Jose Carlos Martinat Mendoza

Brutalism: Stereo Reality Environment 3

2007

© Jose Carlos Martinat Mendoza

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Not on display

Artist: Jose Carlos Martinat Mendoza born 1974
Original title: AER-3/Brutalismo
Medium: Fibreboard, 3 printers, paper, tracking system, central processing unit, cables and web search program
Dimensions: Object: 1830 × 2140 × 2550 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Presented by Eduardo Leme 2007, accessioned 2011
Reference: T13251

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This sculpture is a scale model of the Peruvian military headquarters, an example of ‘brutalist’ architecture it was nicknamed the ‘Pentagonito’ (or ‘little Pentagon’). During the Fujimori presidency, the building became notorious for the torture, murders and disappearances conducted by the secret service. The sculpture incorporates a computer which has been programmed to search the internet for references to ‘Brutalismo / Brutalism’, picking up extracts about Latin American and global dictatorships but also on architecture, forging associations between different kinds of ‘brutalism’ which it spews out onto the gallery floor.

Gallery label, June 2011

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