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Reading time 8 min

Space, Work and History Seminar

Redação Inhotim

Discuss contemporary issues and their connection to Inhotim’s universe.  This is the proposal of the Space, Work and History Seminar, help by Inhotim Escola on May 23 and 24, in Belo Horizonte.  During the event, three panels will gather artists, thinkers and three important names in the Institute’s collection:  Adriana Varejão, Marilá Dardot and Marcius Galan.

 

“Our idea is to promote a creative space to discuss some issues that seem to be key in contemporary art as well as in the work carried out at Inhotim, which are also important for our time in general.  The focus of the seminar is not academic or strictly theoretical. We intend to bring subjective, sensitive approaches, together with criticism based on the work and actions of each one”, explain curator Júlia Rebouças, in charge of the program.

 

Each panel will be composed of three guests: one theorist, one artist whose work is present in the Institute’s collection and one artist of a different discipline. Curator Júlia Rebouças and Inhotim’s art and cultural program director Rodrigo Moura will mediate the discussions.  The event will follow the Nature, Time and Poetry seminar held in the launching of Inhotim Escola in 2013. Check out the detailed program:

 

Space Panel

May 23, 7:30 PM

Mediator: Júlia Rebouças

Guests:

Marcius Galan is majored in Art Education at FAAP and took part in residence programs at Cité des Arts, in Paris, and at the Art Institute of Chicago. He won the 2012 PIPA award, which took him to the Gasworks Residence Program.  Two of his works are on display at Inhotim:  Seção Diagonal (2008) and Imóvel/Instável (2011), which establish dialogs about sculpture, illusion and space perception.

Seção Diagonal
“Seção Diagonal” (2008), by Marcius Galan, in exhibition at Galeria Mata. Photo: Pedro Motta

Fernando de Mello Franco is a professor and took his Ph.D. in Architecture at USP (Universidade de São Paulo).  He was part of the curators committee responsible for Rotterdam and Venice biennials and is currently the Secretary of Human Development for the municipality of São Paulo. In this panel, he will talk about the city as an urban space and its challenges.

 

Grace Passô is an actress, director and playwright. In 2004, she was one of the founders of Grupo Espanca!, from the state of Minas Gerais. She currently directs the play “O Contrato”, with Grupo 3’s actresses Yara de Novaes and Débora Falabellla. In the  Seminar, Grace will talk about the body in relation to space and its place on stage.

 

Work Panel

May 24, 10:30 AM

Mediator: Rodrigo Moura

Guests:

Marilá Dardot was born in the state of Minas Gerais, in Belo Horizonte.  She is majored in Social Communications at UFMG, and took her M.A. in Visual Languages at the UFRJ School of Fine Arts.  A Origem da Obra de Arte (2002), permanently on display at Inhotim, proposes a reflection on the construction of works of art. At Inhotim Escola, the artist addresses these and other issues related to her work, such as techniques and tools used to create it.

"A Origem da Obra de Arte" (2002), de Marilá Dardot. Foto: Pedro Motta
“A Origem da Obra de Arte” (2002), by Marilá Dardot. Photo: Pedro Motta

Peter Pál Pelbart is a philosopher, essayist and professor.  He was born in Budapest, Hungary, but lives in São Paulo, where he coordinates Companhia Teatral Ueinzz, formed by psychiatric patients from A Casa, a partial hospitalization facility.  Interested in studying the work of Gilles Deleuze, he helps discuss work’s role in society.

 

Francisco Alvim is a poet and diplomat. Influenced by his sister, poet Maria Ângela Alvim, he stated writing when he was still a teenager. Sol dos Cegos, his first book, was released in 1968. After spending some time in Paris working for Unesco, Alvim returned to Brazil and joined the Frenesi literary group, which was active in mimeographed poetry in the 1970. In this event, he will talk about the work of a writer and the craft of writing.

 

History Panel

May 24, 2:30 PM

Mediator: Júlia Rebouças

Guests:

Adriana Varejão was born in Rio de Janeiro and chose painting as the main support for her production.  Her first exhibit was in 1988 at Galeria Thomas Cohn, in Rio de Janeiro.  In her works on display at Inhotim, you can track the diversity of interests in her work and the array of sources of research.  Through painting, sculptures and installations, the artist has discussed Brazilian history and, above all, how the Brazilian people was forged.

"Celacanto Provoca Maremoto" (2004-2008), de Adriana Varejão. Foto: Ricardo Mallaco
“Celacanto Provoca Maremoto” (2004-2008), by Adriana Varejão. Photo: Ricardo Mallaco

Norma Côrtes is a historian majored at PUC Rio, with a post-doctorate in Culture History by USP.  She is a professor at UFRJ and works with Social and Cultural History, investigating, among others, the way historical phenomena are comprehended.  In this panel, she will help establish the counterpoint between hegemonic and marginalized narratives of past happenings.  

 

Eduardo Moreira was born in Rio de Janeiro and moved to Belo Horizonte at age 13.  Playwright and founder of Grupo Galpão, he has also taken part in all of the group’s plays as an actor.  In cinema, he has acted in national productions such as O ano que meus Pais saíram de férias (2006) and  Bastismo de Sangue (2007). At Inhotim Escola, he talks about history as a “story” and its fictional narratives.

 

 Plan Ahead!

Inhotim School presents the Seminary Space, Work and History.

Date and time: May 23, panel at 7:30 PM; May 24, panels at 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM

Location:  Museu Histórico Abílio Barreto Auditorium – Avenida Prudente de Morais, 202 – Cidade Jardim

Admission Fee:  Free, by order of arrival. Capacity: 100 seats.

 Update: The panel “History”, that was supposed to happen on 24th in the afternoon has been canceled and will be rescheduled soon. 

Reading time 3 min

Bringing art closer to life

Equipe de mediadores

During the month of April, the art guided tours at Inhotim addressed still life and its relationship with time and space.  Through this art history genre, it is possible to raise issues related to items in our everyday lives, as well as to how we look at these objects and what transforms them into art.  

 

Como aprender o o que acontece na normalidade das coisas (2002-2005) [How to understand what happens in the natural order of things], by Spanish artist Sara Ramo, is one of the photo series that comprise the Still Life exhibit, at Galeria Fonte in Inhotim. In this work, the artist presents a series of home bathrooms which are sometimes organized, sometimes filled with utensils and personal hygiene items.  By exposing these private environments, she makes them public, surfacing mysterious possibilities about everything that happens in these intimate places.

 

Imagens da série "Como aprender o que acontece na normalidade das coisas", da artista Sara Ramo
Images from the series “Como aprender o que acontece na normalidade das coisas” (2002-2005), by artist Sara Ramo

 

The contrast between photography’s static time and the transformation of the environment on display can be related to the everyday life.  By using the bathroom, we also change it. Would that be an invitation to learn and alter the everyday normality and how we look at our everyday lives? The bathroom composition as well as the choice and position of the items in the artworks allow us to observe the works not as photographs, but as a sort of sculptural moment.  

 

The multiple works by Sara Ramo allow for several interpretations, which grants the artist the status of representative of this contemporary art that transforms the concept given to art since the Enlightenment and brings it closer to life, whether this is done due to the materials used or due to the issues raised by it.

 

How do we deal with our everyday lives?  Are we capable of thinking utilitarian items in a different way, one that goes beyond their primary functionality?

 

 

Written by Daniela de Avelar Vaz Rodrigues, art mediator at Inhotim