Gloria Camiruaga (5 October 1940 – 10 April 2006) was a Chilean videographer born in Santiago, whose art later became documentary in style.[1][2] She was one of the first female videographers in Chile. Her work focused on the depiction of political corruption and social issues in Chile from the perspective of women. Her work was political, focusing on the political unrest in Chile such as the coup d'état of the 1970s. She has worked on numerous solo projects and with other artists in collaboration.[2]
Early life
Camiruaga was born in Santiago, Chile in 1940.[3][4] In 1971 she received a degree in philosophy from the University of Chile.[5]
After she moved to San Francisco and began her studies at the San Francisco Art Institute, graduating in 1980.[6] Camiruaga focused on video art while in San Francisco, and continued making experimental films once she returned to Chile in the early 1980s.[7][8]
Camiruaga returned to Chile sometime in the early 1980s. During this time, Augusto Pinochet's violent rule dominated the country, threatening extreme punishment as the cost of dissent.[9]
Camiruaga's Tricolor focuses on three colors: red, blue and white an American patriotism that reflects the overall American whiteness in the art community. The white screens represent the lack of female artists.
Popsicles
Young girls and women are seen licking melting popsicles that reveal small toy soldiers, the women recite Hail Marys repeatedly. The video shows the innocence and exploitation of the young women at the hands of the violence, specifically from the war and military presence in Chile which is represented by the toy soldiers.[2]
Casa Particular
In English, the title translates to Particular Home. A documentary that shows Camiruaga interviewing a group of transvestite sex workers in a brothel.[12] They recount their stories and Camiruaga's platform shows them in a new light as they dance and enjoy each other's company. They talk about hiding their work and the brutality they experience, such as fearing for their safety as they are targets of hate crimes.[12]
La Venda
A video of ten women giving testimonies of the rape and beating they received during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet the title "La Venda" translated to blindfold as the women say they were blindfolded as they endured pain.[12] Camiruguaga used testimonies because women's stories went underrepresented. Giving the women a face and name to their stories was legitimizing the suffering they endured and making Chile aware of the sexist abuse.[2]
Exhibitions
Museum of Modern Art, Media Lounge in New York from February 29, 2012- July 8, 2012.[13]
Hammer Museum, University of California, Los Angeles. Radical Women in Latin American Art, 1960–1985.[14]
In 2018, her work was included in the Brooklyn Museum's exhibition Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985.[15]
^ abcdeLlanos, Bernardita (1 November 2010). "Memoria y testimonio visual en Chile: el documental la venda de Gloria Camiruaga" [Memory and visual testimony in Chile: the documentary La banda de Gloria Camiruaga]. Chasqui (in Spanish). 39 (2): 42–54. JSTOR41340868. GaleA245540458ProQuest851706832.
^Fajardo Hill and Giunta, Cecilia and Andrea (2017). Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985. Los Angeles: Los Angeles: Hammer Museum and DelMonico Books/Prestel. p. 358. ISBN9783791356808.
^Levinson, Eliza (Summer 2019). "In Search of Gloria Camiruaga, A Lesser-Known Pioneer of Chilean Video Art". Another Gaze: A Feminist Film Journal. 3: 105.
^Fajardo Hill and Giunta, Cecilia and Andrea (2017). Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985. Los Angeles: Los Angeles: Hammer Museum and DelMonico Books/Prestel. p. 358. ISBN9783791356808.
^Fajardo Hill and Giunta, Cecilia and Andrea (2017). Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985. Los Angeles: Los Angeles: Hammer Museum and DelMonico Books/Prestel. p. 358. ISBN9783791356808.