“I want them as Pages of a Book”: the Illegible Writings of Mirtha Dermisache

In this paper, I propose an understanding about Argentinian artist Mirtha Dermisache (1940-2012) illegible writings as a system of communication and artistic exchange that puts in tension and questions the traditional mechanisms of communication, based on the mere transmission of information and on the figure of the reader/spectator as a passive receiver. I argue that this condition is sustained in three fundamental aspects: a textual exploration of great stylistic variety; the implementation of different mechanisms and strategies that reinforce its quality of writing; and the conception that the work is only ‘completed’ once it is edited, disseminated, and read. To validate this argument, I exam Dermisache's pedagogical work in the “taller de Acciones Creativas” (1975-2012) and the “Jornadas del Color y de la Forma” (1975-1981); and through a detailed analysis of her works produced between 1967 and 1974, I give an account of her reflections on writing, reading, and editing.