In its third issue, the Venezuelan magazine CAL published the script for a documentary about a mural created by Jesús Rafael Soto, written by Clara Diament de Sujo, and produced by the Venezuelan cinematographer and painter Ángel Hurtado (b. 1927). Over and above the poetic quality of the script and the focus on the creative process, it is interesting to see, in print, the inner operation of a work of art that used moving images and sound. In a sense, it is symptomatic of the integration that CAL sought to foster by addressing a wide range of cultural subjects, and by blurring the lines between disciplines and genres. The script in the magazine explains the great attention to detail in a work that could be mistakenly dismissed as being dangerous and sloppy. CAL provides a critical platform for the dissemination and discussion of the 1960s’ vogue of Informalism and the ideas Soto expressed in his Leños viejos (1960?62) series, as well as the murals he made with waste material. This “backstage” presentation of his work captured not only what the cinematographer and the audience at Canal 5 – National Television viewed, but also what the readers of this new magazine devoted to art criticism and culture saw through it. Soto’s work acknowledges the relationship between art and life through his found objects, and through the everyday materials he manipulates and sticks on his mural. This leads to a reflection on the place assigned to beauty when contemporary movements challenge the idea that art “should be” a source of aesthetic pleasure. The forms that Soto creates renew their meaning thanks to his analysis of both the experience and the process, flatly opposed to reason. This short film is one in a series of documentaries that Hurtado and Sujo began producing for television in 1960. He later made movies about art, featuring works by Carlos Cruz-Diez, José María Cruxent, and Soto.
[For other articles about Soto, see in the ICAA digital archive by Alfredo Boulton “El cinetismo de Soto” (doc. no. 1069749); the essay by Ariel Jiménez “Jesus Soto. Lo visible y lo posible” (doc. no. 1073684); the article by Alejandro Otero “Las estructuras cinéticas de Jesús Soto” (doc. no. 850667); the article by Guillermo Meneses “Soto” (doc. no. 1080690); the one by various authors titled “Soto: estructuras cinéticas” (doc. no. 1059619); the untitled text by Umbro Apollonio [featured in the catalogue for Vibrations by Soto at The Kootz Gallery 1965] (doc. no. 1069781); the article by Roberto Guevara “La energía como realidad” (doc. no. 1102332); by Vladimir Tismaneanu “La metafísica del espacio en la obra de Soto” (doc. no. 1101524); Roberto Guevara’s interview “La nueva lectura de la realidad. Una conversación con el maestro Jesús Soto” (doc. no. 1059731); the article by Alfredo Boulton “Jesús Soto 1971” (doc. no. 1059661); the essay by Gladys Yunes “Soto: las imágenes de la física” (doc. no. 1059815); the interview conducted by Claude-Louis Renard “Extractos de entrevistas de Soto [París, 1974]” (doc. no. 1080788); the essay by the French philosopher Jacques Leenhardt “Soto” (doc. no. 1073536); the essay by Gilles Plazy “Soto” (doc. no. 1101556); the untitled review by Frank Popper “[Jesús Rafael Soto...]” (doc. no. 1073597); the article by Carlos Díaz Sosa “Jesús Rafael Soto: La Gran Pintura es cosa de progreso histórico” (doc. no. 1097076); and Soto’s autobiographical essay, “Soto habla de Soto” (doc. no. 1080906)].
