“THE TRANSITION FROM DICTATORSHIP TO DEMOCRACY CORRESPONDS TO THE IMAGE THAT DISAPPEARS IN THE PRINTMAKING PROCESSES (ETCHING) AND THEN REAPPEARS (PRINTED ON THE PAPER). MY WORK CALLS TO THE NEED FOR A SEARCH FOR JUSTICE AND TRUTH, WHICH BY NO MEANS IS FINITE OR TERMINAL, BUT RATHER AN INITIATIVE THAT EXISTS IN AND WITH TIME."
DIGNIDAD, 2018, PERFORMANCE STILL, THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE OF CHILE, OCTOBER 2018
Dignidad is an art and sound installation with a performance at The National Archive of Chile based on secret telephone documents about Colonia Dignidad. Found in 2012 by the ex-settler and activist Winfried Hempel, the audios reveal for the first time to the public conversations between Paul Schäfer and other Nazi agents during 1978. Through sculpture, sound, performance, text, and a selection of historical archives, the installation reveals a complex system of codes and transcontinental actions that culminated in crimes against minors and opponents of the Chilean civic-military dictatorship (1973-1990).
DIGNIDAD, Exhibitions & Performance venues
Widener Gallery, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, (2023) on view NOW through May 14th
LAartFair, DIVERSEartLA, Musuem of the Americas (AMA), Los Angeles, CA (2021)
The Meermanno Museum, The Hague, Netherlands (2019-2020)
The Immigrant Artist Biennial (TIAB), NYC (2020)
The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA (2019)
Animal Gallery, Santiago, Chile (2019)
The Center for Book Arts, NYC (2019)
The National Archives of Chile, Santiago (2018)
Artist Space, Whitney Museum (ISP), NYC (2018)
EXHIBITION NOTE, CANNAL 13, SANTIAGO, CHILE, 2018
VISUAL & SOUND INSTALLATION, DIGNIDAD Exh.NATIONAL ARCHIVE, OCT-2018
National Archive of Chile, Santiago, 2018. top: TV note / bottom/ installation view
ARTISTS SPACE, WHITNEY MUSUEM (ISP) 2017-2018, NEW YORK, MAY 2018. PHOTO COURTESY THE ARTIST
The Center for Book Arts, NYC, 2019. top: performance still / bottom: installation view
Museum Meermanno, The Hague, Netherlands, 2019. top: performance still / bottom: installation view
The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2019. top: performance still / bottom: installation view
The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2019. top: performance still / bottom: installation view
Artists Space, NYC, 2016. top: performance still / bottom: installation view
Galeria Animal, Santiago, Chile, 2019. top: installation view
I. DIGNIDAD VENUES
2021
LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
The Art Musuem of the Americas, AMA, Washington, DC
Curated by Fabian Concalves
LA Art show: July 29 - Aug 1st
2020
The Immigrant Artist Biennial, New York, NY
TIAB 2020: Mother Tongue Performances Part Two
Co-curated by Mary Annunziata, Allison Cannella, Anna Mikaela Ekstrand, Katya Grokhovsky
Virtual Performance with works by Bianca Falco, Jorge Rojas and María Verónica San Martín.
Lecture: December 6 from 4pm-6pm ET
2019
House of the book|Museum Meermanno, The Hague, Netherlands.
Curated by Ricky Tax
Solo exhibition + Performance
Sep. 21st, 2019 - Jan 5th, 2020
Performance + Talk: Sep 20th (by invitation only)
at the Royal Academy and House of the book | Museum Meermanno
The Print Center, Philadelphia, PA.
Curated by Ksenia Nouril
Group exhibition "The Politics of Rhetoric"
Works by Bethany Collins, Sharon Hayes, Sarah McEneaney, Keris Salmon, María Verónica San Martín and Didier William that draw from archived materials, exposing the inherent biases in our everyday language.
Sep 13-Nov 16, 2019
Performance: Nov 8TH, 6PM
Galeria Animal, Santiago, Chile
Solo exhibition + Performance
Aug 1st-31st, 2019
Performance: August 8TH, 7PM
Talk: August 8TH, 8 PM
University of Delaware Museum, Newark, DE
Performance: Thursday, April 25th, 5 PM (Within the "Moving Memorials" performance)
Galeria ATA (Artist Television Access), San Francisco, CA
Performance: Tuesday, February 5fh, 2019, 7:30 PM
in conjunction with Guillermo Gomez-Pena,
Balitronica Gomez and Marshall Weber
The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
Solo Exhibition + Performance
January 18th - March 30th, 2019
Opening Reception: Friday 18th, 6:30 PM
Performance: March 7th, 6:30 PM
2018
The National Archives of Chile, Santiago
Solo Exhibition + two Performances + talk
October 4th - November 30th, 2018
Performances 1: October 4, 7PM
Performances 2: October 12, 7PM
Talk: October 12, 8PM
Artists Space, New York, NY
Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP)
Studio exhibition (2017-2018)
Group exhibition + Performance
May 2018
II. DIGNIDAD PRESS
AD Haagsche Courant, September 26th, 2019
Dignidad, The Hague, Netherlands
https://krant.ad.nl/titles/algemeendagblad/7921/publications/14663/pages/46
Le Monde Diplomat, August, 2019
María Verónica San Martín “La Caja/ El Caso” 1-31 de agosto, 2019 at Animal Gallery, Santiago, Chile
https://www.lemondediplomatique.cl/article6571,6571.html
The National Archives of Chile
Opening Reception: October 4th, 6:30 PM
http://www.archivonacional.cl/sitio/Contenido/Cartelera/87473:Dignidad
Music: Diego Las Heras / Performers: Barbara Pinto, Francisca Las Heras, Francisco Bagnara + the artist
Performance N2: October 4th and October 10, 7 PM
Music: Diego Las Heras / Performers: Barbara Pinto, Francisca Las Heras, Francisco Bagnara + the artist
TALK “ARCHIVES, ART AND MEMORY": October 10, 7 PM
http://www.archivonacional.cl/sitio/Contenido/Cartelera/87681:Archivos-arte-y-memoria
Emma de Ramón, director of The National Archive of Chile
Margarita Romero, president Asociation for Memory and Human Rights of Colonia Dignidad
Winfried Hempel, lawyer of the victims of the case
Matías Celedón, Chilean writer
María Verónica San Martín, artist
TALK, RED CALLE FOUNDATION: October 11, 7 PM
http://www.gentedelacalle.cl/red-calle/
School visits: October 2018
http://www.archivonacional.cl/sitio/Contenido/Cartelera/87474:Memoriales-moviles
III. DIGNIDAD PRESS from the National Archives of Chile exhibit
TV News, channel 13, October 5, 2018
Radio La Clave,interviewed by Fernando Paulsen, oct.10,2018.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK98fcte-0Y
TV 13, Mesa Central: Chapter 25 - October 7, 2018.
http://www.t13.cl/videos/programas/mesa-central-tv/video-mesa-central-capitulo-25-domingo-7-octubre
Radio Cooperativa, interviewed by Paula Molina, Oct.8, 2018
Radio University of Chile, Oct. 7, 2018
El Dinamo, Actualidad, Oct. 17, 2018.
CASAS Magazine, Art Section, November, 2018. Maria Veronica San Martin "No puedo ignorar la historia y mirar para adelante sin revisar el pasado",by Catalina Plaza. pp.35-40.
The National Archive of Chile, October, 2018.
http://www.archivonacional.cl/sitio/Contenido/Cartelera/87681:Archivos-arte-y-memoria
Association for Memory and Human Rights of Colonia Dignidad, September 13, 2018.
http://www.coloniadignidad.cl/actualidad/noticias/exposicion-archivos-colonia-dignidad-2018/
The Clinic, Art and Culture, Oct. 2, 2018.
http://www.theclinic.cl/2018/10/02/dignidad-exposicion/
Dibam, Exhibitions, October 5, 2018.
http://www.dibam.cl/614/w3-article-87896.html?_noredirect=1
Las Últimas Noticias, October 6, 2018, (pp. 50)
http://www.lun.com/default.aspx?dt=2018-10-06
Le Monde Diplomat, October, 2018.
https://www.lemondediplomatique.cl/article6133,6133.html
El ciudadano, October 7, 2018
The cultural agenda of Santiago de Chile, October 2018.
_______________________________________
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
________________________________________
The National Archive of Chile
Winfried Hempel, Ex-colono and lawyer of the victims of the ex-colonia Dignidad
Margarita Romero, Asociation for Memory and Human Rights of Colonia Dignidad
Audio: Winfried Hempel
Music: Diego Las Heras, Felipe Valenzuela and Jose Miguel Buitrago
Architecture exhibition: María Gracia San Martín and Diego Larraín
Performance Coreographer: Maria Veronica San Martin
Sculptures construction: Joshua Heintze
Transcription (German-English): Elisa R.Linn
Translation (English-Spanish): Luis A.Cassanova Blanco
Co-producer: Paloma Estevez
National Archives text: Matias Celedon
Translation text: Ian Cofre and Paula Solimano
Photography: Catalina Riutort, Alejandra Undurraga, Wonwoo Lee
Video Artists Space: Marshall Weber Video Edits: Nicole Costa and Carla Laser
Performers: M.Veronica San Martin, Paloma Estevez, Bárbara Pinto, Francisca Las Heras, Francisco Bagnara, Stephanie Pan and Yel Barnatan
Anknowledges: Delia Pizarro, Marshall Weber, Florencia San Martin, Juan Pablo Vergara.
Daniel Sosland, Julie Garcia and Peter Ludlow.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. MARIA VERONICA SAN MARTIN 2018
