“Residuos Americanos” (1983) was a text written by members of the art group Colectivo Acciones Arte (C.A.D.A., Santiago, 1979–85) for their eponymous installation at the exhibition IN/OUT: four projects by Chilean Artists presented during the Washington Projects for the Arts, an event held in 1983 in Washington, DC. Participating artists were Eugenio Dittborn (b. 1943), Juan Downey (1940–1993), and Alfredo Jaar (b. 1956).
C.A.D.A. was an art action group whose members included the artists Juan Castillo (b. 1952), Lotty Rosenfeld (1943–2020), and Diamela Eltit (b. 1949), who is also a writer; the sociologist Fernando Balcells (b. 1950); and the poet Raúl Zurita (b. 1950). The group used the city and its art spaces as supports and backdrops for their works. Their first project was Para no morir de hambre en el arte [To Avoid Starving to Death in Art] (1979), which involved several simultaneous components consisting of actions staged: in a working-class neighborhood in Santiago, outside of the United Nations building, at the Galería de Arte Centro Imagen, and in an insert that referenced the action in HOY magazine. The group also invited other artists to take part in the project. This concept of multiple actions helped to launch a program of group works staged in different locations (institutional or not) according to a range of different strategies.
Residuos Americanos [American Residues] was an installation designed expressly for the US art milieu. It consisted of a wooden box mounted on a rectangular white surface; the box overflowed with second-hand clothes that, though bought in Chile, were originally from the United States, where the exhibition was presented. A soundtrack provided a recording of an operation being performed on a beggar, and a wall panel text stated: “1. Restitution of used American clothes sold in Chile; 2. Sound: Brain surgery executed in Chile - Extirpation of a tumor. We donate these two diseases.” According to Nelly Richard (b. 1948), C.A.D.A. was exploring the concept of “waste materials” and showing how the Third World consumes the First World’s leftovers. [See the following texts in the ICAA Digital Archive about the group’s works: “Cada día: la creación de un arte social” (doc. no. 732411) by Robert Neustadt; “La ampliación del espacio crítico” (doc. no. 734883) by Milan Ivelic and Gaspar Galaz; “Cada 20 años” (doc. no. 740299) by Diamela Eltit. See also “Una ponencia del C.A.D.A.” (doc. no. 732133) and “C.A.D.A.: A South American Art” (doc. no. 731898), both of which were coauthored by members of the group.]
