He Benito Quinquela Martín Museum will host the inauguration of “The Mouth, 1979”a immersive and moving exhibition which is presented as a visual and narrative testimony of the year in which aliens They arrived in the neighborhood of Mouthtransforming the daily life in a collective memory of love and community.
The exposurecreated by the artist Juan Maresca and whose motto is “the year they came and we were happy”brings to life the childhood memoriesmixing the nostalgia and the happiness in more than 350 images that capture the soul of the neighborhood. Being a son of the place, he uses his art to evoke stories and emotions of a time where the extraordinary became daily.
Juan Marescaa native of Mouthinfused into his art the vibrant palette of his native neighborhood and the influences of Brazil, where he resided for more than ten years. After a career in advertisinghe was freed to follow his passion for art in Italyexploring various techniques and artistic expressions.
In that framework, Maresca recognized that “this exhibition is a tribute to the neighborhood that saw me grow up, to its people and to those moments that defined us. Each image, each story, is a piece of my heart that I now share with you.” And he confessed: “I prostituted myself as a publicist for many years and the time has come to dedicate myself to what I should have always dedicated myself to: art in its purest definition”.
Welcome to the neighborhood.jpg
Juan Maresca
What does the exhibition “La Boca, 1979” consist of?
The exhibition takes visitors to a Journey through 24 key moments from 1979exhibited in more than 350 polaroids in big images. Each point on the route tells a unique storyoffering through the QR technology an immersive and historical experience that evokes the spirit of Mouth of that time.
“Surely, when you see the sample, you will feel the nostalgia and the magic of the neighborhood. And not just any neighborhood, but the neighborhood of Mouth. A neighborhood that was always open to ‘the others’, a neighborhood of immigrants, a neighborhood that always opened the door to everyone, even extraterrestrials”, he commented.
“In this project,” he explained, “they do not invade us, They don’t come to terrorize us. ‘La Boca, 1979’ is a love storyof love for what is different, where we all live together, united, no fightsbecause there is a greater love than the community, the neighbors and the club”.
John Lennon in La Boca 1979.jpg
Juan Maresca
How did the project come about and what role does technology play?
The story begins with JuanToday with 53 yearswho decides to return to neighborhood of his childhood. Upon entering the abandoned house of the Pinzón Streetthe one in which he played when he was a boy with his friends, he finds three boxes full of photos of 1979, the year they came and we were happy. It’s time to share the contents of the three boxes. It is time to unearth that forgotten episode and reconstruct and remember what really happened in that distant 1979.
The arrival artificial intelligence became the catalyst for Marescawith his skill and creativity, will recreate La Boca from the 70’s, breathing new life into it through nostalgic images and a narrative of love and belonging.
Beauty Queen La Boca 1979 – Brown Avenue.jpg
Juan Maresca
Maresca He reported that, “when in 2023 the MidJourney AII immersed myself fully in his study. I was blown away by the potential of this technology. For me, it was an opportunity to put all my imagination into practice. I began to try to emulate the nostalgia of my childhood neighborhood. “I dedicated myself to looking for the lenses of that time, the colors, the light tones, the atmosphere.”
And he continued: “After countless tests, I managed to create a macro that generates the photos of the ‘La Boca, 1979’ project, capturing the sensations of that time. In this way, the images that you can see are born. But this is the first half of the visual work. I do the other half manually in photoshopmaking touch-ups, adjusting details, colors or whatever you consider necessary to leave the beautiful and realistic imagethat invite to be observed”.
Elvis in La Boca 1979.jpg
Juan Maresca
The influence of Instagram and the creation of stories
Maresca revealed that “a little tired of social media hateI felt there was an opportunity to create a little oasis, in the desert of bad vibes. It occurred to me to make the first positive ‘fake news’ and generate a love message using the memories of my childhood in the neighborhood. I originally made the idea for myself and my friends.30 or 40 people, and now there are more than 7,000 people that I don’t even know, who write me beautiful messages and who have been enthusiastic about the narrative of the project despite being in instagram“.
“The stories are written 100% by me. They come out of my head, they are written with my fingers. They are all positive and reflective stories, where love triumphs. And the truth is that love triumphs, every week hundreds of people write to me on Instagram thanking me for the stories, and many of them mention that they share them with their young children like bedtime stories. And that is really beautiful,” she concluded.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
