By 2012, Addison Tarde was a polarizing figure. A graduate of the San Francisco Art Institute, Tarde had moved to Espanola, New Mexico—a small city north of Santa Fe known for its lowrider culture and historic art colonies.
Tarde wasn’t a painter or sculptor in the traditional sense. He was a "contextual appropriator." In plain English: he took existing commercial objects, altered their metadata or display context, and resold them as high art.
His 2010 piece "Trademark of a Ghost" (a repackaged box of baking soda sold for $12,000) had made him a darling of the ironic art crowd but a pariah in the commercial gallery system. Addison Tarde Espanola X Art 2012
The inclusion of "Tarde Española" in the 2012 art narrative serves as a reminder of the continuity of tradition. In a rapidly digitizing world, Botero’s painted worlds—solid, heavy, and tangible—offer an anchor. The work stands as a bridge between the Old World of Spanish masters and the New World of Latin American expression, proving that an afternoon in Spain, as seen through Botero’s eyes, is timeless.
The early 2010s witnessed a backlash against hyper-digitalism. Artists began romanticizing analog processes, regional identities, and durational experiences. "Tarde Española" fits perfectly into this movement: By 2012, Addison Tarde was a polarizing figure
The term "Addison" could refer to three distinct entities:
On Instagram, early 2012 posts used tags like #spanishafternoon, #addisonart, #xart2012. Some may still be visible via third-party aggregators like Iconosquare or Picuki (though increasingly restricted). The term "Addison" could refer to three distinct
The year 2012 was the height of "post-internet" art confusion. Galleries were flooded with JPEGs, memes, and digital readymades. To cut through the noise, a consortium of Madrid-based curators launched Proyecto X—a traveling exhibition series where artists were forbidden from creating new physical work.
Instead, artists had to "find" existing objects in the host city and re-license them under the "X Art" protocol (a failed early attempt at an NFT-style smart contract on the blockchain, written in a now-defunct code).
Addison Tarde was invited to participate in the Espanola X Art leg of the tour.