Curator Jesús Fuenmayor explores the work of Venezuelan artist Diana López on the basis of her participation in an annual show at PS 1 Contemporary Art Center, in New York. The theme López presented for that show was the result of her experiences at the studios of PS 1. Specifically, she presented the series, Las fotos de Franklin [Franklin’s Photos, 1995], a selection of photographs taken by a child under her supervision. Fuenmayor places emphasis on the system by which art includes and excludes, and on how “others” are brought into the creative process. He also remarks on the “performatic” nature of the project’s development. 

In 1996, Venezuelan visual artist Diana López (b.1968) participated in the internationally prestigious annual artists’ residency program organized by PS 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York and in the group show held at the end of the program. In this text, curator Jesús Fuenmayor praises Las fotos de Franklin [Franklin’s Photos, 1995]—López’s contribution to that show—and describes its most important attributes. The work consists of a series of black-and-white photographs in which a third person, a child, captures his environment. These “commissioned works” produced under the artist’s supervision bring the notion of “inclusion” into the creative process and reduce the amount of control the artist has over the work.

In his text, Fuenmayor mentions relevant videos, paintings, and performances that together, give shape to López’s largely conceptual work. Concern with the artistic process is a constant in her varied production. This text by Fuenmayor provides an overview of López’s work and suggests its underlying concerns and motivations.

This text predates the one written for Esto no es un martillo, a solo show of López’s work held at the Sala Mendoza in Caracas the following year (1997).