“Observaciones” by Jaime Iregui, the artist and cultural agent, is the text from the first section of Tándem 2, the publication that also reported on the workshops presented at the exhibition Observaciones. Obra en Tándem con Carlos Salas organized at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogotá in August-September 1997 by Iregui and Carlos Salas, two exponents of abstract art. In the introduction, the author describes the act of looking and observing, and discusses three forms of showing works of art: exhibitions, workshops, and publications, highlighting in each one the experience that makes the viewer pause. In the first part, “Big bang,” Iregui discusses geometry as a way to structure thought; in “Mecánica celeste” [Celestial Mechanics] he writes from a historical perspective, with references to Greece, the Middle Ages, and the “geometric model” mentioned in Kepler’s theories, underscoring the importance of Newton’s scientific theory. He continues with “Tiempos modernos” [Modern Times], in which he refers to the changes there have been in the concept of vision, the close relationship between science and art expressed, for example, by Paul Cézanne in his reflections on structure, the twentieth century avant-garde, and Minimalism, among other subjects. In “El último vehículo” [The Final Vehicle], Iregui ends with a number of arguments in which he assigns an active, and no doubt prospective, role to the viewer. On the last page there is a list of publications and projects produced by Tándem [see doc. no. 1134859] and Espacio Vacío [doc. no. 1135774].

Along with this issue of Tándem magazine, it is relevant to include a number of important documents [see doc. no. 1098991; doc. no. 1135774; doc. no. 1134859; and doc. no. 1134646">1134646] that together record the opinions of Jaime Iregui (b. 1956), Carlos Salas (b. 1957), and Danilo Dueñas (b. 1956) on subjects such as painting, the range of art, and museum space. During the 1990s, these three prominent Colombian abstract artists went beyond their purely artistic role and started to promote contemporary art in a number of innovative ways.

One field in which they took a great deal of interest was the promotion and exhibition of works by young artists. Their goal was to create spaces for community contact, improve the viewer’s experience, and promote editorial projects, group exhibitions, and communication initiatives via print and electronic publications. Many others were involved in these endeavors, including journalists such as María Claudia Parias (b. 1967), Olga Marín, and Javier Hernández (b. 1955), and art critics such as José Hernán Aguilar (b. 1952), Carolina Ponce de León (b. 1957), Ana María Lozano (b. 1964), and Carmen María Jaramillo (b. 1958), as well as a generation of Colombian artists who exhibited their work and supported these new ideas.   

During the exhibition Observaciones. Obra en Tándem con Carlos Salas at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Bogotá in 1997, Carlos Salas [see doc. no. 1132853; doc. no. 1133157; doc. no. 1133804; and doc. no. 1134646">1134646] presented the workshop “Prescindir del Color” [Dispensing with Color], and Jaime Iregui organized the workshop “las percepciones del observador” [The Viewer’s Perceptions] that involved spatial experiments and the creation of volumes. For more information on Iregui’s other projects, see [doc. no. 1132933; and doc. no. 1132949]. 

This publication had the financial support of what was at that time the Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo (IDCT), but which is now the Secretaría de Cultura, Recreación y Deporte. It is a public entity in the Capital District of Colombia that is responsible for the promotion and support of cultural activities and research, created by government decree in 1978.