SUR Mario Garcia Torres and Rodrigo Ortiz Monasterio @ Motto Berlin

Skalitzer str. 68 10997 Berlin

On the ocasion of the Berlin Bienniale, a conversation between Mario Garcia Torres and Rodrigo Ortiz Monasterio on the work of Conlon Nancarrow and the publication Sur: Issue #1 Studies for Player Piano.

Sur is a contemporary art magazine published out of Mexico City annually. Both a publication and a series of invitations, Sur is premised on an aesthetics of encounter, specifically between the writing, art, and ideas expressed in Mexican culture in relation to discourses, philosophies, and art generated elsewhere. Published in both Spanish and English, Sur creates a new and necessary space for engaging and amplifying such discussions.

Issue #1 departs from the concept of a player piano and specifically addresses certain fragments of the life and work of experimental composer Conlon Nancarrow (1912-1997). Although an American, Nancarrow exiled himself to Mexico, where he could openly belong to the Communist party with social and political impunity. There, he became famous for a series of scores, entitled Studies for Player Piano (1948-1960 and 1965-1992), making him one of the first composers to write scores for machines to play. Although he lived in relative isolation in Mexico, he did become a Mexican citizen in 1955 and enjoyed a close collaboration with the Mexican modern architect and muralist Juan O’Gorman with whom he worked to build his house in Mexico City.

Sur is published by Bom Dia Boa Tarde Boa Noite.