Juan José Díaz Infante C.

Writer, Visual Poet, videoartist, performance artist, curator, photographer.

e-mail: jdiazinfante@altamiracave.com

Address: Crestón 192, México DF 01900

Teléfono y Fax: (52) 55687575 and 55684451

Website: www.altamiracave.com

Born: Mexico City, Mexico 1961

Graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California as a professional photographer in 1982.

He is a cofounder of the interdisciplinary group "Música de Cámara" (Camera Music); Cofounder of the Institute of the Integration of the Arts, INTEGRARTE; Teaches the subject "Ciencias y Artes de la Fotoimagen" (Art and science of the photoimage) at Instituto ASEC Sor Juana / Centro Universitario de Investigación Humanistica for the Master Degree in Contemporary Art in Mexico. He taught at Centro Nacional de las Artes "Marketing and the arts" at Bachellor Degree level. Díaz Infante worked as curator and consultant for the VI Biennial of Visual Poetry in 1998 (University Museum El Chopo). He produced the virtual Gallery Altamira and the exhibition "In other words" , a project dedicated to poetry work in Internet www.altamiracave.com ; He also directs the Gallery of Indian Art "Farrokh" since 1989 (www.farrokh.com).

His artistic works includes experimental poetry, photography, video, multimedia, performance and instalation. He has published 25 books, 12 of them book objects, produced and directed 9 experimental videos, all of this under the editorial firm of THE BOX. He has worked as curator and artist in many national and international exhibitions (personal and collective). In Mexico his work has been shown at Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, Palace of Fine Arts, Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Carrillo Gil ( www.cnart.mx/espacios/carrillo/diaz.html) , Alternative Space X Teresa, Casa Lamm, Mural Diego Rivera Museum, CajaDos, University Museum El Chopo, La Casa del Lago, Cineteca Nacional, Sala del Deseo at The Center of the Image, Biennial of Los Angeles of Puebla (Ibero University), Cineteca Nuevo León, Museo de arte Contemporáneo y Diseño de Puebla, Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey, Gallery of art at the Information Virtual Museum of INEGI (www.ciberhabitat.com ), Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Yucatán ; Díaz Infante shows also his work in many alternative places like the International Airport Benito Juarez, Plaza Loreto shopping center, Main Plaza at San Joaquin Queretaro, Santa Fe Shopping Plaza. Internationally he has exhibited in the United States (Nexus in Atlanta, University of Arizona in Tucson, Meeting Place at Fotofest in Houston, Sicardi Art Gallery), Canada (Oboro Gallery http://www.cam.org/home/Woboro/en/exhib9495/vim.htm and http://www.oboro.net/en/top/9798.htm ), Cyprus (European Cultural Month), Italy (Biennial of Venice), Austria, Spain (Universidad de Santa María La Rábida), Brasil (Museum of the image and sound, Centro Cultural Sao Paulo, ITAU cultural), Venezuela (VIART), Argentina (Teatro San Martin, Centro Rojas, Fundacion Proa, Barraca Vorticista in Buenos Aires; Galería de Arte del Museo Marítimo en Ushuaia), Moscow in Russia (lecture at the Humanitarian University http://procontra.danet.ru:8100/eng/participants/infante.htm ), Mongolia (Roaring Hoofs, festival of new music), .

 

During 1998 he was a consultant for UNAM, the National University and ILCE, Latin American Institute for Cultural Content. Díaz Infante worked in the area of concepts applied on the making of electronic books, virtual libraries and web sites. In 1997-98 worked as a content director for Compuserve Mexico. In 1997 worked as a consultant for IFE the Electoral Federal Institute in the electronic publishing of the election´s results on the 6th of july of 1997 (www.ife.org.mx) Considered the first democratic elections of the last 60 years in Mexico. In 1996 he designed the electronic book "Bajo la Luz Efímera" (Under the ephemeral light) for Juan Collignon and the "Institute for photographic authors" in San Diego California.

During 1997 and 1998 Díaz Infante wrote several essays on art and communications for magazines like "Zurda", "Matíz" and "Generation". It is very important for him the critical essay of contemporary art and vices of communication. Many of his articles are signed by a fictional character called "Aristotle Kubrik" a philosopher that lives in the future, in the year 2020. In the 2001 he is writing an essay "Where is the poet!" partially published by magazine INTER of Quebec (number 77, page 61) and Gilberto Prado´s magazine Intersignos in Brazil ,also was a lecture for Paths of Literature for Itau Cultural (www.itaucultural.org.br/areasdeexpressao/critica/texto.htm) .

He has worked for the main magazines published in Mexico, Vogue, Varón, Expansión, Obras, Claudia, Vuelo, Escala, among others. Mainly as a photographer producing visual essays. He worked as a creative director in the campaign "Magazine Editors" for the associations of commercial magazines. He was the Editor in Chief of the magazine "Compuserve Latinoamérica". He has also collaborated with alternative publications like "Arquitecto", "Ex-Libris", "Code 9", "The artifact" collaborative editorial work through Internet (www.greypink.com/index4.htm) .

His photographic work has been reviewed by several publications like magazine Fotozoom, Mexico en el Arte, Siempre Magazine. His work appeared in the book published by the University of Santa María La Rábida in Spain titled, "Contemporary Photography in Latin America" or in Spanish, "Fotografía Latinoamericana Actual". How Magazine in the United States and Haselblaad Magazine in Sweden.

As a creative Director and graphic designer freelance he has worked in several teams for advertising agencies, design boutiques and as a consultant within the marketing structure of transnational companies and holdings. In many ocassions his work has gotten several awards national and international: "Teponaxtlis", the national award in advertising, the first one was for the best poster of 1983 for Windsor Bicycles; other awards are, the "Readers Digest Pegaso"; "Silver Escala", award given by Escala Magazine; How Magazine design award for book and commercial brochure. Diaz Infante´s design work has appeared in the Swiss publication Graphis in three different volumes: best catalogue design, best book design, best design of the year. It is important to mention he has created and directed several national advertising, institutional and communications campaigns,, directed over 50 TV commercials and many documentary and industrial videos. The most relevant issue is the efficiency of his compaigns in reaching the desired objectives and the immediate sales results achieved.

In 1999 his two main art projects were: "Manifesto", a collective exhibition of photography for the International Month of Photography in Brazil and "Century XXIX" a retrospective of the video art in Mexico with 44 artist included.

During the year 2000 Díaz Infante worked as a consultant for IFE on the electronic publishing of the results of the presidential elections for July. He published and launched the official webpage for the International Film Festival at www.lamuestra.com.mx for the Cineteca Nacional ."El Arte del Riesgo/El Riesgo del Arte" is a curatorial project for a contemporary photography exhibit to be shown from november of 2000 to january of 2001 done in collaboration with Fernando Castro at Cineteca Nuevo Leon in Monterrey, Mexico; It is a project sponsored by Mex-Am Cultural Foundation. "Fronteras, a research look" is a travelling video show to be presented in Latin America in the next two years, 2000-2002 (33 videos from US, Mexico and Brazil www.itaucultural.org.br/olhar_investigativo/index.html ). It is a collaboration with ITAU Cultural in Brazil, inaugurated in September.

For the year 2001, Díaz Infante is writing and producing a commercial long feature film called "The Flight of Pinocho" to be released in the summer of 2002; He is co-directing the first edition of the International Arts Festival of Oaxaca. He will participate in the encounter of e poetry at the New York University at Buffalo presenting his essay "Where is the poet?".