The text “He aquí, pues, mis citaciones a la audiencia” by Natalia Gutiérrez is the eleventh chapter of ciudad-espejo (2006), a theoretical research project that focuses on artists whose work—mostly in the medium of photography—attempts to raise consciousness about the specific issues facing the city of Bogotá. The project was funded by a fellowship for research in the arts granted by the Colombian Ministerio de Cultura as part of its Programa Nacional de Estímulos (2006); it was published by the Art School of the Universidad Nacional of Colombia (2009). The text describes and analyzes Constelaciones (2004), a work by Jaime Iregui exhibited at the XXIX Salón Nacional de Artistas held that same year. That work consists of a series of photographs taken at shops in Bogotá that display their products in a number of different ways. Gutiérrez compares the position on the specific aesthetic of Bogotá that Iregui puts forth in the text “Museo fuera de lugar” (2005)—his thesis for a master’s degree in the history and theory of art and architecture—with the position of Colombian architect Dicken Castro. In his text, Iregui cites Castro in order to establish a parallel between Castro’s work, his text, and the short story entitled “Un sueño de escalinatas” (1976) by Colombian writer Jorge Zalamea. Gutiérrez views Iregui’s work as a signaling of temporary installations that create social and political tensions in the city in a manner in keeping with the “Situationist dérive.”

This text provides an in-depth reflection on Constelaciones (2004) by Colombian artist Jaime Iregui (b. 1956). It argues that that work brings aesthetic notions to bear on the commercial display practices used every day in the city of Bogotá. This, in turn, attests to the creativity of the anonymous subject whose efficient visual expression ensues in contexts of daily life rather than in the immaculate spaces of art exhibitions. Anthropologist, critic, and curator Natalia Gutiérrez (b. 1954) views the work as a signaling of the practices of what she calls “non-official markets.” Those markets occupy the public space by means of methods beyond the grasp of existing powers that deploy strategies like “incident-traps” that attempt to lure passersby into making purchases. The processes evidenced by the photographs are a protest against the reigning capitalist system and the inequality produced by a Modernist project that, in Latin America, never reached fruition.

Significantly, Gutiérrez associates Iregui’s flanêur-like process with the dérive of the Situationist International, formulated as “counter-cultural methods of protest.” The author rightfully indicates a difference between the Situationists and Iregui’s process, whose results she considers stories that illustrate different ways of inhabiting Bogotá. Iregui’s stories constitute a protest against the social silence debated by the Situationists. Gutiérrez states that the stories “record situations” and the photographs “capture relations.” Both are essential to the artist’s work insofar as they form an archive in which the artist’s stories and photographic images—that is, Constelaciones—become inseparable. Gutiérrez’s reference to the story Un sueño de escalinatas (1976) creates a vision of Bogotá that unmasks urban policies and their effect on the human condition, thus drawing a parallel helpful to grasping the socio-political implications of Iregui’s work. Gutiérrez’s discussion of later works by the artist, specifically when he worked with Grupo Gaula in 1990, is important to understanding both Constelaciones and Iregui’s thesis.

Jaime Iregui is a visual artist and cultural manager with a master’s degree from the Universidad Nacional of Colombia in the theory and history of art and architecture. His work has been featured at the VII Havana Biennial (Cuba, 2000) and documenta 12 magazines (2006) in the framework of documenta Kassel (Germany). He is currently (2010) a professor in the Art Department of the Universidad de los Andes. He directs www.esferapublica.org, a website specialized in art criticism. For more information on the author and ciudad-espejo, see [doc. no. 1132917, doc. no. 1132901, doc. no. 1099051, doc. no. 1099201, doc. no. 1099231, doc. no. 1099381, doc. no. 1099396, and doc. no. 1133189].