seen?

knowing my appreciation for things brazilian (among them paintings by tarsila do amaral, the theory of literary/artistic anthropophagy [which extends across latin america and the caribbean], couve, the seleção) my coworker passed on to me info on this exhibit now showing at the bronx museum of art. since i'll likely be too broke to hop a flight to brazil anytime soon, i suppose i'll be checking out this exhibit cuz i do have an unlimited metrocard.

October 7, 2006 - January 28, 2007

Tropicália: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture

Tropicália is the first comprehensive exhibition to explore one of the most significant chapters in modern cultural history, a period beginning in the late 1960s when daring experiments in Brazilian art, music, film, architecture and theater converged—and ignited. Although suppressed by an increasingly oppressive military dictatorship, the moment produced a counterculture that has influenced successive generations of artists, even up to the present day.

The exhibition revisits this seminal time in Brazil through more than 250 objects. Highlighting major historical works from the 1967 New Brazilian Objectivity exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Tropicália features artists Lygia Clark, Antônio Dias, Nelson Leirner, Hélio Oiticica, and Lygia Pape, among others. Searching for their own identity, these artists were inspired by one of the founders of Brazilian modernism, Oswald de Andrade, and his concept of “cultural cannibalism.” They sought to liberate their art from traditional European forms and cultural hierarchies and a narrow cultural elite. As a result, they often embraced an aesthetic of informality, interactivity, and cultural hybridity.

The title of the exhibition is drawn from an installation created by the influential artist Hélio Oiticica in 1967, as well as from the 1968 pop record, featuring Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, Caetano Veloso, and others, which became one of the most celebrated albums in Brazilian music. The impact of this period in current Brazilian culture and contemporary art internationally is revealed through the inclusion of a younger generation of artists and musicians including Matthew Antezzo, assume vivid astro focus, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Arto Lindsay, Marepe, Ernesto Neto, Rivane Neuenschwander, and Karin Schneider, many of whom have created new works for the exhibition.

DIRECTIONS

By Train
D or B to the 167 St./Grand Concourse station. Exit at rear of station, walk south along Grand Concourse two blocks.

4 to the 161 St./Yankee Stadium station. Walk east three blocks to the Grand Concourse, then, walk north four blocks along Grand Concourse to 165th St.

www.bronxmuseum.org

Labels: museums, visual arts

Posted by call me aja on Monday, October 23, 2006 at 8:17 PM | Permalink