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 ABSENCE OF PLACE
by  Xavier Cortada


 

 

  The Absence of Place installation included 180 present-day photographs of places in Miami that no longer exist, but where memories were created. The pictures were printed on yellow cardstock, wrapped in plastic bags and hung on a wall of a building slated for demolition. Below are a few of the images of "absent Miami" with corresponding memory as a caption.

 


Nuns taught me to read at this (Gesu Catholic) school.

(NE 1st Ave and 2nd Street)

 

 


I almost drowned on this spot.

(Lummus Park at Atlantic Ocean-- before the dredging)

 


Lydia was my junior high school prom date to this (Everglades) hotel on Biscayne Blvd (and NE 4th St).

 


Marcelino and I played kick ball in this baseball diamond (on SW 4th Ave and 4th St).

 


Mo and I pounded drinks at this (The 1800 Club) bar.

(NE 18th St. & Bayshore Dr.)

 


We walked by this Allapattah  meat market on our way to El Caribe.

(NW 36th St. & 18th Ave.)

 

 

Charlie bought bootleg 8-tracks of the Beatles Greatest Hits at this outdoor flea market.

(Bird Road and the Palmetto)

 

 


Adolescence found us frolicking through this dense Australian Pine forests singing Led Zeppelin songs.
(Bear Cut, Crandon Park)


I bought my cell phone at this Cingular Store.
(SE 5 St. & Brickell Ave)

 

 


My Silver Knight interview was in this auditorium.

(Biscayne Blvd. & NE 6th St.)

 


I first drank Vietnamese coffee at this restaurant.

(SW 27th Ave & Coral Way)

 

 


C
oach Busch made us jog through these wooded paths.
(Bayfront Park, Downtown Miami


I bought the areca palms at this (
Bobby Maduro) stadium's  market.and them planted in my back yard.

 


P
arking was always a hassle at this (Dupont Plaza) Hotel.

(North Mouth of the Miami River)

 

 


We’d stop here for watermelon and sodas on our way to the beach.

(Hyde Park Grocery on 5th & Collins Ave.)

 

 


I saw a naked old man --probably in his 80s-- walk in front of these restaurants in broad day light.

(20th and Collins Ave, Miami Beach)

 

 


As best man, I toasted to Jen and Anthony’s marriage at the Brickell Sheraton Hotel.

(SE 5th St & the Bay)

 

 


Anibal and I gave blankets to homeless guys sleeping beneath these huge pink columns.

(NE 2nd Ave. & 7th St.)


Mirentxu would make me fried garbanzos in this Spanish (Centro Vasco) restaurant
(SW 8th St & 22nd Ave)
.
 

 


John and I threw a can of green paint on this concrete lions in front of the the ΣAE House.
(University of Miami Fraternity Row,
 San Amaro Drive)
 


At night, we'd play quarters in these UM dorms.
(Residential apartments, UM Campus)

 


As kids, Dad would take us to this library.

(Biscayne Blvd. & Flagler St.)

 


I launched my political campaign from the steps of this drug rehab center.

(NE 23rd Street & 4thAve)

 

 


STONE
FOR
SENATE

(NE 2nd Ave. & 2nd St.)


Marcus and I would work out at this (SportsClub at the Coliseum) gym  (on Douglas Rd & SW 16th St.)

 

 


The three of us shared the bedroom in the back of this house .

(Our first home here: 3701 NW 19th Ave).


After Mass, we'd drink hot chocolate and eat donuts at this (Velvet Creme Doughnuts) shop.
(SW 8th Street and 34th Avenue)

 


I once watched a movie depicting a Plains Native Sun Dance (bloody) Ceremony in this Drive-in Theater.

(Bird Road & the Palmetto Expressway)
 


We'd drink (beer) and talk politics at this Elks Lodge.

 (on Giralda in the Gables)

 

 


We'd run our radio marathons live from this (Radio Mambi) Cuban radio station.
 (Coral Way and 30th Ave)


We tapped Tony Segreto into Iron Arrow live on the set of this TV station.
( 3rd St & North Miami Ave.)

 


Freddie would lead us in singing crude songs at Sid’s Piano Bar.

(SW 67th Ave. & Bird Rd.)

 


They’ll never destroy the
 Brickell Ridge.

(SW 1st Ave & 10th Street,
one block south of my studio)

 


Firestone

(SW 12th Ave. & Flagler St.)

     

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

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Xavier Cortada was born in Albany, New York and was raised and lives in Miami. The Cuban-American artist holds three degrees from the University of Miami. His work has been shown across four continents and is in the permanent collection of The World Bank. Cortada has been commissioned to create art for government agencies (the White House, Miami City Hall), cultural institutions (Miami Art Museum, Museum of Florida History) and corporations (Nike, Heineken). Major collaborative art projects include International AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa, peace murals in Northern Ireland and Cyprus and child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama. For more information, please visit www.cortada.com.


Copyright © 1997-2005 by Xavier Cortada. All rights reserved.

Email:
xavier@cortada.com