Untitled (Tiwanaku), 2017
Photo: Juan Pablo Murrugarra | Courtesy 80m2 Livia Benavides, Lima, Peru
Collection
Peruvian cacao on paper
28 x 22 cm
33.5 x 27.5 x 4.3 cm
William Cordova is known for interweaving strands from different social, cultural and intellectual histories in works which highlight intersections that are often overlooked in popular narratives. In particular he is interested in the emergence of cultural ephemera from instances of displacement and cross-cultural transmission. His practice reflects and is heavily influenced by an upbringing which spanned Lima, Miami, Houston, Chicago and New York City, and seeks to expose crossovers in histories of resistance that vary in both historical and geographic location. Often his works are site-specific. In creative juxtapositions, Cordova emphasizes the relations that exist between references as much as he does their significance as isolated objects, uncovering commonalities and gesturing toward the role of influence in cultural production. Considered in its totality, his practice demands a historiographical shift away from fixed, linear narratives towards a more complex understanding of personal and collective histories.
Untitled (Tiwanaku) (2017) is one of a series of works on paper made with Peruvian cacao. Its form is inspired by a range of sources which coalesce in architectural and design history. The brown, rectangular designs which characterize each of the works in the series are based on Frank Lloyd Wright’s custom windows, while their titles highlight the influence of the ruined ancient city of Tiwanaku, and other examples of Pre-Columbian Andean architecture, in Wright’s research. In a conversation with Kate Green and Carter Foster which took place in 2018 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth around his exhibition ankaylli: spatial and ideological terrain at Marfa Contemporary, Cordova said that he was “trying to create this intersection between the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie house, the furniture in the Robie house, Tiwanaku architecture from Bolivia, Andean architecture in general, and also Japanese Maya architecture. These all influenced Frank Lloyd Wright.”[1] By doing so he uncovers the complexity of the cultural matrix broadly conceived as the American fabric, and uses the work’s title as a device through which to clearly distinguish the lesser known references that fed into the development of the first architectural style considered uniquely American, the Prairie School.
This multiplicity of references gives the work various entry points. Like many of Cordova’s works, the epistemological status of Untitled (Tiwanaku) is such that different interpretations might be made depending on what the viewer already knows and brings to the work. Irrespective of what those interpretations might be, the social significance of Cordova’s works is the fact of their meeting in the same place. In their exposure of the pervasion of cross-cultural transmission in American art history, Cordova’s works serve as physical reminders of the potential value gained from drawing complex connections, not only in aesthetic and conceptual terms, but in ways that highlight and reinforce commonalities between different communities. –Elsa Gray
[1] “William Cordova in conversation with Kate Green and Carter Foster.” YouTube. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. 9 April 2018. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGldh76Wrg
28 x 22 cm
33.5 x 27.5 x 4.3 cm
William Cordova is known for interweaving strands from different social, cultural and intellectual histories in works which highlight intersections that are often overlooked in popular narratives. In particular he is interested in the emergence of cultural ephemera from instances of displacement and cross-cultural transmission. His practice reflects and is heavily influenced by an upbringing which spanned Lima, Miami, Houston, Chicago and New York City, and seeks to expose crossovers in histories of resistance that vary in both historical and geographic location. Often his works are site-specific. In creative juxtapositions, Cordova emphasizes the relations that exist between references as much as he does their significance as isolated objects, uncovering commonalities and gesturing toward the role of influence in cultural production. Considered in its totality, his practice demands a historiographical shift away from fixed, linear narratives towards a more complex understanding of personal and collective histories.
Untitled (Tiwanaku) (2017) is one of a series of works on paper made with Peruvian cacao. Its form is inspired by a range of sources which coalesce in architectural and design history. The brown, rectangular designs which characterize each of the works in the series are based on Frank Lloyd Wright’s custom windows, while their titles highlight the influence of the ruined ancient city of Tiwanaku, and other examples of Pre-Columbian Andean architecture, in Wright’s research. In a conversation with Kate Green and Carter Foster which took place in 2018 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth around his exhibition ankaylli: spatial and ideological terrain at Marfa Contemporary, Cordova said that he was “trying to create this intersection between the architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie house, the furniture in the Robie house, Tiwanaku architecture from Bolivia, Andean architecture in general, and also Japanese Maya architecture. These all influenced Frank Lloyd Wright.”[1] By doing so he uncovers the complexity of the cultural matrix broadly conceived as the American fabric, and uses the work’s title as a device through which to clearly distinguish the lesser known references that fed into the development of the first architectural style considered uniquely American, the Prairie School.
This multiplicity of references gives the work various entry points. Like many of Cordova’s works, the epistemological status of Untitled (Tiwanaku) is such that different interpretations might be made depending on what the viewer already knows and brings to the work. Irrespective of what those interpretations might be, the social significance of Cordova’s works is the fact of their meeting in the same place. In their exposure of the pervasion of cross-cultural transmission in American art history, Cordova’s works serve as physical reminders of the potential value gained from drawing complex connections, not only in aesthetic and conceptual terms, but in ways that highlight and reinforce commonalities between different communities. –Elsa Gray
[1] “William Cordova in conversation with Kate Green and Carter Foster.” YouTube. Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. 9 April 2018. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtGldh76Wrg
William Cordova (born 1969) is a contemporary cultural practitioner and interdisciplinary artist currently residing between Lima, Peru, North Miami Beach, FL and New York.[1]
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.
This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License.