BOOK / "THEFT OF THE YEAR." Ulises Carrión

Art / Critique / History

Ulises Carrión (1941-1989) was a Mexican writer, editor, and artist. He ventured into the visual arts, employing various media to create an active form of work within the cultural sphere of international avant-garde in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. He was part of the In-Out Center group (Amsterdam, 1972-1975); edited "Tras la poesía" and "Arguments" (Beau Geste Press, Devon, 1973); and founded "Other Books and So" (Amsterdam, 1975), a repository for artists' productions not yet classified within the formal medium of art, which, due to its characteristics, was the first of its kind as an alternative space.

The installation "El robo del año" by Ulises Carrión was exhibited at the Drents Museum in Assen, the Netherlands, in 1982. The work found a place in the provincial museum, despite differing from the type of art usually displayed. The invitation to observe, in near-total darkness, an unprotected diamond must have been bewildering. The enigmatic nature of the piece is captured through the lens of Claudio Goulart. This bilingual edition, published in collaboration with Martha Helión, presents the images captured on that occasion and invites readers to be witnesses to an ongoing case. With texts by Paulo Silveira, Martha Hellion, and Damián Ortega.

"The diamond, with all its power of attraction, is the means to organize space in a certain way. Exactly the same way that painters did it with lines, colors, and shapes." –UC

– "A small room in the Assen Museum, total darkness except for a beam of light above a table. On the table, a rotating disc. On the disc, a velvet cushion. On the cushion, a genuine diamond. People can look at it and hold it in their hands or steal it." –UC

Title: El robo del año
Author: Ulises Carrión
Publisher: Editorial Alias
Binding: Paperback
Format: 14 x 21.5 cm
Number of Pages: 128
Number of Images: Not specified
Weight: Not specified
Genre: Art
Language: Spanish / English
Printing: Two inks
Published in Mexico in 2013