Tlatelolco
Christoph Draeger, Tlatelolco, 2005, neon sign, 15 3/4 × 70 7/8 in / 40 × 180 cm
Collection of Hotel Habita, Mexico City
Courtesy of Magnus Müller Gallery, Berlin and Museo Tamayo Arte Contemparáneo, Mexico City
Tlatelolco
Artist: Christoph Draeger
Tlatelolco, 2005
Neon sign
Collection Hotel Habita, Mexico City
Courtesy the artist and Magnus Müller Gallery, Berlin
Christoph Draeger’s neon sign displaying the text “TLATELOLCO” uses the font designed by the U.S. graphic designer Lance Wyman for the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. On October 2, one week before the Olympics, the Mexican military shot and killed students protesting in the Plaza of the Three Cultures in Tlatelolco. Draeger’s piece comments on the fact that while the 1968 Olympic games and its iconic font continue to be remembered internationally, the student massacre is still little-known or remembered outside of Mexico. His sign grafts these two historic events onto one another, to create a glowing logo, one that serves as a memorial for the tragic event that took place at the site during this infamous year.
Artist Statement
Tlatelolco is the name of the square that has become synonymous with the massacre of student protesters committed by the Mexican military on Oct 2 1968, one week before the Olympic games started. In a turbulent year with massive student protests worldwide, most famously in Prague, Berlin, San Francisco, New York, and Paris, it was probably the biggest massacre of its kind-however, outside of Mexico this remains a little known and almost forgotten fact. By contrast, the Olympic logo of Mexico68 by the US designer Lance Wyman is still well remembered everywhere, and is frequently recycled in fashion and design. I converted this famous logo for the Olympic Games from MEXICO68 to the word TLATELOLCO, thus superimposing two different layers of historic representation that were intimately connected by time, effect and cause, but which were separated historically and in the collective memory. This simple move was ultimately realized in form of a bright neon sign, as if to advertise this late revelation- but also to burn the image of that word into the retina of the viewer, as a memorial of events that should not be forgotten.
