As an artist, Teresa Burga (1933-2021) is above judgements of taste. For the Peruvian rose to fame as a trailblazer of conceptual art in Latin America, that is, through »visual« artworks that sought to dislodge the primacy of the visual. Historically, this consisted in an emancipation of art from its sensual dimension. Which meant that, at least for the artists, aesthetic enjoyment (or lack thereof) became increasingly irrelevant as a measure of artistic value. Burga was never about delighting her audience. So, how to review an album that bears her name?
»Estructura Proquesta Sonido« is a posthumous anthology of sound works that were conceived between 1972 and 2017. It contains audio tracks of museal installations, an interpretation of a »conceptual score« by Burga as well as a piece commissioned by her. Tonally, the tracks cohere through nothing but a certain minimalism. »Estructura Informe Corazon« combines a heartbeat with the sounds of swallowing, while »Menjase 4« consists in distorted TV signal noise. »Borges«, on the other hand, is a whimsical play with Wah-Wah effects. »Estructura Proquesta Sonido«, thus, is reminiscent of a retrospective that juxtaposes works of a hero pronounced dead. And robs them of their force unwillingly. Of course, this doesn’t imply that it doesn’t point toward other ways to approach Burga’s oeuvre. Like every compilation, it’s an invitation to go beyond what was compiled.
