Studies on Happiness: 1979-1981

“Studies on Happiness,” writes Alfredo Jaar, “was born twenty years ago in the midst of a desperate situation: Santiago de Chile, 1979. It grew out of my utopian idealism, which I tried to combine with poetry, an activity that was ingenuous but highly necessary at that time.” Created in Chile during the military dictatorship, Studies on Happiness is a risky undertaking that points ahead to what the work of Alfredo Jaar would become. Presented in seven distinct phases, the project offered an incredulous audience a unique space for discussion and interaction, which dared to challenge the authoritarian atmosphere of the period. This publication documents the seven phases of the project and includes the reedition of an original article written by Adriana Valdés in 1981, together with a new introduction and a postscript.