,

Mtdd/e Hea.,d

,
G/arica
/s/8nd

ts

T Pt "

Sen Suck/er

Coogee

M8cKenZles PI






CENTRO CULTURAL
PALACIO
LA MONEDA
CENTRO DE
DOCUMENTACiN
ARTES VISUALES
Todos los derechos reservados. Prohibid a la reproduccin parcial y/o total. Conforme a la Ley
N' 17.336 sobre Propiedad Intelectual en Chile.

EL ROS;l'ItO OUE MA-

RECJt~El!rE$TA

pJlolTtJ'RA AalOPO$TAL
D EL l\Q$TJ\O DE UN
ABOJUOItN DE TmIUlA
DEL PUl:O t.LIi:VADO
ltN 1829 DESDE EL EXTRJlMO AUSTRAL DE
~CA DEL SUR A
LONDRES A BOJU)() Dmo
"BltAOt.;,, POR SU CAP!
TAN ROBERT trITZRQY.
aOJEN LO COMPRO POR
UNOS CUANTOS BOTOJO:S
y
LO
LLAMO
.ntMMY BUT1"Ol\l

.'

.....-......

"Dittborn's oir moil pointings:

the invention of o genre"
by Guy Brett

TillE: JEMM Y BUTTON

If I am especially cansciaus of being an English

TECHNIQUE: BUTTONS, WOOL,

person , sitting in Brixton, South London , writing

FEATHERS, PAINTlNG AND

AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 49

YEAR OF PRODUCTlON: 1986

SIZE OF WORK : 154 X 210{M

about the work 01' a Chilean artist which will be

PHOTOSILKS{REEN ON WRAPPING

shown in Australia , it is because Eugenio Dittborn brings

about thi s kind 01' linking. The other day, with two others ,

PAPER.

we unwrapp ed , laid out and photographed one of Dittborn ' s

ITINERARY :

AirMail Paintings on a street in th e East End of London. It

1 E. DITTBORN, STGO DE {HILE,

contained an image 01' " Jemmy Button ", an indigenous

inhabitant of Tierra del Fue go who was ' bought ' by the

DECEMBER 1986

Captain of Charles Darwin 's s hip "The Beagle" (for a few

2 {HILE VIVE, PALACIO DE BELLAS

button s) and brought to London in 1829. To the British a

ARTES, MADRID, SPAIN, FEB 1987

specimen. a mascot perhaps.

And to him se lf? Dittborn

wanted us tO ,record Jemmy Button's re turn 150 years later in

3. {HILE VIVE, {ASA ELlZALDE,

a nother conveyance: an AirMail Painting.

BARCELONA, MAR{H 1987

I have had two other sig htin gs of Dittborn ' s work: once in

4. 3. DITTBORN, STGO DE {HILE,

his hou se in Santiago when paintings were unfolded and

spread out on the f1oor , and another watching a videotape in

{HILE, JULY 1987

London when the camera panned round an exhibition af his

5. {HARLES MEREWETHER,

AirMail Paintin gs in a gallery in Santiago. Curiously enough

AUSTRALlAN {ENTRE FOR

this la s t, most mediated g limp se , s truck me forcefully. When

Dittborn' s AirMail Paintings were hung together 1 realized
that he is working with a new kind 01' ' composition', a new
way of s tru c turin g. No one work , no part 01' a work , has any

PHOTOGRAPHY, AUGUST 1987

6. E. DITTBORN, {HILE, MAR{H 1988
7. LUIS LAMA, CENTRO CULTURAL

real s tability. They are s hifting inventories where found

image s

rccuJ".

always

moving

into

new

proximities

or

iso la tions. a nd where the compa rtment s implied by the folds

may hold an imuge or may be simply exceeded by wandering

DE LA MUNI{IPALlDAD DE
MIRAFLORES, LIMA, PERU,
NOVEMBER 1988

lines or stitches. Hand painted marks also move acros s the

given figurativ e imag e ry , veiling and un vei ling with another

{HILE DE{EMBER 1988

logic.
This structuring is new in that it seems to indicate. not a
compulsive desire to produce 'o ne 's

of attention to eve ry kind 01' g raphic phenomenon - a stain. a

newspape r photo. a s titch , a fold. a graffiti -

and one's

in th e co ur se of living.

Clearly,

Dittborn 's int e rest in th ese phenomena is not formalistic or

simply aes thetic , for th e graphic mark is also alife-trace. It
is always paradoxically an indicator both 01' presence and
abse nc e, ex is tence and oblivion , destruction and survival. In
Dittborn 's work , th e frailty o r persistence 01' the graphic
means is link ed with that 01' th e body, th e persono
Without superficial express ivit y or polemic, he makes us
think deeply again about th e re lation s hip between painling
and hum a n life. This is no t 0 1' course a mere s peciali st or
profe ss ional matter, s in ce it impli e s the relationship of th e
intell ec tual to th e m ass 01' people , and exte nds to the whole
problem of th e connection between 'mediation and 'Iived
experience'. The a rtist practices a kind 01' mediation. A
study of Dittborn 's s trat eg ies: in thi s res pcct could begin
with his inv e ntion oi" a genre: lh e AirMail Painting.
The AirMail Painting could be understoo d at one level as a
rejoinder, a ripo ste , to the prevailing art system, and one
devised specifically by a n artist working at its periphery, in
the so-called Third World. Made 01' cheap material s, easily
transported , evading the

9. GUY BRETT, LONDON, ENGLAND,

own ' art work , to

ma ster one' s m ea ns , to create a world. but a sifting , a paying

e ncount e rs w ith th e m

8. E, DITTBORN, STGO DE {HILE,

imperatives of the art market ,

insubstantial , il arrives to unfold and occupy a substantial

MAY 1989
10. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE {HILE,

{HILE, AUGUST 1989

AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 11

TITLE: TO FIND (THE SWIMMER, THE
MUMMY)
YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1985
SIZE OF WORK: 154 X 210 CM
TECHNIQUE: BLACK INK, FEATHER,
PAINTlNG, CORD, WOOL AND PHOTO
SILKSCREEN ON WRAPPING PAPER.
ITINERARY :
1. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE, JUNE 1985
2. GEORGE PATON GALLERY,
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, JULY 1985
3. CHAMELEON GALLERY, HOBART,
TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA, SEPTEMBER
1985
4. GALERIA BUCCI, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE OCTOBER 1985
5. ADELAIDE FESTIVAL,
EXPERIMENTAL ART FOUNDATION,
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA, MARCH
1986.
6. INSTlTUTE OF MODERN ART,
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA, JULY 1987.
7. ART GALLERY, CLEVELAND STATE
UNIVERSITY, OHIO, U.S.A., 1988.
8. GEORG E PATO N GALLERY,
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, MARCH
1988.
9. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE, AUGUST 1988
10. LUIS LAMA, CENTRO CULTURAL
MIRA FLORES, LIMA, PERU, 1988
11. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE, 1988
12. GUY BRETT, LONDON, ENGLAND,
MAY 1989
13. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE, 1989.

amount o f th e hotly-cont es ted space of the c ultura l

me tro po li s . lt a lso, in the process, refuses to be see n as a
fI o atin g, ne utra l, inte rn ation a l cultura l co mm odit y, s ince it s
po int o f o ri g in in C hil e a nd its j o urn ey to anoth e r part of th e
world is ex hibited as pa rt of it (v ia the e nve lo pe w ith its
posta l fr a nkin gs,
li st of previ o us j o urn eys, e tc).
" Tra nspe riph e ry" acc urate ly desc ribes Dittbo rn 's ac tivit y in
the past four yea rs with AirM a il pa intings ex hibited in
Au stra lia , Arge ntin a, C olombia , Pe ru , Ec uad o r, Ca nad a,
Cuba and Eas t G e rm a ny. One beg in s to rea li ze, howeve r,
th at th ere are a l so o th e r, more e ni gm ati c and sugges ti ve
leve ls o f th e A irM a il Pa intin g.
' In trans it ': w hat is thi s state exac tl y? T he j o urn ey im p li es a
fixed po int fro m whi c h th e pe rso n o r o bj ec t o ri g in a te d , a nd a
des tin ati o n. It impli es loca lity, ha bit ati o n, do me ti ca ti o n,
stratifi ca ti o n, sedim ent ati o n (a n idea ofte n indi cated by th e
arti st in hi s AirM a il pa intings by a sm a ll ho use sy mb o l). On
th e othe r ha nd , mo ti o n, trave ll ing, ca rry in g, vaga bond age is
a lso a so rt o f prim o rdi a l state . The A irM a il Pa intin g, as
Dittborn him se lf po ints o ut , is o nl y a n ex tens io n of th e fir st
bag (a nd, beyo nd th at, of th e kanga roo's po uc h, o r th e
wo mb ). A nd it is no t o nl y th e 'wo rk' th at trave ls. T he
images Dittbo rn uses a re th e m se lves c irc ul atin g, a nd moving
be tw ee n th e states of be ing ' Ios t ' and 'fou nd', forgo tt en and
re m emb e red . The s ur face in thi s se n se beco mes a te mp orary
res tin g- pl ace of sig ns whi c h a re trave ll in g thro ugh space and
thro ug h tim e .
It seem s to me th a t Dittborn , in hi s medit a ti on o n th e
re lation s hip o f th e g ra phi c me an s to hum an li fe - no t as a
ge ne ra li zed p rob lem but in th e he re a nd now of hi s s itu ati on
as a C hil ea n arti st in the late 20th ce ntury - p lu nges to th e
hea rt of a pa radox, a do ubl e meaning. Pai nt ing dea ls wi th
th e trans itory, the flee tin g , th e "q ui ver ings " of life. as
Ma ti sse sa id . At th e sa me tim e pa inting becomes pa n of a
trad iti o n, a wo rld -v iew, a c ultura l hege mony w hi c h may be
imposed was an ac t of powe r (as th e European pic toria l
trad iti o ns as im posed in Latin Ame ri ca afte r th e Co nq ues t).
Pho to g rap hy too resc ues a mo me nt of li fe fro m ob li v io n, b ut
a lso fi xes it in profo undl y 'soc ia l' ways. A ll tec h nica l
ad va nces in gra ph ic re prese nt a ti o n (ph o tog rap hy, v ideo) a re
a lso adva nces in c rim ino logy, sur ve ill a nce a nd co ntro l.
Pho tog raph y, as Wa lt e r Be njamin po int ed o ut in one of his
essays o n Ba ude la ire , s uperceded th e s ig na tu re as a mea ns of
ide nti ficati o n, a nd was " th e mos t dec is ive of all co nq ues ts of
a pe rso n 's incog nit o. " T he who le co nce pt of th e in cog ni to
o sc ill ates be tween freedo m and un free d om . Wh e n D ittb o rn
uses ph otos of ind ige no us inh abitants o f Ti erra d e l Fuego ,
found in a boo k of th e I 920 s, o r po li ce ph o tos o f C hi lea n
pett y c rimin a ls from poli ce fil es found in c he ap de tec ti ve
m ag az ines of th e 1950s , o r fo rgo tt e n spo rt s fig ures fro m
news pape rs, we fee l stro ng ly th ese oppos ing se nses. T he
ph otogra ph ic image is both " th e ma te ri a l tr ace of peop le
w ho have le ft no trace in th e offic ia l hi sto ry of [C hil ean]
soc ie ty", as Adri ana Va ldes has described it , and a t the same
tim e the indi cato r of th e ir 'capture ' a nd s ubo rd in at io n .
Dittborn does no t try to reso lve so mu c h as to m ake us fee l
a nd think abo ut thi s dil e mm a. He pro du ces a s pace in whi c h
no o ne di sco urse has hege mon y: ne ithe r th e Euro pea n
traditi on o f f ine art , nor the state's cl ass ifi cati o ns , no r the
a rti st 's ' will to form '. Nor is a particul ar me dium photog raph y, pa inting, ha nd-writin g , print , co ll age
privileged a bo ve the o lhers. All thi s has bl ow n o pen Ihe

AIR MAIL PAINTlNG NO. 48

TillE: 9 SURVIVORS
YEAR OF PRODUCTI ON 1986
SIZE OF WORK : 154
TECHNIOUE : BLACK

'1 10 CM

I~'

FEATHERS,

PAINTlNG, STlTCHING l ND
PHOTOSILKSCREEN ON WRAPPING
PAPER .
ITINERARY :
1 E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
DECEMBER 1986
2 CHILE VIVE, PALACIO DE BELLAS
ARTES, MADRID, SPAIN, FEBRUARY
1987
3. (HILE VIVE, CASA ELIZALDE,
BARCELONA, MARCH 1987
4.3. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,
CHILE, JULY 1987
5. CHARLES MEREWETHER,
AUSTRALIA N CENTRE FOR
PHOTOGRAPHY, AUGUST 1987

between 'photography' and ' drawing ', modes w hi ch are

6. E. DITTBORN, STGO DE CHILE,

counterposed with great s impli city and concentration. We

CHILE, MARCH 1988

face the faces and he faces face us in two very different

ways. [n th e drawin gs by Dittborn' s 7 year old daughter

7. LUIS LAMA, CENTRO CULTURAL

Marga rita we seem to see, conceptualised as ' faces', th e

DE LA MUNICIPALIDAD DE

quivering s

MIRAFLORE5, LIMA, PERU,

of life , directly

out-going;

whereas

in

our

confrontation with the photographed faces, we ca nnot mis s

the

determinant s

and

consequences

of

c lass,

power.

NOVEMBER 1988

contingency, hi s tory . . .

8. E. DITTBORN, 5TGO DE (HILE,

Through both sets of faces filters th e m a te rialit y of the

CHILE DECEMBER 1988

9. GUY BRETT, LONDON, ENGLAND,

support. Dittborn is now using a new s urface in place of

brown

wrapping

papel',

so methin g

hyb rid ,

soft

and

lightw e ig ht , and hav ing no connotations with art. Wh e n [

MAY 1989

unfolded thi s work , [ s udd e nl y thou g ht of how th e first

10. E. DITTBORN, 5TGO DE (HILE,

canvases mu s t hav e appeared in th e days of murals and

altarpieces.

CHILE, AUGU5T 1989

So we too as receivers of an AirMail Painting or

~ pectators

at a Dittborn ex hibition participate in discontinuities and th e

paradox of di stance and c loseness. [n England so methin g of
Chile 's traumatic rec e nt hi s tory is known to quite a wide
range of people . [n our own particular c ircles , tho se of
avant-garde art and exper iment , there is on the one hand a
d istance between artists in Britain a nd Chile brought about
by the realitie s of the g lobal power s tructure, and on th e
other a close rapport which comes from s hared atte mpts to
extend th e languages of art beyond the academic and officia l
norms.

When

th e

documentary

ex hibit

" Margins

and

ln s titution s" (o n avant-garde art in Chile s in ce th e 197 3

coup) was shown in London recently ( it wa

originally

prepare d in 1986 for the Adelaide Festival), it brok e the art

world barriers and it gave a new meanin g to that rapport. It
Footnote:
1. Part of the title of the exhibitian was altered from

was

immediately

"Transperiphery' to "Transperipheria'

historical events , and, at the time , as the only way Ihe

individual

artists

comprehens ibl e
to

specific,

as

local

the
and

response

by

overwhe lmin g

Chilean artists as a collectivity could represent themselves in

their own terms at the cultural centre.
One felt intensely the meaning of their self-question: Que
vamos a hacer? It was as if the challenge to 'art ', as an
institution and a set of protocols, became inseparable from
an attempt by intellectuals to move c\oser to the experience
of the mass of people - just at a moment when the military
re gime was trying to . cement social , geographical , sexual
demarcations more rigidly than ever. This is felt in
Dittborn 's paintings , in the performances of Carlos Leppe
and others, in Lotty Ro se nfeld 's intervention s in the st reet ,
or the body-actions of the writer-artist Diamela Eltit , whose
words might sum up their attitude:
"That is why 1 want to remain in a precarious and iso lated
integrity a nd leave open the gap with the multitudes."
1 do not mean by this to redu.ce art to socio-political
discourse, but to give a conte.xt to something very noticeable
and persistent in Dittborn ' s work: the sensation of frailty, of
" the body 's perpetual helplessness", to use hi s own words. It
is the frailty of every type of conveyance - from ship to
enve lope - and of every utte rance . The other side of this
frailty, thou gh, is survival, which is also possible in
inummerable modes . Take the painting aptly called Nine
Survivors. We know the title refers to people, but they are
present here in several mediated forms : as old photos found
in books , police records , anonymous graffiti, and in one
piece of tex!. This last is the statement of a woman, an
earthquake survivor, in Cauquenes, a small town in the south
of Chile (the periphery of the periphery), as reported in the
newspaper El Mercurio:
"1 felt as if a gigantic serpent bored Ihe earlh up to the
point of a non-returnable unhin geing . I fell, since th e merey
of th e moment prevenled me from seeing, that I was
compelled 10 rema in inside of a barbarous demo/ilion . I felt ,
as afler each earthquake in which I have been, th e
instinctive need to gel hold of a li ving being , whieh is the
other way to become aware of your absolute lone/in ess. I
also felt a sort of emolional calatonic, the fierce sensation
Ihat madness is right there, side by side with dealh , until a
joke heard amidst lhe shadows reveals to yourself, by th e
laugh, Ihat you are a/ive. "
1 have plumbed again and again the mystery of this tex!.
There is not only the surv ival of the person but the survival
of this extraordinary utterance through our bland , official,
mendacious media. It is as if it was a statement from the
centre of the world, and of living . Dittborn is clearly using it
also in his AirMail Painting as a metaphor for society - for
the precariousness of life at the base of the Latin American
pyramid , but also perhaps for the absurdity of all heirarc hies
ove rlaid on the human , the rightness of a ll carnival reversals
and levellings, themselves little social ' earthquakes ' where a
necessa ry but cruel violence is turned into laughter.
"Transperiphery (1) - transparency". The two words seem to
intermingle. The nature of the AirMail Painting is a unique
object, following a precise course in time and space, is
coupled with its acceptance of the mass-production and
reproduction of signs, which is as endless as the potential for
leas ing meanings which are hidden there. If this coupling
between uniqueness and multiplicity is a contradiction
according to conventional artistic wisdom , it can al so be
seen as a key to the dual challenge wliich Dittborn is making
to the art institutions and to the social order.

LIST OF
WORKS
AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 70 (TRIPTYCH)
TillE: VHISlORY OF THE HUMAN FACE (THE LONDON CAMINO)
SIZE OF WORK: 420 X200 CM
YEAR OF PRODUmON: 1989
TECHNlaUE: PAINTlNG AND PHOlOSILKSCREEN
ON THREE FRAGMENTS OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC.
AIR MAIL PAINTlNG NO. 72 (DIPTYCH)
TIllE: THE CHINESE WORKER'S RIGHT ARM (WALTER BENJAMIN)
SIZE OF WORK: 280 X210 CM
YEAR OF PRODUmON: 1988-1989
TECHNIOUE: PAINTING, WOOL AND PHOlOSILKSCREEN
ON TWO FRAGMENTS OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC.
AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 73 (DIPTYCH)
TillE: STILL LlFE (MALEVICH)
SIZE OF WORK: 280 X203 CM
YEAR OF PRODUmON: 1988-89
TECHNlaUE: FEATHERS,.PAINTING, WOOL AND PHOlOSILKSCREEN
ON TWO FRAGMENTS OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC.
AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 74 (DIPTYCH)
TillE: TRANSCONTINENTAL (BRINGING AND TAKING
THE SURFACE, THE VOLUME)
SIZE OF WORK: 280 X210 CM
YEAR OF PRODUmON: 1989
TECHNlaUE: PAINTING AND PHOlOSILKSCREEN
ON TWO FRAGMENTS OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC.
AIR MAIL PAINTING NO. 75 (DIPTYCH)
TillE: IF LEFT lO ITS OWN DEVICES (JOSE GUADALUPE POSADA)
SIZE OF WORK: 280 X207 CM
YEAR OF PRODUmON: 1989
TECHNlaUE: PAINTlNG, EMBROIDERY, DARNING AND
PHOlOSILKSCREEN ON TWO FRAGMENTS OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC.

... ....; ..

'HIS IS THE FACE OF AN ABORIGINE FROM TIERRA DEL FUEGO, TAKEN TO

LONDON IN 1829 FROM THE SOUTHERN MOST REGION OF SOUTH AMERICA,

ON BOARD THE "BEAGLE" BY ITS CAPTAIN ROBERT FITZROY, WHO

'0'

. 0,

' ,

, :( '!::~:~.

BOUGHT HIM FOR A FEW BUTTONS AND NAMED HIM JEMMY BUTTON.

: .-:....

';-.'

,. '

oo

..

;~'. ::: .:- .~.."

':-" ,
.' .

". .. ....
'

FITZROY BROUGHT BUTTON BACK HIMSELF IN 1833, ONCE AGAIN

.:-. ~ '

"

. N

ON BOARD THE "BEAGLE". DURING THAT TRIP, FITZROY MADE

" ..." .,

THE PORTRAIT OF JEMMY BUTTON. THIS PORTRAIT WAS FOUND BY

,"'. ' ..

EUGENIO DITTBORN IN A BOOK ABOUT THE TRAVELS OF CHARLES

.

'. ,.-. ,

... . . . ..
DARWIN, WHO WAS ALSO ON BOARD THE "BEAGLE" IN 1833.

::.

.:-,.::.... ..
',,} .

... ...

','

\ ..

'

'.

.
'.

'.

,'

..

.....

'. .. N:' :A

" ~l!

Esperanzo and Eugenio Dinborn open Ihe envelope conlaining Airmail Painling No 49 ("Jemmy Hunon") proceeding lo unwrap and unfold il

before the Natural History Museum in Santiago 2, Chile, on Augusl15, 1989

=
:z:

=
:z:

Judilh Goddord ond Guy Brell open Ihe en velo pe conloining Airmoil Poinling No. 49 ("Jemmy Bullon") proceeding lo unwrop
ond unfold il in Bonner Rood, London, Englond, on July 12, 1989.

INOK FILM SHOOTING STAGE, FRIDAY AUGUST 18, 9189, FROM 8P. M. UNTIL 11 P.M.: EXHI81T10N ANO SENOOFF OF
EUGENIO OIITBORN'S REMITIANCE TO THE EXHI81TOIN OF 18 CHILEAN VISUAL ARTISTS IN THE STAATlI<HE KUNSTHAllE
IN WEST 8ERlIN (SEPTEM8ER 13 TO OCT08ER 18 OF 1989)

=
Z

=
Z

ludilh Goddard and Guy Brell open Ihe envelope conlaining Airmail Painling No. 49 ("lemmy Bullon") proceeding lo unwrap
and unfold il in Bonner Road, london, England, on luly 12, 1989.

RANTMAYER STUDIO, MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1989,

AT 1P.M., WORKS BY EUGENIO DITTBORN TO BE SENT TO THE
KUNSTHALLE IN WEST BERlIN .. AIRMAIL PAINTINGS IN ENVELOPES,
THREE HOURS BEFORE MAILING TO BERlIN THROUGH THE NO. 20
POST OFFICE IN SANTIAGO DE CHILE.
Tille 01 Work : V Hislory 01 Ihe Human Fa(e (Bla(k and Red Camino)
Te(hnique: Pholosilksueen on len Iragmenls 01 non woven labric
(140 X207 (m ea(h)
Size 01 Unlolded Work: 1.400 x 207cm
Size 01 Work, Folded and in len envelopes: 42.5 x 56.5 x 17.5(m
Weighl 01 work, lolded and in len envelopes: 4.9990 grams
Mailing: Augusl 21 , 1989 al 3.30pm
Deslinalion: Slaalliche Kunslhalle, Wesl Berlin, Wesl Germany.
Year 01 Produdion: 1989

INOK FILM SHOOTlNG STAGE, FRIDAY AUGHST 18, 9189, FROM 8P. M. UNTILll P.M.: EXHIBITION ANO SENO-OFF OF
EUGENIO DITIBORN'S REMITIANCE TO THE EXHIBITOIN OF 18 CHILEAN VISUAL ARTlSTS IN THE STAATUCHE KUNSTHALLE
IN WEST BERlIN (SEPTEMBER 13 TO OaOBER 18 OF 1989)

BIOGRAPHY
E UGENIO D1TTBORN WAS BORN IN 1943 IN SANTIAGO . C HIL E, WHERE HE UVES ANO WORKS .

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL EXHIBITIONS

1968 : Pa intin gs , G a le ri e Des Bea ux Art s , Pari s, Fra nce

1974: 22 Eve nt s fo r Goya. Pa int e r. Draw in gs. Na ti o nal

1975 : Pa intin gs, Malta Gall e ry, S a ntia g o de Chil e , C hil e

Mu se um of Fine Art s . S anti ago de C hi le. C hil e

19 76 : On Chilea n Pa inting, Hi story. Draw in gs, E poca
Ga ll e ry, Santi ago de C hil e . C hil e

1979: En g ravin gs, San Franci sco Cloi sler S a ntia go de Chil e ,
C hil e
198 1, 8 2, 83 , 84: Vid e o s in lhe Bi - Nati o na l Vid eo
Enco unte rs in th e Fre nc h-Chil ea n C ultural In stitut e.
1982 : X II Pa ri s Bi e nni a l, Pa ri s , Fra nce
19 83 : Arti st Bo ok s, Franklin F urna ce Cente r, Ne w York ,
U. S.A.
1984: The Hi s to ry o f Ph ys ic s , Vid eo , Te le vi s io n Ch a nn e l 5 ,
Va lp ara iso, C hil e a nd Video Ri o 2, Ri o de Ja ne iro , Bras il
1984: The Hi story of Ph ys ics , Vid eo , New Na rra ti ve, Rece nl
Acqui s iti o ns, M .O.M .A ., New York a nd Nati o na l Vid eo
Fes ti va l, Los A nge les , Ca lifo rni a, U. S .A.
1984 : Sydn ey Bi e nni a l, S ydn ey A ustra li a
198 5: Airm a il Pa intin gs, CA YC, Bue nos Aires , Arge ntin a
1987 : A M a rg in a l Bod y, Au stra li an Ce ntre for Ph o tog ra ph y,
Sydn ey, Au stra li a
1988 : Airmail Pai ntin gs, New Yo rk La tin Am e ri ca n
Tri enni a l, N .Y. U.S .A.

1977: End of th e Run way, Pa intings and C hart s , E poca

G a ll e ry, S a nti ago de C h ile , C h ile
1978 : On Pa intings C hil ea n, Hi sto ry a nd E nd of th e
Run way, C o nt e mp o ra ry Art Ce nte r, Pe re ira, Co lo m bia
198 1: Oi l, a Sp ill age of 350 Litres of Burnt Lub r ica nt ove r
th e S urface o f th e Ta rapaca Dese rt. Ta ra paca , C hil e
198 1: HA Ca ba ll o Rega lado ", a w ritt e n say in g o n a horse.
S a nti ago de C hil e , C hil e

1981-82-83-84: MAIL ART

198 4 : Airm a il Pa intin gs, C a li Mu se um of Mode rn A rt. Ca li ,
Co lo miba
1984 : Fro m A no th e r Pe riph e ry. A irm a il Pa intin gs , A rt s pace.
Sydn ey a nd G eo rge Paton G a ll e ry, M e lbourn e . A ustr a li a
1985 : A irm a il Pa intin gs, Bu cc i Ga ll ery. a nd S ur Ga ll ery.

1988: A Ma rg inal Bod y, To ur, Au strali a a nd New Zea land

1989 : Airmail Tript yc h , Third H av ana Bi e nni a l, H ava na,

C hil e
1986 : A irm a il Pa intin gs , Ade la ide Fes ti va l, Ade la ide.
A ustra li a

C uba
1989: Airmail Polipl yc h , Slaa tli c he Kun sth a ll e, Wes t Be rlin .

1986 : On e Wh o le Da y in My Life, Re mitt ance to th e

Syd ney Bi e nni a le

Ge rm a n Fede ra l Re publi c
AWARDED: 198 5: So lo m o n Gu gge nh e im Pri ze ,

1987 : A irm a il Pa intin gs. Co ll egc Ga ll ery. So uth A ustra li an

Granted by th e Gu gge nh e im Found a ti o n , N.Y.

Sc hoo l of Art , Ad e la ide and In stitut e of Mo de rn A rt.

Bri s ba ne, Au str a li a
1988 : Airm a il Paintings, Cultura l Ce nt e r of th e Muni c ipalit y

SELECTED BIBLlOGRAPHY

o f Mira fl o res, Lim a , Pe ru

1976: On Chil ea n Pa inting, Rev iew, Ne ll y Ri c ha rd , Vi s ua l

Editi o ns and G a le ri a Epoca
1980: A bout Thi s space Over He re, Ro na ld Kay, A ssoc iate
Editors
1988: T he Gh os t o f Drou g ht , Ju s to Me ll ad o , Fra nc isco
Zege rs, Edit o r

RECENT PUBLlCATIONS
1979 : Strateg ies and Proj ections o f lhe Nati o na l Arti s ti c

AII material is The Australian Centre for

Photography Ltd and the authors. Na part of this
publication is to be reproduced without permission
from the publishers.

198 1-82 : Pho to Fini sh , S e lf Editi o n , C hil e

The Australian Centre for Photography gratefully aeknowledges the support of Ihe Visual ArtsjCrafts Board of the
Australia Counei!, the Federal Arl's Funding and Advisory
Board, Ihe Ministry for Ihe Arts, New Soulh Wales, and Ihe
Sir William Dabell Foundation.
Gallery haurs: Wed-Sat 11 -5, Sun 1-5

198 4: " La Fe liz De l Ed e n" Se lf Editi o n , C hil e

ISBN NO: 0-909-339-08-2

VIDEOGRAPHY:

Australian Centre for Photography, 257

Oxford Street, Paddington. 2021 N.S.W. Ph:
331 6253
Fax: 331 6887

Ac ti v it y o n lhe E ig hti es, Grup o Ca m a ra C hil e Editi o ns,

C hil e
11 977-81: End of lhe Run way, Ga le ri a E poca Editi o ns , C hil e

198 1: What We S aw o n th e Summil o f th e C o ro na , 20

m inut es, co lo r
1982 : The H isto ry of Phy s ics , 18 minutes , co lor
1986 : Five Prelimin a ry Ske tch es fo r lhe Hi sto ry o f Mu s ic ,
33 minut es, color
1985: Pi eta, 8 minutes, co lor
1989: The Hi story of Phy s ic s, 4 minu tes, co lor

Acknowledgements
Photography by Jorge 8rantmayer

Cockatoo
Island
Spectacle
Island