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Collections

Francis Alÿs
SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POETIC CAN BECOME POLITICAL AND SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POLITICAL CAN BECOME POETIC2007

Not on view
Large-scale gallery installation with four joined tables with translucent white tops, surrounded by wooden stools and hanging aluminum pendant lights, with a color video screen on the back wall
Gallery installation with two large light-box tables framed in natural wood, multiple hanging brushed-metal pendant lamps overhead, and a video projection on the far wall showing an underwater scene with white subtitle text reading 'But once you build a wall, the only thing the people on the other side will see'; a small monitor and wooden chair visible in the background alcove.
Installation view with a long wooden worktable, low stools, and industrial pendant lamps in a white-walled gallery. A framed map hangs on the back wall beside a small sculptural object on a sawhorse. A glass floor panel displays drawings and photographs beneath. To the right, a darkened alcove contains a projected text reading 'SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POETIC CAN BECOME POLITICAL and SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POLITICAL CAN BECOME POETIC,' with a wooden desk and lamp visible below the screen.
Installation view in a white gallery space: several light wood tables arranged in a U-shape with matching stools, pendant aluminum lamps hanging overhead, a small object placed on one table, text on the left wall, and a framed topographic map mounted on the right wall. Herringbone wood floor throughout.
Artist or Maker
Francis Alÿs
Belgium, active Mexico, Mexico City, born 1959
Title
SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POETIC CAN BECOME POLITICAL AND SOMETIMES DOING SOMETHING POLITICAL CAN BECOME POETIC
Date Made
2007
Medium
Video installation with various components
Dimensions
Dimensions variable
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by the Bernard and Edith Lewin Collection of Mexican Art Deaccession Fund and the Michael and Dorothy Blankfort Bequest by exchange
Accession Number
M.2007.139.1-.10
Classification
Time Based Media
Collecting Area
Latin American Art
Curatorial Notes

This installation is a powerful reflection on the absurdity of political boundaries, in this case, the Green Line. The Green Line refers to the 1949 armistice lines established between Israel and its neighbors—Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt—at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Its name was derived from the green pencil used to draw the line on the map during the armistice talks. In June 2004, Francis Alÿs performed a walk in Jerusalem holding a leaking can of green paint, following a portion of the Green Line. Israelis and Palestinians were invited to react spontaneously to the action.

Ilona Katzew, 2008

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