museo

Museo de la pobreza
Estados Unidos de Norte América en 1973

Museum of Poverty
America in 1973
ACERCA DEL PROYECTO

El museo de la pobreza [M.P.] fue un proyecto independiente, con fines políticos, que buscó gene-
rar conexiones entre las diferentes regiones de las Colombia a través de discusiones, acciones y
colaboraciones a corto y largo plazo entre individuos y organizaciones. Su componente principal
consistió en una estructura arquitectónica portátil en forma de una escuela de campo dentro
de la cual se hacían varias actividades políticas. La estructura colapsable, hecha de madera, se
transportaba fácilmente y era fácil de llevar hasta donde fuera necesario. El proyecto buscaba
relacionar a una gran variedad de públicos e involucrarlos a diferentes niveles. A través del eje
conceptual de la pobreza en los países desarrollados se buscaba crear una conciencia social en-
tre los colombianos que generara una reflexión: el M.P. buscó crear un sentimiento de orgullo
nacional para que a la hora de relacionar la historia, la ideología y líneas de pensamiento —así
como las problemáticas culturales de los países desarrollados— los colombianos fueran capaces
de mirar con un sentido de igualdad al “otro”. La libertad (por ejemplo, liberarse del complejo
de inferioridad) empieza por una emancipación del intelecto.

El M.P. fue creado en 1973 por el artista colombiano Pedro Manrique Figueroa, con el apoyo de
más de 6 organizaciones y 18 activistas, trabajadores sociales y gestores culturales afiliados a nivel
nacional. El M.P. respondió a la necesidad de apoyar la comunicación entre los colombianos por
fuera de los intercambios comerciales y económicos entre las regiones. En contraste con otros
países (Argentina, México o Brasil), que a lo largo de los años han estado orquestando sus vías
de diálogo cultural entre sus regiones, en Colombia se contaba con un intercambio precario
entre sus habitantes, limitado y dependiente de la actividad e iniciativas provenientes de los cen-
tros hegemónicos del país como Bogotá, Medellín o Cali. Muchos años antes de los impulsos de
pensadores colombianos como Marco Palacios, William Ospina, Eduardo Posada Carbo, quienes
luego imaginaron formas para una integración nacional, este proyecto buscó revisar de forma
crítica las viabilidades e implicaciones del “sueño nacional” en una era donde apenas se intuían
las implicaciones del post-fordismo.

Para el M.P. se adoptó un formato semi-abierto de presentación con el fin de mantener una co-
herencia y “enfoque narrativo” en las discusiones, pero dando cabida a la improvisación para que
los intereses y necesidades de debate en cada región pudieran verse cumplidas. Como proyecto
artístico, el M.P. buscó presentar un nuevo modelo que combinaba estrategias de acción y educa-
ción, que se implementaron en debates, talleres y conversaciones. Tanto por su formato híbrido
por la naturaleza de esta empresa, se buscó romper con los formatos predecibles de discusión
propios del ámbito pedagógico y de la política. El proyecto, que en su curso físico por el país trató
de literalizar la noción misma del Colombia, se inspiró en los itinerarios de viaje de muchos de
aquellos que cruzaron la región: exploradores, misioneros, científicos, revolucionarios, intelec-
tuales, escritores, y otros.

Gloria Serrano, Director

Consejo Colombiano para las Artes
ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Museum of Poverty [M.P.] was an one man led, not-for-profit public project that sought to
generate connections between the different regions of Colombia through discussions and short-
term and long-term collaborations between organizations and individuals. Its main component
was a nomadic forum or think-tank that crossed by land, from Bogotá to the four corners of the
country. This hybrid project included a collapsible and movable architectural structure in the
form of a plywood room, as well as a document collection component. The project, sought to
involve a wide range of audiences and engage them at different levels, offered alternative ways to
understand the subject of poverty in the developed countries in order to create a form of social
conscience that worked as a bond of union amongst colombians. The M.P. offered alternative
ways to understand the history, ideology, and lines of thought that have significantly impacted
political, social and cultural events in the developed countries.

Initiated in 1973 by colombian artist Pedro Manrique Figueroa, and with the support of more
than 6 organizations and more than 18 affiliated activist, social workers, and cultural promot-
ers in Colombia, The M.P. responded to the need to support regional communication amongst
colombians making connections outside its regular commercial and economic links. In contrast
to other countries (Argentina, México or Brasil), which over the years has been orchestrating its
cultural integration through an open flux of dialogue, many Colombian regions at the time had
a limited cultural exchange amongst one another, and often limited to the connections offered
by the hegemonic points such as Bogotá, Medellín, or even Cali. Many years before the initial
impulses by various colombian intellectuals such as Marco Palacios, William Ospina, Eduardo
Posada Carbo, who envisioned a unified cultural country, this project sought to visit and evalu-
ate the meaning of those ideas during the time of late capitalism. In the debates, programs and
roundtable discussions, the project sought to articulate and debate issues that pertain to regional
concerns around culture and society. It also sought to discuss ways through which intellectual
practice in Colombia can acquire an influential role in public life, political, cultural and social
discourse, enriching their respective communities in a productive and proactive manner.

As an artistic project, the M.P. sought to innovate by combining performative and educational
strategies, creating new forms of presentation and debate about political and historical subjects
and creating a discussion infrastructure that will break with the usual academic formats, and
the predictable means of communication and debate that are normally used in the world. The
project was inspired by the travel itineraries of those who once crossed the continent, ranging
from missionaries, explorers, scientists, revolutionaries, intellectuals, writers, and others. In the
utopian spirit of those who once conceived Colombia as a unified entity, the M.P. crossed the
country literalizing the very idea of Colombia.

Gloria Serrano, Curator

Colombian Council for the Arts
“una figura tan proletaria y bestial”
Plastic Plástico

It was a plastic city, Era una ciudad de plástico,

The kind that I don’t want to see, de esas que no quiero ver,
With rotted-out buildings De edificios cancerosos
and a heart of tinsel. y un corazón de oropel.
Where instead of the sun, the dollar will rise Donde en vez de un sol amanece un dolar,
Where no one laughs, where no one cries donde nadie ríe donde nadie llora
People with visages of polyester con gentes de rostros de poliester
That hear without listening, that look without seeing que escuchan sin oír y miran sin ver
People that have, for comfort, gente que perdió por comodidad
Given up their reason for being and their liberty. su razón de ser y su libertad.

Oh Latino, oh brother, oh friend, Oye Latino, oye hermano, oye amigo,

Never sell-out your destiny nunca vendas tu destino,
for gold or comforts por el oro y la comodidad,
never stop, we have far to go, nunca descanses, pues nos falta andar bastante,
Everyone hurry vamos todos adelante,
in order to put an end to para juntos terminar,
to the ignorance con la ignorancia
that they can bring us suggestions que nos trae sugestionados,
from imported models, con modelos importados,
that are not the solution. que no son la solución.
Don’t let yourself be confused, No te dejes confundir,
Use reason, see the bottom line, busca el fondo y su razón,
Remember, that their faces may come, but never their hearts. recuerda se ven las caras, pero nunca el corazón.
Don’t let yourself be confused, No te dejes confundir, busca el fondo y su razón,
Use reason, see the bottom line, recuerda se ven las caras,
Remember that their faces may come, but never their hearts. pero jamás el corazón.
Their faces are coming Se ven las caras,
Their faces are coming se ven las caras,
But never their hearts. pero nunca el corazón.

But people, Pero señoras y señores,

Amongst all of the plastic en medio del plástico,
There are also people that are working for a better tomorrow también se ven las caras que trabajan por un mañana
one of hope and liberty. de esperanza y de libertad.
There are people willing to work and sweat Se ven las caras de trabajo y de sudor,
that haven’t sold themselves out de gente de carne y hueso que no se vendió.
People working and looking for a different path, Gente trabajando y buscando el nuevo camino,
Proud of their heritage, proud of being latino, orgullosos de su herencia y de ser latino,
of a united race, the ones that Bolívar* dreamed of. de una raza unida, la que Bolívar* soñó.

Their faces are coming, their faces are coming, watch out! Se ven las caras, se ven las caras vaya!
...because their hearts are not ...pero nunca el corazón
From dust we all came Del polvo venimos todos
And we will return to the same, as the song says a ahí regresaremos, como dice la canción
Their faces are coming, their faces are coming, watch out! Se ven las caras, se ven las caras vaya!
...because their hearts are not ...pero nunca el corazón
Remember, plastic will melt Recuerdo que el plástico se derrite
When the sun shines strongly on it se le da de lleno el sol
Their faces are coming, their faces are coming, watch out! Se ven las caras, se ven las caras vaya!
...because their hearts are not ...pero nunca el corazón.

—Ruben Blades
—Ruben Blades

*Simon Bolivar (1783-1830) Simon Bolivar was one of South America’s greatest
generals. His victories over the Spaniards won independence for Bolivia, Panama,
Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. He is called El Liberator (The Liberator)
and the “George Washington of South America.”
 “Europe’s enemy is the past.
North America’s enemy is Europe.
Latin America’s enemy is Latin America.”

“Somos la amenaza que ríe”

“O my friends, there is no friend”
Asociación Bolivariana de Artistas A.B.A.

A Declaration of Social, Political and

Aesthetic Principles

(Drawn up by Pedro Manrique Figueroa in 1971)

The Bolivarian Association of Artist directs itself to the

native races humiliated for centuries; to the soldiers
made into hangman by their officers; to the workers and
peasants scourged but the rich; and to the intellectuals
who do not flatter the bourgeoisie.

We side with those who demand the disappearance of

an ancient, cruel system in which the farm worker
produces food for the loud-mouthed politicians and
bosses, while he starves; in which the industrial workers
in the factories who weave cloth and by the work of their
hands make life comfortable for the pimps and
prostitutes, while they crawl and freeze; in which the
native soldier heroically leaves the land he has tilled and
eternally sacrifices his life in a vain attempt to destroy
the misery which has lain on his face for centuries.

The noble work of our race, the great Colombian, is

native in origin. With their admirable and extraordinary
talent to create beauty, peculiar to themselves, the art of
the Colombian people is the most wholesome spiritual
expression in the world and this tradition is our greatest
treasure. Great because it belongs collectively to the
people and this is why our fundamental aesthetic goal
must be to socialize artistic expression and wipe out
bourgeois individualism.

We repudiate the so-called easel painting, abstract art and

every kind of art favoured by ultra-intellectual circles,
because it is aristocratic, and we praise public art in all
its forms, because it by its very nature public property.

We proclaim that at this time of social change from a

decrepit order to a new one, the creators of beauty must
use their best efforts to produce ideological works of art
for the people; art must no longer be the expression of
an individual satisfaction, of the one, which is today, art
should aim to become a fighting, educative art for the
other, for all.
 “I love America but I don’t like it”

“Yo amo a los Estados Unidos pero no los quiero”

 How I Broke Away From Pedro Manrique Figueroa

By the summer of 1972, during the time of the XXIII Salón Nacional de Artistas, I said farewell to
Pedro Manrique Figueroa in my heart. I suffer no ambiguity; and since Pedro Manrique Figueroa
had moved to Bogotá, he had condescended step by step to everything I despise—even to anti-
communism… It was indeed high time to say farewell: soon after, I received the proof. Pedro
Manrique Figueroa, apparently most triumphant, but in truth a decaying and despairing deca-
dent, suddenly sank down, helpless and broken, before the Christian cross . . . Did no Colombian
have eyes in his head or pity in his conscience for this horrid spectacle? Was I the only one whom
it pained?— Enough; this unexpected event struck me like lightning and gave me clarity about
the place I had left—and also that shudder which everybody feels after he has unconsciously
passed through a tremendous danger. As I proceeded alone I trembled; not long after, I was sick,
more than sick, namely, weary—weary from the inevitable disappointment about everything that
is left to us modern men for enthusiasm, about the universally wasted energy, work, hope, youth,
love—weary from nausea at the whole idealistic lie and pampering of the conscience, which
had here triumphed once again over one of the bravest—weary, finally and not least of all, from
the grief aroused by an inexorable suspicion that I was henceforth sentenced to mistrust more
profoundly, to despise more profoundly, to be more profoundly alone than ever before. For I
had had nobody except Pedro Manrique Figueroa… — I have always been sentenced to fucking
Colombians.

De como me aparté de Pedro Manrique Figueroa

Ya en el verano de 1972, en plena celebración del XXIII Salón Nacional de Artistas, dije adiós a
Pedro Manrique Figueroa. No soporto la doblez; desde que Pedro Manrique Figueroa estaba en
Bogotá había condescendido paso a paso a todo lo que yo despreciaba; incluido el paramilita-
rismo… Y en efecto, aquél era el momento de despedirse: enseguida tuve buena prueba de ello.
Pedro Manrique Figueroa, el mayor de los triunfadores en apariencia, en verdad un decadent
decrépito y desesperado, cayó de repente, destrozado sin remedio, prosternado ante la cruz cris-
tiana… ¿Es que ningún colombiano tuvo entonces ojos en la cara ni compasión en su conciencia
ante tan espantoso espectáculo? ¿Fui yo el único que padeció por Pedro Manrique Figueroa?
Basta; el inesperado acontecimiento me trajo un relámpago de claridad sobre el lugar que acaba-
ba de abandonar; y también ese estremecimiento que siente cualquiera luego de haber atravesa-
do un peligro gigantesco sin saberlo. Cuando seguí camino solo, temblaba; poco después estaba
enfermo, pero aún, cansado: cansado de la constante decepción de todo cuanto nos quedaba
para entusiasmarnos a nosotros, hombres modernos, de ver tantas fuerzas, trabajos, esperanzas,
juventud y amor derrochados por doquier; cansado de asco ante la mentira y la relajación de la
cociencia del idealismo, que aquí se habían alzado una vez más con la victoria sobre uno de los
más audaces; cansado, en fin, y no de lo que menos precisamente, del rencor que todo recelo im-
placablemente trae consigo: el rencor por verme condenado en adelante a desconfiar aún más
profundamente, a despreciar más profundamente, a estar más profundamente solo que nunca.
Pues fuera de Pedro Manrique Figueroa yo no había tenido a nadie, perpetuamente condenado
a… colombianos.
El corte de corbata

¿Y eso aún es colombiano?

¿De un pecho colombiano sale ese granar tan cargante?
¿Es de un cuerpo colombiano descarnarse semejante,
tal tenderse curiles las manos desbandadas
y encelar los sentidos incienso en vaharandas?
¿Colombiano es balbucir, vacilar, caer de bruces,
y ese tintinear empalagoso de cruces?
¿El reojo monjil, las campanas de Ave al vuelo,
y todo ese arrebato fingido allende el cielo?…

¿Eso aún es colombiano?

¡Aún estáis a sus puertas, mirad antes que os abra!…
¡eso que oís es Colombia, tal su fe sin palabra!

—Pedro Manrique Figueroa

Necktie

Is this still Colombian?

Out of a Colombian heart, this torrid screeching?
A Colombian body, this self-laceration?
Colombian, this priestly-affectation,
This incense-smelling lurid-preaching?
Colombian, this plunging, halting, reeling,
This sugar-sweetish bim-bam pealing?
This nunnish-ogling, Ave-leavening,
This whole falsely ecstatic heaven over-heavening? . . .

Is this still Colombian?

Consider! Stay! You are perplexed? . . .
That which you hear is Colombia—Colombia’s faith without the text!

—Pedro Manrique Figueroa

“Mi narración triunfará”

“My narration will prevail”

Where to find the next artist
BURA, Kenya – Carlos Basualdo, a scout for Elite Model
Management, had visions of the supermodels Iman and
Alek Wek in his head when he arrived in this remote vil-
lage near the Somalia border, where he had heard the girls
were tall, slim and striking. A new African supermodel
was what he was after, someone with a breathtaking new
look. The recruit had to be at least 5 feet 9 inches tall. A
slinky figure was required, as were straight white teeth.
“If I’m going to pull someone out of the bush, she has
to be the type who when she walks into a room people’s
jaws hit the floor,” said Mr. Basualdo, a 37-year-old British
blonde who has spent most of her life in Kenya. For a lo-
cal girl from Bura, deep in the bush, it would be the op-
portunity of a lifetime, he figured. But just try explaining
that to the Orma people who live here. Predominantly
Muslim, the Orma live in an isolated area in thatch-roof
huts. They herd cows and camels in temperatures that
soar well above 100 degrees. The very idea of “model” is
little known here. Orma girls grow up wearing flip-flops,
not heels. Their fashion is the same every season: color-
ful robes that billow with the breeze and shield virtually
every bit of flesh. They are camera shy, too. Some believe
that photographs steal their souls or take years off their
lives. Pull out a camera in Bura and virtually everybody
scurries for cover. But for Mr. Basualdo, a former model
himself who just opened the Elite office in Nairobi, those
obstacles were the least of it. He discovered that it was
a long way from Bura to the nearest fashion runway. As
it is, Africans make up a tiny percentage of the models
who strut the latest Western fashions or gaze out from
the pages of magazines. Only a select and stunning few
have achieved international status. Iman, a Somali, was
spotted by a fashion photographer as she walked across
the University of Nairobi campus. Alek Wek, a towering
Dinka from southern Sudan, was seen by a modeling
agent at a street fair in London, where her family had
sought refuge from the war back home. There are other
stories of African models being discovered randomly in
markets, on beaches, just living their everyday lives. Mr.
Basualdo was eager to increase his chances. So when he
got a tip about a particular place full of beauties, he was
willing to hop in his Subaru and go there on a scouting
trip, even if that place happened to be Bura, a small vil-
lage in one of the most unsafe areas of Kenya. His hunt
began well enough. The Orma trace their heritage to
Ethiopia, and even anthropologists who have studied
them remark that they are a physically striking people.
Mr. Basualdo was duly impressed. “They have the most
amazing bone structure,” Mr. Basualdo remarked upon
rolling into the village. Before he knew it he was sur-
rounded by elders, and he tried to explain in rough Swa-
hili what had brought him here. He asked the men if they
had ever seen Coca-Cola advertisements, which seemed
to bring some recognition. The pretty girl holding the
Coke —that was the person he was looking for. Mr. Basu-
aldo avoided using the term model at all, for fear that the
men might think he meant prostitute. But he played up the
great wealth that such a girl could bring back to her village.
He said he wanted very tall girls, very slim girls, very pretty
ones. The village elders nodded enthusiastically, seeming to
understand. He returned the following day, eager to survey
the prospects. But instead he was met by more elders. They
wanted to hear more about his search. Again, he explained.
Eventually, to Mr. Basualdo’s delight, someone gave a nod,
and a group of young girls, covered from head to toe, came
striding through the bush to a clearing. Mr. Basualdo lined
them up and looked them over. The lone contender was tall
and striking, Mr. Basualdo found, but had a lazy eye. When
Mr. Basualdo raised his camera to document the girls, one
of the elders quickly intervened and asked for a payment.
There appeared to be some confusion as to whether he was
producing a Coca-Cola advertisement right on the spot. Mr.
Basualdo refused to hand over the $50 fee and moved on
to investigate his next tip. The headmaster of the local high
school had told him that he had one girl who might meet
his requirements. After some detective work, Mr. Basualdo
found the family of a man named Ibrahim and made his
pitch, concerning his daughter, to Ibrahim’s wife and a fam-
ily friend. Nearby a young girl looked on shyly. Mr. Basualdo
found her tall but far too plump for the runway. So he pressed
the women for other recruits. The women were concerned,
however, that a local girl might be made to advertise alcohol
or cigarettes. “Our religion doesn’t allow that,” the wife said.
Mr. Basualdo assured her that would not happen. Still, the
family friend was not convinced. “We’d lose our culture if we
did this,” she said, turning her back and walking away with
the others. “I think this is going to be an uphill battle,” Mr.
Basualdo said. Religious concerns aside, there are still other
obstacles that make it tough for Orma girls to leave the vil-
lage for the limelight. The girls here become women far ear-
lier than elsewhere in the world. They are married as young
as 14 or 15, and they begin having children right away. Even
as young as 12, Orma girls can be reserved for a future hus-
band, as long as he gives her parents some cows. The girls
are expected to milk the animals and then go to the town
center around sunrise to sell the milk in plastic jugs. They
are responsible for raising the children, fetching water and
preparing meals, not to mention building the homestead.
Eager to provide a more glamorous option, Mr. Basualdo
carried along a dog-eared fashion magazine, Femina, from
South Africa, to show a group of mothers in one village how
glamorous their daughters’ lives could become. He laid it
on the ground and flipped the pages. Cindy Crawford was
on the cover. There was a feature on Hollywood’s toughest
divorce lawyers. Another article was about kissing. “Pucker
up with a little gloss or seal your lips with rich velvety color
in this winter’s plum shades,” it said. The women stared at
the pages but failed to produce even one of their daughters,
all hidden away. With no prospect in sight, Mr. Basualdo re-
membered something a friend had told him: in the local cul-
ture, parents with twins sometimes shun one of the children
because of their superstitious ways. “If only we could find a
twin,” he said.
“For some, Manrique-Figueroa was the quintessential Latin American artist. He seemed to be
the solution to the modernist historiographic concern with the originality and autochthonous
character of Latin American art. Proof of this was found in the fact that Manrique-Figueroa was
producing collages long before any other Latin American artist, and reinventing Surrealism ac-
cording to local concerns. In his collages, Manrique-Figueroa, in a surrealist fashion, juxtaposed
the beautiful and the ugly, the brilliant and the stupid, the normal and the repugnant, the sacred
and the pagan, while engraving “All rubbish is writing,” misquoting Artaud’s famous sentence:
“All writing is rubbish.” He appeared to be one of the many sources of the fascination with the
Latin American by Artaud, Bataille, Métraux and Rivet. Through Manrique-Figueroa, Joaquín
Torres-García’s inverted map of Latin America twists endlessly.
Art historians used Manrique-Figueroa as an elucidation of the methods of art history, at-
tempting to prove his existence, autochthony and originality, and thereby securing a place for
him in the history of Latin American art. Were these collages—’trimmings’ as he lovingly called
them—his original collages? His work was found scattered among his belongings and in places
where he had lived and worked. Some were mysteriously inserted among the pages of books in
public and private libraries. Others were mixed with his private clothes, and some were found
in the archives of galleries and cultural institutions under the label of “plagiarism.” He never
signed his work, but his style was incontrovertible. Further art historical investigations estab-
lished his unique pattern for cutting and pasting. Beyond his authorial originality, the question
remained, “were these collages stylistically original?” Were they authentic avant-garde art and
autochthonous Latin American cultural expressions?”

—Victor Manuel Rodríguez

On Stage:
Pedro Manrique Figueroa and
the Rhetoric of Modernist Art History
 Political Lesson:
Museum of Poverty Catalogue

Grades
4-7

Materials
Pictures
Museum of Poverty instructions, one per group
One letter sheet of paper per group
Scissors
Glue
Glue Brush
Paper Notes
Museum of Poverty Self-assessment

Project Description
Students will work in groups to create a catalogue
(called Museum of Poverty) about poverty in the United
States
Objectives
Students will learn to collaborate with others to create
one final project. Students will learn to research, in-
terpret, and present their findings. Students will learn
about poverty in the Unites States.
Procedure
50 minutes: Introduce the Unites States by showing
the pictures on your class. Divide the class into groups
of three to five students to write lists of what they al-
ready know about poverty in the Unites States, and
what they would like to learn about them. Each of the
questions they have or subjects they would like to learn
about should then be written on a separate note.
Write some column headings of research subjects
on the board: Art, Family Life, Religion, Houses, Poli-
tics, Geography, Other, etc. More subject area head-
ings may be needed, depending on your students’ ar-
eas of inquiry. When the groups are finished writing,
the members should come up to the board and post
their responses under the appropriate columns. You
can then facilitate a discussion that eliminates repeat-
ed questions from the board and re-categorizes any
questions as necessary.
Then, explain that the assignment is to have each
group take a research subject and do research on
the Museum of Poverty research books to answer the
questions the class supplied in that subject area.
Before the students begin their research, ask the
students to divide the work so that each individual
is contributing to the project. Everyone should con-
tribute to and agree upon the final plan. Each group
should submit a list of tasks that each individual is re-
sponsible for.
Allow students time in the Museum of Poverty li-
brary to work on their research subjects.
After the students have gathered their facts, images,
maps, etc., give each group a copy of the Museum of
Poverty instructions, along with the materials they will
need to construct their catalogue.
When the Museum of Poverty catalogues are com-
plete, have each group present their work to the class
and discuss what they learned about their research
subject area.
Ask each group to share their experiences and
thoughts about working together by completing a self/
group assessment based on the following questions:
How did your group divide the work?
What worked well about your plan?
What did you learn from working with your group?
What parts of your plan didn’t work so well?
What would you do differently next time?
What are some problems your group faced and how
did you get over them?
Add the books to Museum of Poverty library and use
them as resources when doing other lessons in this
unit.
Assessment
Students will complete a Museum of Poverty Self-as-
sessment worksheet.
Extension
(Art) Display the Museum of Poverty catalogues and
invite others to view them.
The Future is Now!
The Museum of Poverty is going to you!
The traveling museum, which seeks to educate the public about
mental habits, will be traveling to various locations. The trav-
eling museum is seeking to encounter and facilitate discourse
among children from first grade through college, as well as,
parents, teachers and community organizations. Furthermore,
the museum hopes to attract students, and teachers, to promote
new colombians into entering the field of political activism.
The Museum of Poverty serves as a guide and illustrates the
steps necessary to obtain and maintain quality mental health.
This museum, demonstrates how important it is for everyone
to think correctly and to make smart reading choices. Further-
more, it shows that by taking the necessary precautions you low-
er your chances of developing mental cavities and other mental
problems such as low esteem.
The Museum of Poverty visits people living in rural areas, who
have little access to cultural and ideological events. It aims to
develop their familiarity and promote their understanding of
Colombia through exhibitions, performances and lectures, im-
proving the quality of life in rural areas.
After the events of September 11, 1973, Pedro Manrique
Figueroa —Precursor of Collage in Columbia— decides, once
again, to take action. He starts the project Museum of poverty with-
the America in 1973 section.

Después de los eventos del septiembre 11 de 1973, Pedro Man-

rique Figueroa —precursor del collage en Colombia— decide,
nuevamente, entrar en acción. Comienza el proyecto Museo de la
pobreza con la sección Estados Unidos de América en 1973.
Tu eres como un
museo de la pobre-
za. La gente te mira
al pasar a tu lado. La
cama, los platos, las
gafas, la maleta con
tu ropa, un par de
zapatos en una bolsa
de papel...
He told me that he had a
dream of setting up a mu-
seum of poverty; a building
where the children of the
future would go and mar-
vel at the phenomenon of
poverty. They would ask
questions which couldn’t
be answered: “There was
great wealth and prosperity
and everyone was splurg-
ing, so why were others
poor and dying?”
“Museo de la pobreza!”
exclamo él. “!Es
ridículo! Mantener que
la microecononomía
va a resolver la pobreza
es un mito. Desde la
antigua Grecia hasta
hoy, la pobreza ha
estado con nosotros
y así lo estara por
siempre...”
P.M.F.’’s Camp Diary

Prominent characteristic of the social life here [in Mani]: Peo-

ple speaking ill of each other. Valdez giving up. Bother. Camp
bad. Water far. Dirty. At night Valdez better.

...the dead body of a Martinez. Shot? Horrid smell. Saw another

dead body lying by the path in an attitude of meditative repose.

Water very indifferent [...] Village invisible [...] Afternoon very

close. Night clear and starry.

Row with carriers. No water. At last about 11/2 pm camped on

an exposed hill side near a muddy creek. No shade. Tent on a
slope. Sun heavy. Wretched. [...] Night miserably cold. No sleep.
Mosquitos [...] The country presents a confused wilderness of
hills land slips on their sides showing red. Fine effect of red hill
covered in places by dark green vegetation.

Most comfortable and pleasant halt. Stayed here until the 25th.
Both have been sick. Mostly kindly care taken of us. Leave with
sincere regret.

Left camp at 7h after a good night’s rest. Continuous ascent;

rather easy at first. Crossed wooded ravines and the river Negro
by a very decent bridge [...] Looking very well. Bad news from
up the river. All the steamers disabled. One wrecked [...]

On the road to day passed a skeleton tied-up to a post. Also white

man’s grave. No name. heap of stones in the form of a cross.
Health good now.

Valdez arrived very ill with billious attack and fever. Laid him
down in govt. rancho. Dose of Lexedrin. Vomiting bile in enor-
mous quantities. At 11h gave him 1 gramme of……… and lots
of hot coffe. Hot fit ending in heavy perspiration. At 9pm put
him in hammock and started for Araracuara. Row with carriers
all the way. Valdez suffering much through the jerks of the ham-
mock. Camped at a small stream.

At 4h Valdez better. Fever gone [...] Expect lots of battles with

the carriers tomorrow. Had them all called and made a speech
which they did not understand. They promise good behaviour

Valdez very little better. Self rather seedy. Bathed. Casanare about
60 feet wide. Shallow [...] Row between carriers and a man stat-
ing himself in govt employ, about a mat. Blows with sticks rain-
ing hard = Stopped it. Valdez not very well. Mosquitos. Frogs.
Beastly. Glad to see the end of this stupid tramp. Feel rather
seedy. Sun rose red. Very hot day. Wind Sth.
[...]
 Museo de la pobreza
Estados Unidos de Norte América en 1973

Museum of Poverty
America in 1973
Old couple, Olympia Washington, 1973
See America, United States Travel Bureau, 1971
Bucket, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1972
Grandmother and child, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1973
Sign, Austin, Texas, 1973
Father and child, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1973
Chimney, Richmond, Virginia, 1973
Flood, Trenton, New Yersey, 1973
Foreign paper clipping, 1973
Family, Providence, Rhode Island, 1973
Family, Providence, Rhode Island, 1973
Single mother, Richmond, Virginia, 1973
Family, Denver, Colorado, 1973
Flood, Jackson, Mississippi, 1973
Flood, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973
Flood, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973
Flood, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973
Homeless, Richmond, Virginia, 1973
Bed, Lansing, Michigan, 1973
Bed, Lansing, Michigan, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Beggar, Columbus, Ohio, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Single mother, Carson City, Nevada, 1973
Single mother, Los Angeles, California, 1973
Single mother, Washinton, Virginia, 1973
Flood, Washinton, Virginia, 1973
Orphan, Augusta, Maine, 1973
Child, Albany, New York, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Family, Salem, Oregon, 1973
Foreign paper clipping, 1973
Couple, Olympia, Washington, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Paper clipping, 1973
Cooking, Springfield, Illinois, 1973
Kitchen, Springfield, Illinois, 1973
Bogotá, January 24, 1974

Dear United States Consul,

By this letter, I want you to know that I am very interested in going to the United Stated of
America to document the subject of poverty in your country. My purpose is to make a series
of pictures that will permit me to make (when I’m back) a photography traveling exhibi-
tion that will tour around Colombia. It is important that the people of my country realize
the terrible conditions on which a vast majority of the people of your country are living
and permit colombians to demonstrate their social conscience by helping the people in
need of the Unites States. I’m sure that you are aware of this terrible situation and I thank
you for helping the developing of this project.

Sincerely yours,
Pedro Manrique Figueroa
Passport # A.C. 79523501
Hammer and Sickle Everywhere
Dejad que los niños vengan a mi (1971)

Crimen sollecitationis:
canon 904. Ad normam constitutionum apostolicarum et nominatim constitutionis Benedicti
XIV Sacramentum Poenitentiae, 1 Iun. 1741, debet poenitens sacerdotem, reum delicti
sollicitationis in confessione, intra mensem denuntiare loci Ordinario, vel Sacrae Congregationi
S. Officii; et confessarius debet, graviter onerata eius conscientia, de hoc onere poenitentem
monere.
canon 2368 §1. Qui sollicitationis crimen de quo in can. 904, commiserit, suspendatur a
celebratione Missae et ab audiendis sacramentalibus confessionibus vel etiam pro delicti
gravitate inhabilis ad ipsas excipiendas declaretur, privetur omnibus beneficiis, dignitatibus,
voce activa et passiva, et inhabilis ad ea omnia declaretur, et in casibus gravioribus degradationi
quoque subiiciatur

A minor crime (1971)

“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not
hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” (Luke 18:15-17)
Imagine the scene. Red-faced disciples have arrogantly told off the parents and instructed
them to control their children in the presence of such an important teacher as Jesus. And then
Jesus rebukes the rebukers and calls the children back to him —“Come here, children....”—
while the frustrated disciples stand powerless to stop it. They are supposed to do crowd control
and Jesus is keeping them from doing their job. What are they to do?
The little children run past the disciples, over to Jesus’ lap —he usually sits when he teach-
es— and snuggle up close to him, while Jesus lays his hands on them and prays for them. Soon
all the children in the entire crowd have run up to Jesus and are crowding around him, waiting
for his touch and a prayer. How beautiful!
Jesus’ command to the disciples is clear: Let them come (positively) and don’t hinder them
(negatively). The word translated “let” (NIV) or “suffer” (KJV) is Greek aphiemi, “allow, let, per-
mit, leave.” The word translated “hinder” (NIV) or “forbid” (KJV) is Greek koluo, “to keep some-
thing from happening, ‘hinder, prevent, forbid.’”
A careful study by Albrecht Oepke demonstrates that the principle of the innocence of chil-
dren is alien to the Old Testament. True, children were not held responsible for sin even up to
nine years of age, but the concept of the evil impulse is there from conception or birth. In Scrip-
ture, not until the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 14:20) does the idea of children’s innocence even
appear. And in Paul and other epistles, a much more common theme is that of the immaturity
and inferiority of the child (1 Corinthians 3:1; 13:11; 14:20; Galatians 4:1, 3; Ephesians 4:14;
Hebrews 5:13; 1 Peter 2:1-2), following the view of “foolishness” bound up in the heart of a child
(Proverbs 22:15; 29:15).
While children were prized by parents —male children especially— in society they were
largely ignored as unimportant. They aren’t considered worthy of much adult attention outside
their families.
Las reglas del juego (1971)

Es un trabajo duro pero alguien tiene que hacerlo: un hombre tiene que hacer lo que un hombre
tiene que hacer. La libertad es una estatua y la burguesía, como mujer, es insaciable. Una madre
le dice a su hijo: “Consiga la plata mijo, consígala honestamente. Y de no ser posible, consiga la
plata mijo, consiga la plata siempre”. Tus éxitos son éxitos pasajeros. El que sube como palma cae
como coco. Aunque el mono se vista de seda, mono se queda (y hablando de monos, ¿los monos
son los gringos, la gente con gen europeo o extranjero? o ¿los monos son los micos?— ahí le dejo
al lector esa pulga en la oreja).

The seven laws of success (1971)

Pedro Manrique Figueroa’s art often depicts scenes of leisure in which people are shown drink-
ing or dancing. Though his satirical renderings may seem humorous at first, they are often
laden with social and political commentary. The seven laws of success depicts a lively scene. The
space seems overcrowded with 8 people. Details such as a statue, plates, a driving wheel and a
broom suggest that this particular place is rather seedy, attracting people of a decadent and per-
haps immoral nature. One can almost imagine the odors of sweat, tobacco, liquor, and cheap
cologne that fills the space and how the back seat of the car that can be rented by the hour,
although none of this is explicitly communicated. Curiously, there is a vast difference in de-
meanor between the figures. The man stare blankly and seems to be part of an inanimate still
life arrangement, while the women are the characters that are leading the action. Like other
works from this period, the surface of this collage is extremely pale, color is muted, although
small areas of blue, yellow, and red appear garishly bright. Some of the imagery may be traced
to John Heartfield, Richard Hamilton or Marta Rosler photomontages. Yet even as Manrique
Figueroa´s work engages with the history of art and offers a statement on the universal clash
of the social classes, it also has a personal dimension, making collage from the psychological
language of Surrealism that fueled his early works.
Otro hijueputa collage (1971)

No son pocos los historiadores del arte que han considerado esta obra como un plagio, una fal-
sificación, un collage apócrifo. Atribuyen su certidumbre a que Pedro Manrique Figueroa, por
ser de origen humilde, no podía tener un conocimiento del idioma inglés y menos aún, tener la
certeza de usar la frase “You can do a lot more than just change the faces” (“Usted podría hacer
algo más que cambiar las caras”) en el momento y lugar apropiados. Sin embargo, son varios los
testimonios que le atribuyen a Pedro Mantique Figueroa un viaje por los Estados Unidos, y es
cierto, tambien, que el artista pudo haber sido asesorado por otras personas para saber lo que,
supuestamente, no sabía. De tomas maneras esta es una obra de Pedro Manrique Figueroa, y si
no lo es, el tiempo —y un sano descuido— se encargaran de darle crédito al que lo merece.

Ars poetica (1971)

“No ideas but in things,” said William Carlos Williams, and though he was speaking of poetry it
is true of collage, too. Collage power to sway us comes about not through directed meditations
and conclusions but through depicted realities to which meaning clings, and which transfer this
meaning, unmediated and otherwise inexpressible, to our consciousness, dust to dust. In this
collage Pedro Manrique Figueroa makes a fine statement, nothing more and nothing less than
his Ars Poetica. This piece is not an aesthetic mise-en-scene. This work is a political mise-en-abîme.
“Nuestra política necesita
residencia en la tierra. es
menester hincarse en ella,
descender de las nubes
metafísicas y la abstracción
exangüe hasta el puchero del
pobre.”

— G.A.A.
“Antiguamente, bajo el
absolutismo monárquico o
bajo la primacia burguesa,
tan deteriorada por estas
calendas, se podía hacer
una política de minorías
egregias, ocupadas en servir
los designios del soberano o
los intereses de los núcleos
oligárquicos sin tener en
cuenta la turba proletaria.
Pero ahora está presente el
pueblo, el montón oscuro
y formidable que hace la
historia.”

— G.A.A.
“El mestizaje no suma sino
que resta, no multiplica sino
que divide.”

— G.A.A.
“No hay nada más tremendo
que las revoluciones de
izquierda hechas por
temperamentos de derecha,
ni nada más débil que
los gobiernos de derecha
regidos por temperamentos
de izquierda.”

— G.A.A.
“Es preciso regresar a un
ascetismo del lenguaje,
desinflar las palabras, fijar
su contenido y revisar
los slogans que disponen
nuestras pasiones y nuestras
vidas. Solamente así se
desembarazaría el tráfico
mental de oquedades
dialécticas y cadáveres
verbales.”

— G.A.A.
“Ya no queda tiempo para
los ocios dialécticos, para
los lujos y devaneos de la
inteligencia, para la amable
cetrería mental de salón,
cazando al vuelo ideas
elusivas y metáforas fortuitas.
Todo diletantismo es inmoral
y sirvergüenza.”

— G.A.A.
“La traición de los
intelectuales no consiste en
enrolarse en las comunes
tareas humanas, sino en ser
simples espectadores de un
mundo que quiere sobrevivir
y no puede sin su socorro.”

— G.A.A.
“El abuso de la pipa y de
la lectura orientan mi vida
hacia la de un filósofo
contemplativo.”

— G.A.A.
“Las ideas van en breves
cápsulas, como las balas y los
alcaloides.”

— G.A.A.
Museo de la Pobreza, Nueva York, Estados Unidos, Noviembre, 2006

Museo de la Pobreza, Minneapolis, Estados Unidos, Mayo, 2007

Museo de la Pobreza, Copenhague, Dinamarca, Octubre, 2007