Lotty Rosenfeld facts for kids

Carlota Eugenia Rosenfeld Villarreal (born June 20, 1943 – died July 24, 2020), known as Lotty Rosenfeld, was an amazing artist from Santiago, Chile. She was born in Santiago and became active in the late 1970s. This was a time when Chile was under a military government. Lotty Rosenfeld created public art interventions in city areas. She often changed traffic signs to make people think differently about public spaces and their own power. Her art has been shown in many countries in Latin America, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

Art and Challenging Power

Lotty Rosenfeld started her art during a difficult time in Chile, when a military government was in charge. She used her art to show how official power can push people to the sidelines. She didn't want her art to be stuck in galleries or sold in markets. Instead, she used the streets as her stage. She wanted to question political and cultural ideas. Through her art, she hoped to change how people thought about her country's history.

At first, she worked with video recordings. She joined a group called the Escena de Avanzada (Advanced Scene). This was a movement of artists and writers who appeared after the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. In 1979, she helped form a group called CADA (Colectivo de Acciones de Arte), which means "Art Actions Collective." Other members included poet Raúl Zurita and writer Diamela Eltit.

CADA was a group of activists and artists. They used art actions and performances to challenge the Pinochet government in Chile during the 1970s and 1980s. Lotty Rosenfeld was also involved with Fluxus. This was an international group that experimented with visual arts, music, and writing. Rosenfeld and CADA often changed public city spaces using symbols. They wanted to make people question society's political rules and authority. During this time, Rosenfeld's work included performances and video installations. One of her later works is called Moción de Orden (Motion of Order). This was a big multimedia art piece shown in March 2019.

A Mile of Crosses on the Pavement (1979)

Lotty Rosenfeld is most famous for her art action called Una milla de cruces sobre el pavimento (A Mile of Crosses on the Pavement). She was inspired by everyday life and how society works. This project started in Santiago, Chile in 1979. It's one of her most well-known art pieces. She changed the lines on the road to create crosses.

With help from people on the street, she changed the painted lines that divide roads. They used white tape to add a line across, turning the "minus" sign into a "plus" sign. Rosenfeld saw the straight lines on the pavement as a symbol of the strict control of the Pinochet government. By changing these common markings, she broke the rules of this control. She made the public face an unexpected change in meaning. She showed that signs are not always fixed or unchanging. This work was a performance that disrupted daily traffic under the Pinochet government.

Lotty Rosenfeld's Artworks

• Una Milla de Cruces Sobre el Pavimento, Art Action/ Video Installation, 1979
• Inversión Escénica [Scenic Investment], Art Action, 1979
• Una Herida Americana, video Instalación, 1982
• White House. Photography, 1982
• Proposición para (entre) Cruzar Espacios Límites, Video Action, 1983
• Valparaiso- Chile, black and white photography, 1985
• Paz para Sebastián Acevedo, Video Art, 1985
• Moneda
• Metro Wall St. – USA
• Cautivos, Video Instalación, 1989
• El Empeño Latinoamericano, Video Projection and Multimedia Installation, 1999
• Moción de Orden, multimedia installation, 2002
• Cuenta Regresiva, multi video proyección, 2006
• Acción de Arte, Allied Checkpoint, 2007
• Estadio Chile, Chile Triennal, 2009

Notable Exhibitions

• 2002 Lotty Rosenfeld: Moción de orden, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago (traveled)
• 2007 Documenta 12, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany
• 2010-11 Dislocación: Cultural Location and Identity in Times of Globalization, Kunstmuseum Bern (traveled)
• 2013 Lotty Rosenfeld: Por una poética de la rebeldía, Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, Seville, Spain
• 2015 Poéticas de la disidencia | Poetics of Dissent, Chilean Pavilion, Biennale Arte 2015, Venice, Italy

Awards and Recognitions

• 1985 Special Jury Prize at the 1st International Video Biennial in Tokyo
• 1993 Andes Foundation Scholarship
• 1995 Chilean Critics Circle National Prize in Visual Arts
• 2001 Paoa Prize, 13th International Film Festival in Viña del Mar
• 2001 Altazor of Engraving and Drawing Prize at las Artes Nacionales
• 2015 Represented Chile in the 56th Venice Biennale along with fellow Chilean artist, Paz Errázuriz

Art in Museums

Lotty Rosenfeld's art can be found in important museum collections around the world:

• Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, Santiago
• Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid
• TATE Gallery, London
• MOMA, New York

See also

In Spanish: Lotty Rosenfeld para niños