Not wanting to ever be accused of producing timely coverage on this blog, I wanted to take a minute to ruminate on a video by Miguel Andrade Valdez I saw in Galería Revolver‘s booth at the Armory Show last month. It dovetails perfectly with my current Peru obsession, as well as my continuing interest in supremely absurd public works. In fact, recently, I’ve been immersed in photographer Mario Silva’s book Lords, Pyramids and Replicas: Images from the North Coast of Peru, in which he chronicles the influence of pre-Columbian art in contemporary architecture. If you’re into vernacular everything, his book is an absolutely stunning documentation of blended styles and motifs — from Moche forms to graceful Art Deco to that school of design a friend of mine lovingly refers to as “the South American bizarre.” Plus: it contains a two-page spread on bizarre traffic circle sculptures in northern Peru.

Which brings me right back around to the Armory: Andrade Valdez’s video Untitled – Monumento Series is a chaotic, rapid-fire visual compendium of the monuments that occupy Lima’s traffic circles and pedestrian malls. They range from the forgotten to the futurist, the Spanish Mediterranean to the brutal, the Modernist to the I-don’t-know-what. (Check out the weird blue things at about 2:50. They re-emerge later in the video as well.) Interestingly, in looking at all of this, the trapezoid emerges as a very popular shape — perhaps because it’s cheap and easy to construct (and resistant to earthquakes), perhaps because it’s a common motif in pre-Columbian Peruvian architecture. Also popular: brutalism. Of all of the monuments shown, my favorite have to be the bizarre pipe organ thingies, shown in the image above, which appear to be a decorative collaboration between various Soviet bloc architects and the guys in charge of the local water authority.

If you’re into all things design, consider watching Andrade’s video more than once. He has turned up some amazing stuff — a fantastic tribute to all of the things in our landscape we might see but rarely take the time to examine.

Find Miguel Andrade Valdez’s website here. Special thanks to Carlos Díaz at Ojjo for the tip on Mario Silva’s book.

Pieter Hugo, Mohammed Rabiu with Jamis, Asaba, Nigeria, 2007, at Yossi Milo. I was blown away by this series of photographs by Hugo when they came out, and it was nice to see a large print in person. The fair was heavy on photojournalism, especially series that deal with Africa.

Anish Kapoor, Untitled, 2010, at Lisson. True to my Midwestern roots, I wore blue jeans and a white T-shirt to the Armory… Now, thanks to Anish Kapoor’s reflective tendencies, you’ll all know about my child-bearing hips and incredible forearms. There was an abundance of mirrors, mirror finishes, and reflective plastics at the fair.

Antony Gormley, Bond II, 2010, at Sean Kelly. Simple free standing metal sculptures were a common sight at Armory. I saw more Tony Cragg sculptures under one roof here than I’d ever seen in my life.

Jonas Burgert’s Spatzchlag, 2011, at Blain Shouthern. This large neo-shamanistic painting was one piece I kept coming back to.

Daniel Arsham, Sculpture, 2011, at Galerie Ron Mandos. I guess Arsham isn’t too comfortable with putting himself on display.

Alfredo Jaar, Three Women, (Aung San Suu Kyi), 2010, at Oliva Arauna gallery. Although often heavy-handed, I have always been impressed by the emotional quality of Jaar’s installations.

A detail from Three Women. (More on Aung San Suu Kyi here.)

Volta is meh. But if you’re there, head straight for Steve Turner Contemporary’s booth which has this piece by Deborah Grant. It is pretty dang epic, charting the all-kinds-of-tragic life of painter William H. Johnson in a series of illustrations that creep out from the center. Click on the image to supersize. Click here to see a detail. (Photo by C-M.)

I’ll be the one in the red leather pants. Find a short report and slideshow over at WNYC.

Find three of my favorites from the fair over at WNYC.