Paul Ramírez Jonas presented a large-scale performative installation work, Paper Moon (I Create as I Speak), which was presented at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, CT) in 2008. Consisting of sheets of paper tiled to represent an image of the moon, upon closer inspection, the design is made up of text that reads, “I Create as I Speak.” A single sheet is removed from the wall and rests on a lectern, with a microphone and a portable amplifier, inviting the viewer to interact with the work. The text plays with words; “I Create as I Speak” translates to ABRACADABRA in the ancient Aramaic language. The installation was juxtaposed with the sculpture, Broadside 3, which consists of a lectern holding a slab of unfired clay, on which the Pauper’s Oath is inscribed. It is an apt and topical text for the current economic times. Broadside 3 stood in front of the gallery’s windows, the piece and its viewers were engaged in a dialogue with New York’s skyline.
An early work of Ramírez Jonas, Magellan’s Itinerary, A Reproduction (1995), was included in the exhibition. In this work on paper, a travel agent built a flight itinerary based on Ferdinand Magellan’s first circumnavigation of the globe. Nearly 15 years after its inception, the piece has remarkable resonance, conflating intention and time.
