Fons #04: Àngels Ribé
MACBA’s Audiovisual Documentation Fonds features a series of interviews with artists represented in the MACBA Collection.
Regarded as one of the most significant Conceptual artists in Catalonia, Àngels Ribé initiated her production in the late sixties with actions, installations and performances centred round the body and space.
Geometries
'I think that somehow we are reproducing gestures that a long time ago had a concrete application. Now an artist can take a knife and cut the water in a lake. Maybe a long time ago a medicine man was doing exactly the same gesture or ritual with the practical purpose of getting ram. An "art idea" can be only communicated through an "art piece". And it is in this "art element and its subconscious communication" that I'm very interested in.'
Intersections
'My intention in this series of works is to approach nature and physical phenomena. The works deal in perception, some by searching for new information, others by artificially recreating the physical laws.'
"3 Punts (1)"
By the end of the sixties, Àngels Ribé had abandoned formal sculpture for actions using the body, which were intended as experiences embracing nature and perception. Although in her first actions experimented with minimal elements such as glass or nylon thread in natural contexts, she soon began to incorporate her own body, as in the "3 punts" series. As the title indicates, these works offer different variations on the triangle, the simplest figure to join three points and one of the basic measures of the world for investigating the geometric condition of space.
