[Gabriel Orozco: "Spanish Lessons"]
¿Solo par a saber quien habla español?
¿Mas bien quien no habla nada español?
One, two, three...kind of...
four, five...
Okay, so I'm going to do it
mostly in Spanish.
[ALL LAUGH]
The other thing is, like,
why we have this class [LAUGHS]
in Spanish lessons.
[CONTINUES SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
I try to open up
many levels of exchange
and communication and research,
and art became a kind of teaching aid
to serve the purpose of teaching Spanish.
It was very open,
artists giving different types
of lectures, conversations,
and workshops.
And then also, we did funny things,
like karaoke.
[SINGING IN SPANISH]
[Class is in Session. Please do not disturb. Gracias!]
[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
We have the constant teaching of Spanish
every day, from 11 to 6.
The classes were for free.
[BOTH SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
[BOTH LAUGH]
We are in a gallery uptown,
57th Street.
This space is on
the lower floor of the gallery--
the third floor.
All interactions in New York
tend to be mostly through the market,
and through the institutions--
and that is not good.
Inserting a moment
in a commercial gallery
is saying that it's not just about
the object as a commodity--
that you can just come and shop,
but that you can learn,
you can acquire knowledge,
you can exchange knowledge,
it's a different system of interaction--
of exchange between people.
I think it was interesting to me
to see what happens
if you expose the public
that comes to these types of exhibitions
to make an effort to try understand
or to try to speak Spanish.
[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]
Spanish is the second language
in this country,
and probably in the future
will be the first language.
But people still use it
just for street talk,
or to ask for a taco in the corner shop,
but still,
I don't think--
I don't feel--
that Spanish has a proper status
in the infrastructure of knowledge.
It's very common to hear
people quoting Borges, for example,
because he has been a writer
that has been very influential
for art writing
and literature in general.
But, not many people have really
read Borges in Spanish--
not even listen to lecture
of Borges, which are amazing.
Meaning changes when you translate,
so for me,
to read Borges in Spanish
is a fundamental thing--
it's a privilege.
So, I think that was interesting
to try to expose people,
but also to
maybe get some reading,
get some information.
We are not acting here.
We are really learning
and teaching
and in an exchange between artists.
[SPEAKING IN SPANISH]