A view from Buenos Aires Systems and Communication

Keith Arnatt
Self-Burial (Television Interference Project)
1969

Arnatt was fascinated with works of art that are created in the natural landscape but leave no trace of their presence behind. ‘The continual reference to the disappearance of the art object suggested to me the eventual disappearance of the artist himself’, he wrote. This sequence of photographs was broadcast on German television in October 1969. One photo was shown each day, for about two seconds, sometimes interrupting whatever programme was being shown at peak viewing time. They were neither announced nor explained – viewers had to make what sense of them they could.

Gallery label, April 2009

Richard Long
Cerne Abbas Walk
1975

Long uses walking as an artistic medium. This work is the result of a six-day walk around an ancient figure cut into a chalky hillside in Dorset. The map shows his route, retracing and re-crossing many roads to stay within a predetermined circle. The photo on the map shows the ancient chalk ‘giant’ of Cerne Abbas. Long took part in several exhibitions organised around the world by the CAyC, beginning with the key exhibition Arte de Sistemas (‘Systems Art’) held in Buenos Aires in 1971.

Gallery label, January 2019

Anna Bella Geiger
Our Daily Bread
1978

Our Daily Bread documents a performance in which Geiger ate bread and distributed postcards, addressing the subject of poverty in Brazil and more widely within Latin America. The outlines of Brazil and South America appear as holes in slices of bread on two of the postcards, and as outlines in the empty bread basket. While the title has Christian resonances, the theme of consumption links this work to ideas of cultural cannibalism: a strategy for absorbing external influences and creating a proudly hybrid national identity which was a key concept in Brazilian modernism from the 1920s onwards.

Gallery label, February 2016

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles started this project during the military dictatorship in Brazil. In the face of strict state censorship he stamped messages calling for democracy and political freedom on banknotes and returned them into circulation. This work relates The Coca-Cola Project on display nearby. The artist is happy for others to participate in this project, stamping their own messages on the banknotes of any country. For Meireles, the notes displayed here are only documentation. The work operates when the notes are used as currency.

Gallery label, January 2019

Liliana Porter
Wrinkle
1968

These ten photo engravings document a sheet of paper being crumpled. Porter is interested in how the viewer gives meaning to what they see. By looking at this work, we mentally reconstruct the process which transformed the paper. Porter made this portfolio while working as part of the New York Graphic Workshop, a printmaking lab she founded with other Latin American expatriates which produced cheap and often disposable ‘serial objects’. This series includes a witty text written in the form of an interview by American poet and Fluxus artist Emmett Williams.

Gallery label, January 2019

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Eugenio Dittborn
To Hang Airmail Painting No.5
1984

The civilian government in Chile was overthrown in 1973 and the country became a dictatorship. Dittborn was part of a group of artists that explored ways of working in this political context and how to make links with the outside world. His ‘Airmail Paintings’ were designed to be folded and sent abroad. The destinations where the work has been displayed – including Tate – are recorded on the envelope, which forms part of the work. Dittborn compared the process to sending out a message in a bottle from a tiny island.

Gallery label, January 2019

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Nicolás García Uriburu
Actions in nature
1968

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Tamas St. Auby (Szentjoby)
Czechoslovak Radio 1968
1969, 2008

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Mirtha Dermisache
Untitled
c.1970

This is one of several ink drawings by Dermisache that look like hand-written letters but are unreadable characters invented by the artist. They make strange the everyday process of reading and writing. Dermisache invites us to reflect on our ability to share complex ideas and experiences through marks on a page. As Argentina moved towards dictatorship, her unreadable writing came to be seen as a way of resisting state censorship through illegibility.

Gallery label, January 2019

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Mirtha Dermisache
Untitled
c.1970

This is one of several ink drawings by Dermisache that look like hand-written letters but are unreadable characters invented by the artist. They make strange the everyday process of reading and writing. Dermisache invites us to reflect on our ability to share complex ideas and experiences through marks on a page. As Argentina moved towards dictatorship, her unreadable writing came to be seen as a way of resisting state censorship through illegibility.

Gallery label, January 2019

Mirtha Dermisache
Untitled
c.1970

This is one of several ink drawings by Dermisache that look like hand-written letters but are unreadable characters invented by the artist. They make strange the everyday process of reading and writing. Dermisache invites us to reflect on our ability to share complex ideas and experiences through marks on a page. As Argentina moved towards dictatorship, her unreadable writing came to be seen as a way of resisting state censorship through illegibility.

Gallery label, January 2019

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented:

Mirtha Dermisache
Untitled
c.1970

This is one of several ink drawings by Dermisache that look like hand-written letters but are unreadable characters invented by the artist. They make strange the everyday process of reading and writing. Dermisache invites us to reflect on our ability to share complex ideas and experiences through marks on a page. As Argentina moved towards dictatorship, her unreadable writing came to be seen as a way of resisting state censorship through illegibility.

Gallery label, January 2019

Cildo Meireles
Insertions into Ideological Circuits 2: Banknote Project
1970

Meireles conceived his two Insertions into Ideological Circuits projects for an exhibition of conceptual art held at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1970 entitled Information. The Cédula or Banknote Project and the Coca-Cola Project (see Tate T12328) explore the notion of circulation and exchange of goods, wealth and information as manifestations of the dominant ideology. For the Banknote Project Meireles stamped subversive messages onto banknotes before returning them to normal circulation. The twenty-seven banknotes presented to Tate by the artist include varying denominations of cruzeiro notes – the Brazilian currency of the time – as well as US dollar bills. The messages, appearing in both English and Portuguese, include such anti-American slogans as ‘Yankees Go Home’ as well as calls for democracy and political freedom – ‘Straight Elections’ – and the words ‘Quem Matou Herzog?’ or ‘Who Killed Herzog?’, referring to a journalist who died in police custody under suspicious circumstances. Meireles stamped the banknotes on both sides – his message appearing on one side and the work’s title and the artist’s statement of purpose: ‘To register informations and critical opinions on bottles and return them to circulation’ – appearing on the other. The Coca-Cola Project follows a similar format: Meireles attached transparent labels with his slogans and the work’s title and purpose to the sides of Coca-Cola bottles which, once emptied of Coca-Cola, would be returned to the factory to be reused. Thus the artist’s messages circulated invisibly within Brazilian society. Meireles has commented: