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Reading time 2 min

Natureza-Morta X Still Life

Jochen Volz

It is intriguing that the Still life in all Northern European languages is so evidently linked to life, even if motionless, whereas in all Latin languages the same artistic practice is described as dead nature. Despite the fact that naturally an equation can be made between inert life and death, the same category of depiction is described from so opposite angles of view.  It is through nuances, subtle contradictions and poetic irritation that the Still life holds such a central role in art history. Image of everyday objects like fruits and vegetables, pots, glasses, tools and other household objects have always been more than sheer exercises of observation, but instead developed into an autonomous art form from the 16th century onwards and simultaneously into a philosophical statement, describing the finitude of being and the equality of existence of things, organic or inorganic. In contemporary art, by arranging and re-arranging objects, by contrasting order and disorder, emptiness and fullness, presence and absence, artists encourage us to question the mental and physical space in which we live and the values attributed to our knowledge about things. The works presented in the exhibition entitled “Still life” at Galeria Fonte question the measures with which we describe the world we live in and the objects we define as art. Time standing still, as suggested in Jorge Macchi’s work, opens chances for the discovery of new systems of meaning and unexpected procedures.

 

 

* Jochen Volz is a curator at Inhotim

Reading time 3 min

Good memories

Redação Inhotim

Those who love museum gift shops cannot miss out on two very special spaces at Inhotim, which are filled with memories of the visit to park. Opened in 2007, the Intitute’s design store has a diversified mix of products, including books, DVDs, decorative pieces, sustainable toys, accessories as well as Inhotim’s institutional line, which has just been launched. Don’t you know it yet? The collection includes notebooks, pencils, mugs, shirts, ecobags, handbags, among others, with prices to fit all pockets. To make products even more charming, the Inhotim brand transformed into a typographic pattern, appearing in cobalt blue, red, green and black.

 

The other space is dedicated to botany and sells species that can be found in the Institute’s collection, as well as gardening tools, home furnishings and utensils produced at the Ceramics Oti factory, located at Inhotim. The nicest thing about it is that those who enjoy plants can take home seedlings planted in handmade pots made by residents of Brumadinho,  during workshops aimed at the community. It is worth mentioning that selling products is a way to make the institution sustainable, as it is a source of income that allows the park to keep on receiving visitors from around the world.

 

Lojas do Inhotim vendem acessórios exclusivosInhotim’s gift shops offer products that carry the Institute’s DNA Photo: Ricardo Mallaco

 

 

The perfect harmony between the essence of the park and Inhotim gift shops ensured them a place on the Blouin Artinfo list, which selected the coolest shops of this segment worldwide.)

 

 

General information

Inhotim Shops – Design & Botany

Where is it? Rua B, 20 – Brumadinho/MG

When is it open? Tuesday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

How to pay? In cash, by check and all major credit and debit cards

Any questions? Just call +55 (31) 3571-9848

Reading time 3 min

The look as a form of action

Júlia Rebouças

When I entered the room where Babette Mangolte’s work is being displayed at Galeria Mata, the image of a male face in a TV set caught my attention. Richard Serra, shot over a blue background – one of the few color elements in the room – seems to be staring at the viewer. His features are serious, still, he observes that which looks at him, the lens. The nearby black & white TV set displays the image of Yvone Rainer, who is more carefree, with a headband and playing around with some tape in her lips. But her portrait also stares at the camera. Both pieces of equipment, placed in the center of the room, converge towards me in a beautiful metonymy about the artist’s work and research processes, which is shown in a monographic way in that space. When she looks at others, Babette Mangolte shows us her own subjective matter.

 

Babette is French and lives in the US. She experienced and registered in film, video and photography the important dance, theater and art scene that flourished especially in New York City in the 70s. The reflection of the experimentations made at that time ultimately impacted the paths taken by art. The generous and diversified archive created by the artist does more than simply document a historical period, it rather proposes an inflection and criticism that makes up the memory of that time. 

 

Babette Mangolte - Touching III with collage III, 2013Babette registered in film, video and photography the dance, theater and art scene, especially in New York City in the 70s Photo: Rossana Magri

 

 

During a conversation that took place when the exhibit was being assembled, the artist talked about the first showings of the film Water Motor (1978), in which choreographer Trisha Brown appears dancing for seven minutes. No costumes, no scenario, no music, just the body in motion, representing the decelerated pace of slow motion. In Babette’s own words, that image was so abstract and removed from any narrative support that it seemed to be impossible for it to be appreciated in the 70s. Genres like the video clip had to become more popular in the following decades before these manifestations were more deeply comprehended. The look was so daring that it was equivalent to the extremeness of the dance itself.

 

 

* Júlia Rebouças has been a curator at Inhotim since 2007.

Reading time 2 min

In the top 10

Redação Inhotim

Amid the diversity of rhythms that excite young people nowadays, classical music has won a prominent position among young boys and girls from Brumadinho, Mário Campos and Bonfim. The melodies of Beethoven, Mozart and other important classical composers are already fighting for space in the kids’ playlists . They are members of the School of Strings of Inhotim, who have just discovered works and sounds that were unknown to them until now.

 

After a year and a half of practical and theoretical lessons, one can notice in every note played on cellos, violins, violas and double basses, the affinity of young musicians with their instruments, which today are a cause for change and for dreams.

 

Tainã Jorge is a resident in the Tejuco region in Brumadinho, and has seen in the school of Strings the big opportunity to become a musician. “I’ve always wanted to learn music, but had never had the chance”. Today, Tainã combines the activities of the Orchestra with his  job as a nursing technician. “I see people get emotional with the music I play. That makes me very happy”, he celebrates.

 

 

Tainã Jorge, aluno da Escola de CordasTainã Jorge  has seen in the school of Strings the big opportunity to become a musician Photo: Rossana Magri

 

Reading time 2 min

Numbers in words

Redação Inhotim

2013 marks the largest exchange of artistic collection in Inhotim, which currently totals 170 works on display. In other numbers, there were 86 new works by 18 artists from 9 different nationalities. For the first time, temporary galleries Mata, Praça, Lago and Fonte had their spaces renovated in the same year. Another innovation was the inauguration of thematic exhibitions such as “amor lugar comum“, by Luiz Zerbini, “Mineiriana“, by Juan Araujo and “Babette Mangolte”, by the artist herself. Still Life was another topic that received great prominence, more precisely, an entire gallery. In all, 14 names, as Rivane Neuenschwander, Sarah Branch and Tacita Dean, exhibit over 40 works at Galeria Fonte.

 

No one better than Inhotim curators to translate these numbers into words. Watch the video!