El desgaste de la clase media en México
César Martínez
O Geografía de la devaluación transpirada
[The Attrition of the Middle Class in Mexico or Geography of Transpired Devaluation]
Three human figures inflate and deflate through a mechanism activated by motion sensors. These “sculptural happenings,” as the artist has called them, thus take on an ephemeral existence, functioning only when the viewer is present.
As in his other anthropomorphic works, Martínez sheds light on the fragility of the body, which is also accentuated by his choice of materials: latex, for instance, or even edible elements. By mechanizing and protracting a process as automatic and imperceptible as breath, the artist emphasizes both the role of air as the basis of life and its biological and economic costs.
CÉSAR MARTÍNEZ (1962)
El desgaste de la clase media en México o Geografía de la devaluación transpirada, 1999
The Attrition of the Middle Class in Mexico or Geography of Transpired Devaluation
Dynamic sculptures. Rubber latex, hoses, and hair dryers
Acquisition, 1999
