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[Gabriel Orozco: "Spanish Lessons"]

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¿Solo par a saber quien habla español?

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¿Mas bien quien no habla nada español?

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One, two, three...kind of...

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four, five...

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Okay, so I'm going to do it

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mostly in Spanish.

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[ALL LAUGH]

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The other thing is, like,

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why we have this class [LAUGHS]

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in Spanish lessons.

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[CONTINUES SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

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I try to open up

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many levels of exchange

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and communication and research,

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and art became a kind of teaching aid

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to serve the purpose of teaching Spanish.

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It was very open,

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artists giving different types

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of lectures, conversations,

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and workshops.

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And then also, we did funny things,

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like karaoke.

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[SINGING IN SPANISH]

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[Class is in Session. Please do not disturb.
Gracias!]

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[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

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We have the constant teaching of Spanish

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every day, from 11 to 6.

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The classes were for free.

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[BOTH SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

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[BOTH LAUGH]

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We are in a gallery uptown,

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57th Street.

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This space is on

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the lower floor of the gallery--

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the third floor.

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All interactions in New York

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tend to be mostly through the market,

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and through the institutions--

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and that is not good.

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Inserting a moment

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in a commercial gallery

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is saying that it's not just about

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the object as a commodity--

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that you can just come and shop,

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but that you can learn,

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you can acquire knowledge,

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you can exchange knowledge,

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it's a different system of interaction--

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of exchange between people.

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I think it was interesting to me

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to see what happens

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if you expose the public

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that comes to these types of exhibitions

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to make an effort to try understand

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or to try to speak Spanish.

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[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]

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Spanish is the second language

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in this country,

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and probably in the future

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will be the first language.

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But people still use it

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just for street talk,

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or to ask for a taco in the corner shop,

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but still,

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I don't think--

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I don't feel--

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that Spanish has a proper status

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in the infrastructure of knowledge.

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It's very common to hear

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people quoting Borges, for example,

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because he has been a writer

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that has been very influential

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for art writing

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and literature in general.

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But, not many people have really

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read Borges in Spanish--

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not even listen to lecture

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of Borges, which are amazing.

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Meaning changes when you translate,

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so for me,

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to read Borges in Spanish

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is a fundamental thing--

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it's a privilege.

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So, I think that was interesting

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to try to expose people,

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but also to

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maybe get some reading,

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get some information.

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We are not acting here.

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We are really learning

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and teaching

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and in an exchange between artists.

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[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]