Alfredo Jaar:// “Words Devour Words and They Leave You in the Clouds.” ‘Memories of Underdevelopment’ —[Jaar c.1990 / ‘Homage’ Alea c.1968]

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Proffesor Jennifer Geigel Mikulay. May 17, 2010 Herron Her–H400 C14311: Art History, Criticism and, Conservation; Topics & Methods in Art History, Site Specificity/ Contemporary Art — Research Writing by Benjamin M. Doyle

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Much of Alfredo Jaar’s work is due largely in part to culture and the conflict that surrounds it. Born in Santiago, Chile, 1956, Alfredo Jaar lived through a military coup d’état staged by General Pinochet who mobilized his military to rise against the presiding democratic commander and chief Salvador Allende. Having grown up in a strict authoritarian dictatorship, he later immigrated to America in 1982 to work for SITE an architecturally based firm. Now, Jaar continues to do his work out of his studio between New York, NY and Barcelona, Spain.

With consideration for his past history, it is no surprise that the majority of his work is vastly influenced by war, globalization, and advocating political activism in both the first and third worlds. Alfredo Jaar is an artist, architect and filmmaker responsible for projects of or relating to multiple municipalities. Many of his works can be found here there and everywhere in countries all over the world in places like the biennale’s of Venice, São Paulo, Sydney, Istanbul, Kwangju, Johannesburg, and Seville as well as film documentaries and exhibitions in Kassel.