The Permanent Revolution is an original play by Mexican artist Pedro Reyes in which through the narrative format of theater he delves into the tensions between two grand ideologies that still have resonance in contemporary culture: socialism and capitalism. This new project takes the Baby Marx series as its point of departure—an ongoing exploration that exposes the contradictions of these two currents of thought through marionettes of key characters such as Vladimir Lenin, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Karl Marx, Adam Smith and Milton Friedman, that Reyes has been working on since 2008. The Permanent Revolution gathers for the first time in Mexico these celebrated thinkers to discuss their revolutionary ideas and unmeasured ambitions.
This new 60-minute-long script—commissioned by Fundación Jumex Arte Contemporáneo— sets the play in present time and flirts with important themes of urgency such as ideological radicalism, transparency and the controlled use of information. In addition to this, six new characters were created for The Permanent Revolution : Leon Trotsky, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Steve Jobs and Julian Assange. The Permanent Revolution showcases sparks of political intrigue, romance, philosophy, conceptual art, debauchery, technology, espionage, explosions and guaranteed laughs from beginning to end for the whole family. The plot addresses philosophical questions and political matters that have a direct impact in our lives, making the whole story even much more explosive. Here, the real, the absurd, and the ironic are peas in a pod. With more than forty presentations during four weeks, The Permanent Revolution is hosted at Museo Jumex’s Galería 1 and is shown along an exhibition that includes artistic approximations linked to the project by Pedro Reyes.
Organized by: José Esparza Chong Cuy
Acknowledgements: Moisés Cosio, Adriana Maurer, Pamela Echeverría, LABOR, Rubén Gallo, Claudio Lomnitz, Chus Martínez, Cuauhtémoc Medina, Alan Page, Gabriela Jauregui, Moritz Bernoully, Akiko Miyake, Juan Fraga, Blair Richardson, Frida Henschel, Ellen Bello, Diego Flores García, Martha Feder, Samuel Rajunov, Micah Rajunov, Fernando Luján, Lupe Vazquéz, César y Olivia Ortiz de Pinedo, Héctor Serrano, Carlos Ramírez, Casa Museo León Trotsky, Casa Azul de Frida Kahlo.