Page 109 - ARTE!Brasileiros #38

six curators. Comprised by around 150 works by 57 artists, the market strategies are also adopted by the art system,” he argues.
exhibition presents distinctive views about the avenue. The São Paulo-based artist Graziela Kunsch, in turn, exhibits a
The works are divided in two cores. The first shows already existing video portraying one of the demonstrations against the increase
works, among watercolors, performances and historic photographs. in bus fares that occurred in 2013. The work uses the tunnel
The other axis is formed by works of 17 contemporary artists, connecting the Paulista and Dr. Arnaldo avenues as a location.
especially made for the exhibition. Although smaller than the first, In the film’s first sequence, several cars make a wrongful U-turn
this core sets the tone for the show. inside the tunnel. The reason for this conduct is then explained,
Toledo explains that the exhibition aims at tackling the avenue’s when the video shows a demonstration that comes toward the
ambivalences: “Paulista, while at the same time referring to the ideal traffic jam.
of progress, this mythology of the bandeirante, it also bears signs To Toledo, the work is impactful because it shows the vehicles
of poverty and violence. It is in this conflict, and not in the symbol almost cornered by the demonstration. “Its beauty comes from
of a landmark, that we are interested,” he claims. the fact that a place that is usually entirely occupied by cars
The first part of the exhibition adheres to a chronological order, is overrun by the people. The impact is even larger in a city
starting with a watercolor by Jules Martin, made in 1891, considered like ours, which prioritizes the individual transport over the
to be the city’s first iconographic representation. It is followed collective one,” he says.
by registers of Paulista’s old mansions, images of the avenue’s Public transport is also a central reference in the video S, by
verticalization, photos of demonstrations. Another piece to highlight Luiz Roque, an artist from Rio Grande do Sul. Shot in the metro’s
is the register of the 3nós3 collective, which in the 1970s and 1980s green line, the sci-fi piece shows three men who live underground,
conducted interventions in the public space. isolated from society. In this somber place, the communicate
It is a very diverse core, ranging from historic photographs to only through body language.
works by the Santa Helena as well as a canvas by Ferreira Gullar, Initially, Roque’s intention was to make a piece on the prostitution
who depicted Lula giving a speech on MASP’s open span area in at Parque Trianon. However, the wound up shooting a dystopia
1979,” states the curator. in a marginalized place. “The film is a commentary on these
The political tone is kept across the second part, composed of the hierarchies, on who is above or below society. This idea is also
commissioned works. Rochelle Costi, an artist from Rio Grande present through the location of the work, in the museum’s
do Sul, exhibits a piece made in partnership with Renato Firmino, underground floor. The video has a slight sexual tension,
a street artist who lives at MASP’s open span. Costi met Firmino addressing desire and violence, something that the LGBT
walking down Paulista last year, and was enthralled by the man community experiences very closely.”
who lived inside a cart, where he showed his canvases and personal Roque claims that the work has a pessimistic tone, establishing
belongings. a dialogue com the country’s political situation: “History is
In an interview to ARTE!Brasileiros, Costi says it took her eight months cyclical. When we conduct an analysis, we see that there
to convince Firmino to take part on the show. In the process, he are liberal waves for the human rights followed by dismal,
also filmed other artists who on the avenue. The video is featured conservative periods. Sadly, we are going through a moment
on the show inside Firmino’s cart, together with his paintings on which is not hopeful.
pieces of wood he collects in the streets. In addition to the works already mentioned, the show features
The artist points out that a presence of popular art inside the commissioned pieces by other nine artists. In common, the
museum is not something new. “Pietro Bardi himself used to bring different views reveal the contradictions around the avenue,
artworks from unknown artists into MASP. It’s not an original action, as the curator emphasizes: It is clear that this is a place of
but it’s what seemed to me to be more genuine for this exhibition. dispute, and that there is a movement for the city to be occupied
My intention was to make those who are ignored by society more not only by the dominant classes, but for other parts of the
visible,” claims Costi. population. The exhibition is about this phenomenon.”
Another work produced collectively is the series of drawings and
paintings by the natives Ibã Huni Kuin, Bane Huni Kuin and Mana 1 | FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: PART OF AVENIDA PAULISTA BETWEEN RUA PAMPLONA AND
Huni Kuin, from the community of Aldeia Jordão, in the state of Acre. ALAMEDA JOAQUIM EUGÊNIO DE LIMA (1900), UNKNOWN AUTHOR; AVENIDA PAULISTA
The three created depictions of the avenue that stand out for their (1990), PHOTOGRAPH BY EDUARDO CASTANHO
vibrant colors and especially for the amount of cars outstripping
the amount of passersby. 2 | CARRINHO (2017), ROCHELLE COSTI AND RENATO FIRMINO
To Toledo, the interesting feature about the series is that it represents
an unusual perspective of the city: “The drawings invert the logic Avenida Paulista
of the traveling painters who came from Europe and portrayed the Through May 28, 2017
indigenous lands from the viewpoint of the exotic. Conversely, the MASP
natives rendered their view on a place that is also strange to them.” Avenida Paulista, 1.578, São Paulo, SP
Marcelo Cidade’s installation Stand Center also portrays Paulista +55 11 3149-5959
from an uncommon perspective. The piece depicts the structures
of the stands from the avenue’s informal shopping center. Several EXHIBITION RIO DE JANEIRO | PAGES 52 TO 58
structures are placed inside one another. Featured at the center,
The work is a reference to Paulista’s numerous shop windows and ALL ON THE SAME BOAT
is an egg placed on a turntable.
the unquenchable desire created by consumption. The choice of
the egg as an object is an ironic resource: “Because it is a common AS PART OF THE PROGRAM ARTE E SOCIEDADE NO BRASIL III (ART
object, the egg deconstructs this idea of the value of what showcased AND SOCIETY IN BRAZIL III), THE MUSEU DO RIO DE JANEIRO OPENED
in the stores.
Cidade also criticizes the cultural institutions that exhibit works as LAST MONTH A SHOW DEDICATED TO DELIRIUM
consumer goods. When an artwork is placed within the white cube’s
structure, it is fetishized, becoming inaccessible. Undoubtedly these TEXT AND PHOTOS PATRICIA ROUSSEAUX

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