This interview with the artists Wilson Díaz (b. 1963) and Juan Fernando Mejía (b. 1966) appears in the journal Vice Versa in 1998 just when their art is taking hold in the local Cali art milieu and on the national art scene. What is special about this document is its investigation of the origins and thematic interests that would mark the work of both artists for a number of years to come.
On the Cali art scene, the work of these two artists pioneered the practice of appropriation. Their approaches in video and performance are treated with humor and irony, which provides backup for their criticisms of arts institutions in terms of exhibitions and instruction. They shared their conceptual and aesthetic approaches with their students at the Instituto Departamental de Bellas Artes de Cali. There, they analyzed the ways of creating art, the different audiences, and the response to contemporary art concepts.
The article’s title (“Artistas Cali entes”) is suggestive. It refers to the geographic site where they composed their artwork and the development of their artistic entity. In the late 1990s, they were dividing their time between creating art and teaching at the Instituto Departamental de Bellas Artes de Cali, therefore influencing generations of young artists. Currently, both Díaz and Mejía continue to carry on their independent work, including art projects, curating exhibitions, and research. Díaz is well known in the Colombian art world as the director of the Festival de Performance de Cali, launched in 1997 by the two artists. Mejía is a professor in the art department at the Universidad de los Andes.
The journal that published the interview, Vice Versa, was a joint publishing project of the Universidad del Valle and the Alliance Française in Cali. Its purpose was to disseminate articles on film, audiovisual work, and contemporary art in that city.