Rodrigo Valenzuela, Resident Artist Lecture 2024

Rodrigo Valenzuela gives a lecture talking about his interdisciplinary practice which includes–but is not limited to– film, video, photography, and installation. Valenzuela talks about first coming to the United States from Chile from a working class background, and working various labor jobs throughout New England. The idea of maintenance and labor is intimately intertwined with Valenzuela’s upbringing which he touches upon throughout his lecture. Valenzuela is aware of thinking about how one shouldn’t have to be forced to work themselves to death while making art that criticizes labor. Valenzuela strives to be an artist where work ethic is not the only value he possesses. Valenzuela also shares in his lecture how being in the US eventually led him to start studying philosophy which has given him a unique perspective to how he approaches thinking about art. In Valenzuela’s practice, he is drawn to the form of the telenovela to explore the lack of representation of working class women in television as well as the flaws of representation. Another theme that Valenzuela discusses in his practice is architectural space and place. For Valenzuela, he is concerned about reflecting on the architectural ruins of a place as well as architecture and its relationship to imperialism. Valenzuela poses the question, Why do people have a nostalgia for how things used to be? Valenzuela is aware that the US doesn’t have any ruins or places for learning from their own past. Instead, the US is a country of active denial which is very different from countries such as Mexico, Peru, and Italy. In countries like these, the city is surrounded by ruin everywhere, which can allow people to learn from failure and from the past.