Tag: jose carlos casado

Excerpt from “Do the clones dream of digital superheroes?”by Juan F. Ferré, in the occasion of Casado’s solo show at Galería JM:

“In his new series “Agnus Dei”, José Carlos Casado connects with [previous series] newbody, this time also worrying about contemporary global conflicts and its perverse way to take control. He reflects on the American empire’s claim of control and economic as well as military domination, with the resulting appropriation of resources and preservation of the global supremacy over that other part of the world – the oriental – that threatens to develop its big potential on all fronts. Using a critical and ironic tone, the artist allegorizes the redemption showing the sacrifice of the mythic superhero comes down: Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Agnus Dei, based in a painting by Caravaggio with the same title, composed by the picture of a lamb prepared for the sacrifice. This original series represents the American hero mortified, presented as ridiculous redeemer, sent to fulfill absurd missions in landscapes and sceneries of Asia, whose threat to turn into the next superpower is imminent. A sarcastic political comment directed at the future from the closest present and presented on the blurred border between the fictitious and the real, which characterizes the complex work of Casado.”

This artwork is José Carlos Casado’s first shown 3D animation, created in 2000 and premiered at the 1st Online Sundance Film Festival in 2001 (Official Selection).

Homo baby-thinking / 2021

En 2000, amalgamando 0s y 1s creé un bebé.

Verde que te quiero ver, 

pero un bebé.

Sé que te sientes rara, y que tus brazos para atrás giran. 

Dos mujeres danzan juntas, dos hombres al pas, y dos robots tridimensionales 

se besan en bucles infinitos como el mar.

Te salen patas mecánicas,

crecen trepaderas dentro y fuera de tu cuerpo

pero ya puedes ver-la en tu mano, a ella,

pequeña como una canica.

Multitud participando,

la vieja naturaleza ayuda a elegir polen.

Se te rompe el agua de cristal, y peces

tropicales aprovechan el momento, a veces, 

ayudando y empujando.

Duele como si te aplastase un tren,

multitud de manos crecen,

cierran y abren tu ser completo y mi corazón.

Y ahora en 2016 ella, 

se llama Petra.

This artwork was created for Casado’s solo show at the Picasso Foundation in 2002 and projected as a 480p single screen. It was then recreated (newbody.v01e) for the 3rd Seoul New Media Biennale in South Korea in 2004, projected in a 30’ x 30’ darkroom in panoramic format using two 720p projectors, and surround sound.Once again, the video was re-rendered in 2016 to adapt to 1080p single screen.The characters are clones, engaged in an infinite dance where there are no physical boundaries; they do not crash with each other, they literally go inside each other’s bodies.

Excerpt from text by Anne Barlow, written for the catalog of Casado’s show at Picasso Foundation:

“Casado’s “nuevocuerpo” series presents intriguing formal and conceptual commentaries on what this might mean. Interestingly, while created with the aid of current digital technologies, some of these pieces hark back to—and at the same time subvert—particular forms of classical art. In “nuevocuerpo.v01”, for example, limbs extend from the flatness of the image much in the way that classical relief sculpture suggested three-dimensional forms within an essentially two-dimensional format. Casado then pushes this aesthetic into the digital age: fingers poke through legs, and smooth, android-like male bodies merge in fluid but physically impossible combinations. He also inserts characteristics of his own body into their make-up: whether a mouth, small goatee or birthmark. What makes this already elegant piece more remarkable, and a little unnerving, is that behind the still image is a moving one of the same figures. From the perspective of the viewer, who cannot see the edges of the video screen, “nuevocuerpo.v01a” fuses with its counterpart to create a beautiful, floating sensation of life-size bodies moving in a darkened space.