THE VOLCANO THAT JOURNEYED UP THE HUDSON RIVER
TIMES UNION, OCTOBER 27, 2023

“’I became fascinated by the idea that the particles of earth from the underworld were spread all over the planet. Indigenous peoples, even contemporary Indigenous peoples migrating right now from Central America to other parts of the world, will be stepping on the sacred particles of their own land,’ Cortez said. […]

After it completes its journey upriver, ‘Ilopango’ will be installed in EMPAC’s concert hall as part of the exhibition ‘Shifting Center’ from Nov. 3–18. The ‘large, reflective, hand-beaten steel surfaces will change the architectural acoustics of the hall,’ said Vic Brooks, curator of the exhibition.

The project is presented in partnership with Storm King Art Center, EMPAC–Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics at The New School.

The project also encompasses an impression in the grass where the sculpture was installed at Storm King. Representing the lasting impacts of people, places and objects after their physical departure, the space will remain empty until Nov. 13.”