Marcos Ramirez ERRE (3)
To Reflect the Times, 2023
7744 Fay Avenue
15' 9" x 11' 7"
Marleigh and Alan Gleicher – Wall Sponsors
Marcos Ramirez ERRE's mural, To Reflect the Times, is the third installment of the artist’s work at this site. In line with the previous two installations, Is all That it Proves. 2015 and In Chains, 2020, poignantly reappropriates the Snellen eye chart as a symbolic tool. Rich with multi-layered, critical commentary, the artist pulls from timeless icons of the past to illuminate facets of the contemporary moment. An idol of American music and well-known civil rights activist, Nina Simone was one of the most extraordinary artists of the twentieth century. In speaking about artists’ role in society, Simone said, “It is an artist's duty to reflect the times”. ERRE quotes Simone as a way to reflect on the ongoing role of the artist and art's function as a bellwether of humanity. An impactful amalgamation of past, present and future evolves as ERRE draws in the voices of the past to investigate the current moment, his role as the artist, and the collective role of art in society. The trope of the eye chart pushes beyond its objective meaning and elucidates the subjective experience of perception within a contemporary context. In light of all that is going on in the world, ERRE’s mural reminds us of the importance of the artist as a translator of the lived experience as a means to highlight the complexities of these times as well as those to come.
Marcos Ramirez ERRE has come to be defined by his clever visual arguments and masterfully crafted work that maintains a poetic sensibility, even when leveling biting political commentary. He was born in 1961 in Tijuana, Mexico. ERRE received his Law Degree from La Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. In 1983, he immigrated to the United States, where he worked for seventeen years in the construction industry. His multi-disciplinary background has shaped his practice. He came to prominence in the 1990s with large public installations that dealt with migrants, immigration, and border control, specifically focusing on the Mexican-American border crossing. Much of ERRE's work grapples with these issues.
ERRE's work has been featured in many major national and international exhibitions, including InSite94, San Diego/Tijuana; InSite97, San Diego/Tijuana; the VI and VII Havana Biennial, Cuba; the 2000 Whitney Biennial, New York; the San Juan Poly/Graphic Triennial, Puerto Rico; the 2007 Sao Paulo/Valencia Biennial,Valencia; the 2008 California Biennial, the 2012 ZERO1 Biennial, the 2014 Site Santa Fe Biennial; and Many Wests: Artists Shape an American Idea, 2021-2024. In 2007, he received a United States Artist Fellowship; and since 2009, he has been a Fellow of Mexico’s Sistema Nacional de Creadores de Arte (National System of Art Creators). Ramirez ERRE lives and works in San Diego, California.
Photos by Philipp Scholz Rittermann