Links: Intro proyecto LPLV / Intro SFL project > Lucha por la Vida/ Struggle for Life (Libro de Artista/Artist's book) > Struggle for Life (pocket edition) > A modo de introducción por Ral Veroni / An introduction of sorts by Ral Veroni >
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La
lucha por la vida “ I say ten australes
La Lucha por la Vida (Struggle for Life) is an ongoing body of work which began in Buenos Aires in 1994 by Glasgow-based Argentinean artist Ral Veroni. La Lucha por la Vida examines currency both as an object and a concept. Veroni screenprints his own drawings onto old banknotes, withdrawn from circulation, and re-distributes them via a process of exchange in which the screenprinted notes are swapped for ‘clean’ ones on which to work. The project has resulted in a continuing process of distribution and re-circulation of old currency and a series of artist’s books. Ral Veroni’s work is a commentary on Argentina’s recent economic and political history and simultaneously an investigation into our response to money as a physical object. Unlike gold, silver or precious stones these pieces of paper, in which we invest our time and trust, hold no intrinsic value –banknotes rely upon a value or belief system in order to function. In an unstable economy this system collapses, and society is plunged into financial chaos. For the last century Argentina has suffered a roller-coaster economy during which periods of rapid growth were followed by severe depression, resulting in extreme fluctuation of inflation. Rising and falling retail prices, increased cost of living and a decline in agricultural and industrial production were coupled with repressive military rule and an almost constant turnover of governmental power – each with a different approach to stabilising the economy. Veroni’s work refers directly to events experienced by the artist and his family, and the circumstances that surrounded them. He explains; “ When I started to draw the series of bills, which I would later call ‘Struggle for Life’, I had in my house, wherever I looked, different bills which had belonged to my grandparents, parents, or had been mine and which rapid devaluation had kept us from spending… I would observe in those bills the different designs, the succeeding correlation of zeros, the name changes: austral, pesos ley, pesos moneda nacional – and remember some of the obscure political periods of my country…Inflation only reveals the condition of money as a piece of paper. My intention is to talk about our relation to this object, the strange way in which it dictates our lives against which we can hardly offer resistance.” In 1983 the ‘austral plan’ was implemented, replacing the peso, as another attempt to reduce inflation. The design El Calvario del Mango (The Crucifixion of Money) represents the fall of the ‘Mango’, a colloquialism for the peso. As James Buchan notes in his book Frozen Desire: “The banknote was an outcrop of some vast mountain of social arrangements… (money) was not a simple object, whose function could be deduced quickly. The engraved swirls and signs, even the King’s portrait, did not suddenly reveal the note’s purposes to someone who knew nothing of money.” La Lucha por la Vida is a personal testament to the experiences of Argentineans during a nine year ‘reign of terror’ during the military rule of the 1970s and early 80s in which there was an abuse of civil rights unprecedented in Argentinean history. The military government created an economic upsurge, at a time when the national currency was as strong as the dollar. The boom encouraged foreign travel and remains a nostalgic memory for Argentineans who travelled and enjoyed their money abroad. The short-lived economic prosperity was paid for in full with the economic collapse which followed. Between 1976 to 1979 such temporary economic benefits were used as a diversion from the atrocities of kidnap and torture. In 1978 the World Cup was seen by the military as an opportunity to accelerate such atrocities while the nation was distracted by sport – the opium of the people. In the 80s Galtieri instigated the Malvinas War as another diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the appalling economic situation on the mainland.This brought further financial disaster in only 10 weeks. Veroni remembers the emotive and courageous scenes
of the marches of the group Mothers of the Square of May who were
the mothers of the desaparecidos (the disappeared ones) as they
walked in silent protest in Buenos Aires wearing symbolic white
headscarves. A report to investigate the atrocities of military
terrorism and the ‘dirty war’ of the 1970s was commissioned
in 1983 – it found the armed forces responsible for 8,971
disappearances as well as acts of torture and other crimes. Statistics
differ on the exact number of the disappeared, but figures range
from estimates of 6,000 – 24,000 during military rule, many
killed by illegal right wing death squads. Unknown kidnappers would
knock on doors in the middle of the night and family and friends
would be taken away – and never heard from again. Veroni’s own memories of the period reflect the personal and collective insecurity brought about by corruption and economic decline. Much of La Lucha por la Vida reflects on the period in which Galtieri governed Argentina. The government preceding Galtieri had managed to reduce inflation to 100 %. After Galtieri’s take-over in November 1981 the GNP fell by 7% and by 1982 the annual rate of inflation had become the highest in the world – at an incredible 500%, highlighted by Veroni in drawings such as Corre por tu Guita (Run for Your Money). Ave, Dollar. Morituri te Salutant (Hail Dollar. Those Who Are About to Die Salute You) represents the political and economic influence exerted by the USA over Latin America. The dollar became a symbol of stability of value, and it was the dollar that highlighted the daily devaluation of local currencies during periods of inflation and hyperinflation in Argentina. The dollar here is likened to the power of Caesar over gladiators. The image is one of the face of fear, which wears the helmet of a gladiator. In 1989 the foreign debt was $60 billion, with payment on the debt at $6 billion per year (at a time when the country’s earnings were below $3 billion). New loans taken on to cover the debt served only to increase Argentina’s dependency, resulting in shortages and energy rationing, with long daily blackouts. Inflation had become hyperinflation. Declining production, rising unemployment and an annual inflation rate of an unbelievable 12,000% (with prices rising four times a day) sparked food riots, and looting. Wages dropped 35% and a state of emergency was declared, with all strikes and demonstrations banned. Industry as a whole was operating at only 30% of capacity with auto and steel industries virtually paralysed. When supermarkets were raided during the food riots
money was left untouched in the cash registers. In a recent newspaper
interview Veroni explains “ One day a note would buy a pint
of milk; the next day half a pint; the following day only a spoonful.
You needed a wheelbarrow full of money for gallon.” It is
against this background that Veroni notes; “ In the inflationary
and hyper inflationary periods it is as if money takes its mask
of value off. Then, it is no longer the representative symbol of
the price of things and it shows its real face: an old piece of
paper, with numbers.” Argentineans had traditionally been
taught to save, to invest. In the years of the 1970s, 80s and early
90s to spend was the best way of retaining wealth. Even when rendered
worthless and removed from circulation, people held onto their money
and found it difficult to discard old banknotes. In Eduardo Orenstein’s film, made in Buenos Aires in 2000, Veroni’s Struggle for Life project is documented. The film follows Veroni as he discusses the imagery and symbolism in specific notes. He cites the work of fellow printmakers Hans Holbein, Guadalupe Posada, Alfred Rethel as influences in terms of symbolism and imagery and regards them as printmakers whose work also incorporated irony and a moral principle; “ I made my series of bills under the influence of this genre: whilst the typical images (such as skeletons and scythes) are no longer present a certain connection between these old engravings and my work still remains.” It is difficult not to be reminded of Mexican ‘Day
of the Dead’ imagery in many of Veroni’s bank notes,
particularly when he cites 19th Century Mexican artist Posada as
a role model. In the banknote designs, money and politicians are personified as grotesque or grimly humorous symbols, using currency as an appropriate canvas on which to comment on politics - another institution concerned with power, hollow promises and misplaced trust and capable, like money, of the success or ruin of a nation. Bienvenidos Al Circo (Welcome to the Circus) 1991/95 was a series of clownish self-adhesive designs of bones, eyes, horns, mouths and ‘Pinocchio’ noses. The silk screens on stickers were distributed to Buenos Aires residents of diverse political affiliations, inviting them to vote their criticism by pasting stickers to the posters and billboards of candidates. ‘Voted’ candidates thus assumed the appearance of clowns, devils, and lunatics: a playful comment on the gap between political promises and reality. La Lucha por la Vida, in designs such as Parsley in the Service of the State (a pun on the colloquial use of the word parsley to mean stupid) continued Veroni’s criticism and mockery of politicians and their false promises and, through the public distribution of the banknotes, encouraged the wider community to make up their own minds, rather than bowing to propaganda. Veroni equates money with time and with death –
with the pursuit of money as the thief of time – Blinded
by Money, Ave
Dollar. “How could one explain that someone spends their
life time, their hours of pleasure, sacrificing everything in the
pursuit of this paper currency? Money itself represents a payment
of time, a payment of life in order to live.” The choice of printmaking as a medium for La Lucha por la Vida is similarly democratic. Prints are the most economical way to produce and collect ‘original’ artwork. Patrick Merrill, curator of the group show Cultural Critics which included Veroni’s banknote work stated “ Currency devalued to zero by inflation and therefore homogenised to a uniform sameness is re-valued by art and once again becomes unique.” Veroni’s process of distribution of the banknotes is as subversive as the images themselves. Through exchange, barter and editions made for ‘the common pocket’ Veroni ensures that his work is accessible to all. The designs and objects themselves can be appreciated on their own merit, for their aesthetic value, regardless of political significance. In Orenstein’s film Veroni sets up a market stall in Buenos Aires at which notes can be exchanged. Jamie Reid recently said that money is a symbol of man’s mistrust for man claiming that bartering is better and more honest. Veroni’s project, using devalued money which has been removed from circulation is a unique project which makes money itself the object which is bartered – as old banknotes are exchanged for others. Part of the motivation behind La Lucha por la Vida was cathartic – Veroni notes; “To draw on these bills of currency, to talk about them, was my way of cleansing, purging myself.” A poem, written by Veroni during his adolescent years, is poignant when viewing his later work: (Translated from Spanish) ‘ I have my pockets full of bills one by one I say ten australes Susannah Thompson
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