[ethereal music beings]
Male narrator Middle and upper class Argentinians pose in their own homes in these portraits — part of a series of 19 by contemporary artist Ananke Asseff. The series is collectively titled Potencial, or Potential; each individual work bears the first name of the sitter. Curator, Judith Keller.
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Judith Keller In the case of the red-headed woman who is shown in front of a coffee table, standing on a beautifully tiled floor with a substantial framed painting in the background, these are people of affluence. And they are shown in a full-length portrait, which, from the 16th century on, was something only royalty or the aristocracy could afford or was thought to deserve. So, in a way you can think of these portraits as almost heroic or something coming from a long tradition of portraits of the privileged.
[music resumes]
They have in common only that they are shown holding the gun or guns they own; which could suggest that they are criminals. But, in fact, they have the guns because they fear that they will become victims.
Male narrator The rich live in gated communities, isolated and in a way imprisoned by their own desire for safety. Asseff’s portraits emphasize the contradictions inherent in this situation. Who — or what — is the real source of danger here?
[music ends]
