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BRICK CAR2010

“Coche de ladrillo” (Brick Car) is a life-size car built in brick. It occupies a parking space between two vehicles parked in the street.

The three-dimensional, pixilated car is modeled after a modern automobile and was built using solid, Madrid Red-colored bricks. The wheels are one foot thick. The car weighs five tons.

All methods and materials used are common to any traditional brick wall. A mason and project engineer were enlisted to construct the car.

Exhibited at “2 x 1”. Matadero. Madrid (Spain). 2010.

SCATTERED ORCHESTRA September 12, 2009. Vitoria (Spain)

Scattered about the streets near the center of the city of Vitoria, members of an orchestra simultaneously played the same music. Pedestrians experienced the music differently depending on which street they walked past, the speed at which they walked, and by which direction they were headed. Strolling through the symphony orchestra, pedestrians were able to experience each instrument independently without failing to perceive the music being played.

The musicians wore tiny radio receivers with earpieces while the music was broadcast over a local radio station. This allowed them to play in sync despite their physical separation. At the same time, the radio program itself encouraged citizens to go out into the streets to experience the performance live.

The orchestra, called the Orquesta Gregorio Solabarrieta, played the suite from Prokofiev’s “Romeo y Julieta,” Charles Ives’ “The Unanswered Question,” a selection from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” Strauss’ pieces “Eljen a Magyar” and “Off to the Hunt!,” and Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance.”

The Victoria-Gasteiz City Council commissioned the mmmm... group for the Disonancias program. Disonancias is a cultural program aimed at companies, research centres and public entities interested in collaborating with artists in order to promote innovation.

LEG OF HAM RAFFLED OFF TO MUSEUM VISITORSJune 24, 2006. Mallorca (Spain)

In order to promote the Pilar and Joan Miró Foundation and attract new visitors, ten legs of hams were raffled off among the public that visited the foundation on two particular days. A publicity campaign was launched beforehand to announce the drawing.

In Spain, bars and small businesses often raffle off legs of ham in their promotions. On this occasion, we dignified the leg of ham and its use as a traditional promotional tool.

The legs of ham were on display at the foundation up until the day of the drawing.

MONEY FOR READING From June through December 2005

“Money for Reading” was a grant awarded by the Instituto Cervantes to support reading “Don Quixote of La Mancha”.

The reader who received the award had to read “Don Quixote” in its entirety, keeping a schedule corresponding to business hours while sitting in front of a web cam that broadcast the whole reading process on http://www.dineroparaleer.com/. The reader was supposed to understand the book, so reading out loud was not required.

Javier Carretero was chosen among 181 applicants to read “Don Quixote” for 642 Euro. At the time he was awarded the grant, he was 35-years old and lived in Getafe (Madrid) where he worked as a taxi driver. He was married to a Muslim woman and they had used “Don Quixote” in their wedding ceremony. In his own words, “if Don Quixote were a present-day character, he could well be a taxi driver”.

Grant applications were submitted through the web page. Applicants had to fill out a questionnaire and answer the questions: “What would be your motives for reading ‘Don Quixote’?” And, “How much money would you charge to read ‘Don Quixote’?” Funding for the grant could range between 282 Euro and 1,000 Euro, depending on the amount requested. An extra 200 Euros were awarded for travel and other expenses.

http://www.dineroparaleer.com/

A grant awarded by mmmm… as part of the Instituto Cervantes’ “Palabras corrientes” (“Common Words”) Online Art project.

Exhibited at “Sintopía(s). On the relationship between art, science and technology”, in collaboration with the Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo (MEIAC). Instituto Cervantes, New York (USA). 2008. Instituto Cervantes, Beijing (China). 2007.

KISS INVASION June 18, 2002. Madrid (Spain)

100 couples, spread out among the crowds, kissed simultaneously around the city center. Noise levels on the streets unexpectedly plummeted during that moment of mass intimacy.

All the kisses started at the same time and also ended more or less at the same time. Afterward, the couples moved to a nearby area to repeat the action. Five ten-minute long kisses in a row in a two-hour period, with a fifteen-minute break between kisses.

The routes, as well as the couples’ locations, had been planned out beforehand. Preliminary studies were carried out to check density, pedestrian traffic flow and timetables, in order to ensure the desired ratio of kissing couples: a kissing couple for every seven pedestrians.

An mmmm… action for Istituto Europeo di Design.

SENIOR CITIZENS’ FIELD TRIP TO FESTIMAD May 25, 2002 and May 30, 2003. Madrid (Spain)

A group of 20 people between the ages of 70 and 88 went on a field trip to Festimad, a yearly major music festival held in Madrid. The field trip was free of charge. 80% of Festimad’s visitors are between the ages of 16 and 25.

The field trip’s participants were given disposable cameras so that they could interact with their surroundings, go up to young people and take pictures with them. That way they had a souvenir to take home with them.

The number of participants the second year was double that of the previous year, this time 42 seniors up to age 92 participated. Eight of them spent the night on the site’s campground in comfortable RV’s, after going to a hard rock concert that was held in the wee hours of the morning.

An mmmm… action for Festimad 02 and Festimad 03.

TELEMADRE Since 2001

Telemadre is a social exchange model that connects unemployed mothers with people who would like to eat home-cooked meals but have neither the time nor the skills necessary to cook.

Through a financial arrangement between the parties and periodic deliveries, the mothers provide their telechildren with ready-cooked meals. A healthy diet based on fish and meat, vegetables, legumes, fruit and dairy products.

The telemadre keeps in touch with each new telechild, concerning herself with the state of their fridge, their tastes and their needs. Once in a while, she even sends homemade desserts, to spoil them just enough.

http://www.telemadre.com/

Exhibited at “Nowhere-NowHere”. Laboral. Center for Art and Industrial Creation. Gijón (Spain). 2008.

Exhibited at “Banquete”. Conde Duque Cultural Center, Madrid (Spain). 2003.

Telemadre Tour. “Panem et Cincerses”. Can Gelabert Cultural Center. Binissalem, Mallorca (Spain). 2002.

Published on the Internet at http://www.telemadre.com/ at a public event held at the Los 29 Enchufes Gallery, Madrid (Spain). 2002.