Damián Ortega Int/Ext 2006

Cement or terra cotta bricks are among the materials that Damián Ortega has returned to repeatedly, often focusing on the improvisational nature of vernacular architecture in his native Mexico. In this photographic series titled Int/Ext he presents a process-based work that directly references the cube and cinderblock structures of the Conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. Ortega’s piece involves painted cement bricks rearranged as a series of formations, several of them evocative of Mesoamerican art and architecture. 
Identification
Title
Int/Ext
Production Date
2006
Object Number
2006.74a-e
Credit Line
Collection Pérez Art Museum Miami, museum purchase with funds provided by PAMM’s Collectors Council
Copyright
© Damián Ortega
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Physical Qualities
Medium
Chromogenic prints
Dimensions
Five sheets, each: 13 3/8 x 20 1/8 inches
Visual Description
Interior/Exterior by Damián Ortega is a series of five Chromogenic photographic prints made in 2006. Each print measures thirteen inches by twenty inches. The prints depict a series of geometric shapes made of various segments of a light-blue and white material that could be cement, foam, or something similarly solid and opaque. The shapes themselves look like three-dimensional Tetris pieces, as they are all cuboid in shape. Some are shaped like “L”s or small cross shapes. The cuboid shapes are shown in various iterations, creating different shapes in each print. The shapes are in a room with a dirty floor and white walls. The photographs are taken at an angle above shapes, producing an isometric, or three-quarters view. Only one corner of the room is visible in the upper right of the composition of each photograph. From left to right the material is arranged in the shape of a chair or “L” shape with one small cube extending from its base. In the second photograph the material is arranged in a rectangle with both ends extending upwards similar to the arms of a couch or the ends of a bed. The third photograph shows the material arranged and interlocked into a perfect cube. The fourth shows the material in a snake-like shape that starts with two rectangles on top of each other forming a letter “Z” shape. The rest of the material extends from the base of this initial shape in a zig-zag pattern. The last photograph displays the material in a shape that resembles a podium, with a small gap inside the material, framing a small void. The shapes leave a cavity at the center in the shape of a rectangle like the opening of a door.
Damián Ortega
Damián Ortega — b. 1967, Mexico City; lives in Mexico City
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