces [Crosses] (1999), on the work of José Alejandro Restrepo (b. 1959), in which she describes and discusses changing paradigms in contemporary art; Arte, para todos [Art, For Everybody] (2004), a general interest essay on art history; and Leer, mirar, escribir [Read, Look, Write] (2006), a reflection on writing within the artistic context of the academy at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.