The work of Dario Robleto

(No Vitalic puns, I promise.)

I just happened upon a lecture by San Antionio Artist, Dario Robleto, probably one of the best artist's talks I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. This was the kind of lecture that turns up on it's ear, every idea you've had about art, your own practice of making, and and artistic practice throughout history. I feel like i've just had my brain on scramble, whirl and puree.

The problem I often have with more conceptual-driven work, for lack of more eleoquent terminology --it looks like crap. Boring. Visually uninteresting. For me, visual art must engage more than just my mind, it must be stimulating to my eyes and brain. Conversely, much sensual visual work often suffers from Supermodel Syndrome and falls short in the meaning department. I am very drawn to work that is fetishistic about finish, ornamentaion and surface, yet too frequently that extra modifier of why - further rounding out the work, is missing. This touched on even more than just the why, but the HOW, which is much more resonant with me.

His work is deeply entrenched with layers upon layers of material spirit. It is authentic, truthful and without those relics he is drawing from, this new leap would not exist. He samples and recombines material from historic places and relics much as modern electronic musicians do from existing records and field recordings. It is not surprising that melted down old records (all with deliberately chosen tracks or groups of tracks) are a vital material in his work. He uses archeology and alchemy to describe a new optimism that is so often absent in this ironic and cynical post-everything era.



<sub>Our Sin Was In Our Hips. 2001-2002 12” x 9” x 9”
Hand-ground and powderized vinyl records, melted vinyl records, male and female pelvic bone dust, polyester resin, spray paint, pigments, dirt, concert spotlight Female pelvis made from Mother's Rock 'n' Roll 45 rpm records Male pelvis made from Father's Rock 'n' Roll 33 rpm records.



suitcase and 45's from cast dehydrated, decarbonized prehistoric whalebone. (still playable). Potions that would "heal" and reconstitute the objects. Ground, cast Trinitite. (Unfortunately I do not have the full title and material details yet.)



frame made from civil-war bullet lead, recycled paper-pulp from ephemera from American and foreign wars. (Unfortunately I do not have the full title and material details yet.)</sub>

Please pardon the bad photos - trying to balance a digital camera and take pictures of slides in a dark lecture room isn't exactly easy. See full size images here.

His work appeared in the 2004 Withney Biennal, and has recently had solo shows in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. This lecture was part of the Cranbrook Academy of Art Critical Studies/Humanities 2005-2006 Lecture Series, Nostalgia: Temporal Hybrids and Rifts.

I just found an essay by Robleto regarding sampling and dj culture...I wasn't positive if that was where he was coming from but my suspicions are now confirmed!