16 October 1978
Obelisco tumbado [Fallen Obelisk], a creation of Marta Minujín
First Latin American Biennial
São Paulo, Brazil
Obelisco tumbado [Fallen Obelisk] is an obelisk lying on its side, in a horizontal position. It is of the exact same dimensions as the Obelisk in the Plaza de la República of Buenos Aires.
It has been produced using wood, chipboard and rope; it measures 67 metres long, 7 metres high at its base, or entrance… and reduces at an angle towards the point, where it measures 3.60 metres.
It is accessible via a visitors circuit; that is, the public can view it from all angles on the outside, but can also enter the structure through its base, which, as the obelisk is reclining, serves as an entrance.
Visitors enter in groups of up to 10 and walk the length of the obelisk along a passage lit by black light. There are fluorescent panels on either side so, as they walk, their shadows are cast onto the panels for a moment (an effect that is achieved with the black light).
When they reach the point, there are two fluorescent chairs facing two television sets and a Super 8 projector with films and videos showing footage shot around the Obelisk in Buenos Aires, along with interviews with passers-by about its significance, references to other obelisks around the world, an interior ascent of the Obelisk and scenes of its toppling (fictitious scenes in which the Obelisk can be seen falling over).
Once the 10-minute screening of the films are over, visitors return to the starting point – that is the entrance door – via another passageway, which serves as the exit, as the obelisk is divided in two, with one passage for entry and another for exit.
The central theme of the work lies in transplanting a myth from one country to another, altering the laws of gravity – turning a vertical into a horizontal – and raising a state of oblique awareness using a meaningful symbol of the penetrating spirit and sunlight.
Marta Minujín