This article by Sergio Rojas (b. 1960) originally appeared as the introduction to the catalogue for Quadrivium ad usum Delphini, the installation by the artist Gonzalo Díaz (b. 1947), and was later published as Lecciones de cosas. 7 textos postfacio. In his article Rojas draws on his philosophical expertise to discuss the discourses that were superimposed on the Chilean artist’s installation. Díaz is known in local art circles for his “rupturing” works that tend to explore beyond the boundaries of formalism. His work is very political and usually combines written texts and images. The name of the work means expurgated subjects “for the use of the dauphin,” the son of Luis XIV, whose reading material had to be purged of any corrupting influence. This was a veiled reference to the censorship that was applied for decades to anything related to art and culture in Chile. The complex nature of Quadrivium prompted the author to refer to some of the other authors featured in the book, thus providing a more current approach to the philosophical and visual art problems involved. The book Lecciones de cosas. 7 textos postfacio therefore creates links and associations between their various contributions that help the reader to explore the work as a whole. The installation was presented at the Galería Gabriela Mistral, in Santiago, Chile, from October 14 to November 6, 1998. In this case, the installation to which Rojas refers in his article—“La dieta de los artefactos”—included “XIV estaciones del via crucis” [Fourteen Stations of the Cross] described as follows in the catalogue: a curved shelf with seascape [oil on wooden board], a train tunnel [oil paint on plaster], a little boat made of tin; bronze Roman numerals [counter clockwise numbering of the Stations of the Cross]; projectors on tripods [projecting 14 words], and angle poise lamps that narrowed the viewer’s access to the room [40 cm. wide opening]. Variable measurements. [Regarding the installation Quadrivium ad usum Delphini, see the following articles in the ICAA digital archive: “La cuna del delfín” (doc. no. 735850) by Pablo Oyarzún; “La XV estación de Gonzalo Díaz: la vía infinita” (doc. no. 735619) written by Iván Trujillo; “La persistencia programática de una década” (doc. no. 735491) by Justo Pastor Mellado; “Quadrivium: para la reforma del entendimiento” (doc. no. 750181) by Alberto Madrid; and “Un retrato, un paisaje, una dedicatoria” (doc. no. 735474) by Adriana Valdés. For more about the work of Gonzalo Díaz, see “Nota sobre Couve” (doc. no. 748484) by Díaz himself].
