Fred Cabeza de Vaca

the long version

An academic proposes to write a biography about "the most universal Spanish artist since Picasso": Fred Cabeza de Vaca. For this, he is immersed in an investigation that tries to reconstruct the life of the deceased artist, but begins to decipher the enigma behind the artist and the controversial person. Through interviews with colleagues and some of the artist's ex-partners (of which he keeps a numeric record, as if they were objects to collect and discard) and the writings and diaries of Cabeza de Vaca himself, emerges a figure at times fascinating, at times repulsive, that works perfectly as archetype of the spell and the excesses of the world of contemporary art. Thus, as readers we debate to try to understand if Cabeza de Vaca was a genius or a phony, a visionary or an opportunist,Using a technique similar to that of collage, Vicente Luis Mora has created a fascinating portrait of an artist, a time and a world, that of contemporary art, defined by the excesses and the radicality of taking the work to limits that, as the case of Fred Cabeza de Vaca shows, often end up devouring the entire existence of those who choose to offer themselves for the glamor and fame implicit in modern art.