Raul Marroquin (1948, Bogotá) is a spider in the web of Maastricht, which, in the 1970s, experienced exciting times on an artistic level. Why? Keep reading!

The seventies. Facilitated by the newly established department for offset, screen printing and video at the Jan van Eyck Academy, a hot spot of artistic renewal ignites in Maastricht. Happenings, performances and experiments with alternative forms of communication such as video and TV productions set the tone. The young artists are looking for direct contact with their audience and want to bring art and everyday life, together. The locally based but internationally oriented Agora Studio offers organisational support.

Raul Marroquin

A spider in this web is Raul Marroquin, an art student from Bogotá, Colombia, who stayed at the Jan van Eyck from 1971 to 1974. From the start, the charismatic and elusive Marroquin is focused on new means of mass communication. Taking advantage of the totally open atmosphere at the academy, he initiates numerous local and international collaborations. Partly thanks to him, Fandangos sees the light of day, one of the first artists' magazines worldwide, which was printed in the new graphic workshop of the Jan van Eyck for years.

Bonnefanten

Regular collaborations with the Bonnefanten occured. In 1973, under the name Equipo Movimiento, Marroquin and Young Tchong organised Body Monuments Inc., a rather dangerous live performance in which a hydraulic fork-lift truck placed two living people in the empty niches of the old Bonnefanten façade amid great public interest. With documents, visual material and interviews, the hand-printed publication of the same name offers insight into all facets of the performance - from organisation to interpretation - and also into the failed attempt to repeat it at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.

Satelite connection

Marroquin belongs to the forefront of artists worldwide who are experimenting with video and television, with art via cable, video conferences, streaming media and more. His work is always marked by a slight mockery of American consumer and media culture, to which end he founded Mad Enterprises. Marroquin creates TV series with fictional characters such as Superbman, and Nicos Nukos "The Worst" arch enemy of Superbman. He also initiates World's First TV Convention in 1980 and creates the first satellite connection between TV monitors.

All the experimenting in Maastricht leads to the first international video exhibition taking place in the Netherlands, at the Bonnefanten. During this Video & Film Manifestation in 1977, work by Marroquin is shown, but also by other pioneers such as Michel Cardena, Marina Abramovic and Nan Hoover. Little of the pioneering work of Marroquin and many other artists who stayed at the Jan van Eyck ends up in a museum collection. The volatile nature of the activities makes it difficult to acquire work, and the new media are not yet seen as fully-fledged expressions of art.

Despite the difficulty of acquiring work, we have managed to make a presentation about Marroquin. So, visit us and see Marroquin's exceptional work and discover his story for yourself!

This presentation is set up in collaboration with Raul Marroquin, Corinne Groot, Rob van de Ven and the Jan van Eyck Academie. In 2023 there will be an overview exhibition with work by Raul Marroquin in ROZENSTRAAT - a rose is a rose is a rose in Amsterdam.