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Reading time 4 min

Encouraging transformation

Raquel Novais

Being at Inhotim provokes different experiences, for it is a multiple, transforming, restless place, in addition to being what has become commonplace, an extremely beautiful place.  The gardens and the unique way works of art are displayed at Inhotim are articulated in such a way that each visit is a whole new experience.  

 

Beyond contemplation and the feelings related to such contemplation, Inhotim shows aspects that are often unknown to the hundreds of thousands visitors that go there each year.  One of these aspects regards the impact in the lives of those who live in the city that generously houses Inhotim.  The decision of founder Bernardo Paz to maintain and incorporate the name of the old village, where the gardens sheltered the first works of art, shows the desire of not becoming separated from the history of the place.  The initial awkwardness the name provoked in the general public was quickly overcome and, today, mentioning “Inhotim” does not required so many explanations.

 

Having become the greatest private employer in the city, with 1,300 employees – 80% of which come from Brumadinho and region – and representing the first job of over 400 youngsters in the city bring Inhotim closer to the public and private lives of thousands of Brumadinho-born citizens.  There is also another direct connection between Inhotim and the city, which takes place with the mobilization of the art and botanical collections in social and educational projects.  These projects present children, youngsters and adult with essential issues related to contemporaneity, formulated based on the contact with what is most relevant in the contemporary art scene, as well as on a global agenda related to biodiversity and even to the future of the planet.

 

If these initiatives weren´t enough, as of this month, the Our Inhotim program is granting a 50% discount to all Brumadinho residents who have lived in the municipality for over three years.  This initiative is an additional encouragement for locals to visit and take ownership of this place, which attracts visitors from all over the world.  Having a cultural facility such as Inhotim is an invaluable gain for the city.  Having Brumadinho residents more and more visiting the park and strolling around gardens and galleries is the fulfillment of the Institute’s main objective:  to be a transforming place, which inspires a new way of life.

 

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Our Inhotim Program:

People entitled to the 50% discount: Residents of the municipality of Brumadinho living in the region for over three years;

Registration: On Wednesdays, from 2 pm to 4 pm, at the park reception.  Starts on May 7;

Documents required: ID Card (or the like) and proof of residence;

A card will be issued for those taking part in the program, which must be shown whenever the participant visits Inhotim.

More information: +55 (31) 3571-9700

 

Reading time 3 min

Contrasts of time

Equipe de mediadores

How long does an invitation, a proposal, last?  During the month of May, the art guided tours at Inhotim address still life and its relationship with time.  The acknowledgment of time as a necessary condition for the existence of life has motivated several artists to risk the possibility of putting a stop to it.  They tend to capture the instant, or even make time go by as if it were in slow motion, in which case it is possible to observe details of the transformation of something new based on what had existed, but no longer does.  

 

One of the videos in the Natureza-Morta exhibit, at Galeria Fonte, is 10:51 (2009), by Argentinean artist Jorge Macchi.   In this work, a clock projected onto the line between the wall and the ceiling causes us to observe how the experience with space conditions and is conditioned by our relationship with the passage of time.  Have you stopped to think about how you get organized and is controlled by a clock hanging on your wall at home, on the street, at work or even attached to your wrist?

 

Another piece of work that establishes a deep dialog with the idea of time (de)composing is Ahora juguemos a desaparecer II (2002), by Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa. In this work, the video-installation shows an ongoing experiment, in which famous pieces of architecture are set on fire, trigging a number of possible discussions that range from the emergence of new social orders to the suffering of ancient cultures.  Often the social condition of different times and cultures builds unique perceptions of time, which happens through the observation of nature or is materialized in artifacts, from the sun clock to the work of art, for instance.

Detalhe da obra "Ahora juguemos a desaparecer II" (2002), do artista Carlos Garaicoa. Foto: Daniela Paoliello
Detail of the work “Ahora juguemos a desaparecer II” (2002), by Carlos Garaicoa. Photo: Daniela Paoliello

What does being part of time, belonging to time, mean?

 

Written by Alison Loureiro, art-educator at Inhotim

Reading time 3 min

Before and after Tunga

Daniela Fagundes

It is impossible not to react to an artwork by Pernambuco-born artist Tunga.  This was my first thought as I entered the gallery named after the artist at Inhotim.  I am not sure if it is because of the smell of iron, which resembles blood, or for the metal that looks like hair or even for the beauty hidden in bones and the weft.  The fact is I can define my relationship with contemporary art in “before Tunga” and “after Tunga”.

 

The truth is it is not easy artwork. But, as for me, nothing that enchants and shocks can be obvious.  And when it comes to Tunga, not even a straw hat is ordinary.  It feels as if the artist constantly invited me to open up my mind, to look beyond what I saw, to be carried away by the dance of the several songs I heard.  For there I was able to see neither the beginning nor the end of the artwork.  What I did see was continuous, such as the cooper strands, the braided chair, the glass on the mirror.  The endless tunnel.

Parte interna da galeria, que leva até a obra "Ão" (1980)
Parte interna da galeria, que leva até a obra “Ão” (1980)

Everything there seemed beautiful to me, even that which disturbed me.  For, at the same time the magnet seemed to repel me, it also attracted me.  A sort of steel lightness. A beauty that included senses other than just vision, which awakened the curiosity to look behind the cloth and which surprised me every time I looked.

 

Because it is impossible not to react to Tunga, I asked some visitors about the feeling the work provoked in them.  Fear, ecstasy, doubt and admiration were the answers I got from perhaps slightly confused observers.  What has this experience awakened in me?  Tunga.

               

Testimony about the first time I entered Galeria Psicoativa Tunga.

 

Tunga was also the theme of Arte Brasileira TV program, aired on the GNT channel.  Watch the video here and find out what the critics, collectors and the artist himself think about his work.

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

 

Reading time 3 min

The Garden of All Senses

Equipe de mediadores

Vision, hearing, taste, touch and smell. These are the five senses we use to relate to and experience the world around us. Inhotim has created the Garden of All Senses as a way to explore these capabilities.  Located in the Educational Plant Nursery, it is a space intended to build knowledge through practice as well as through the exchange of information among visitors and the Institute’s environmental education team.

 

The project includes three mandala-shaped flowerbeds, each one dedicated to aromatic, medicinal and toxic plants.  In this space, visitors are invited to interact with the species and touch them, observing their specificities and even tasting them.  

 

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), used to make a natural sweetener, is among the most interesting plants there, together with the white chamomile (Matricaria recutita), with soothing and anesthetic properties.  During the guided tours, we encourage visitors to taste its leaves, which may cause tongue numbness.  

 

Those who visit the garden also find out about the uses of species on display and are able to relate them to practices that have been lost with time, such as the cultivation of medicinal species or the production of vegetable gardens in our own backyards.  It is also an opportunity to show appreciation to things learned from past times and traditions of our grandparents.  

 

Opened in June 2011 during the Environment Week, the space has increasingly become important to bring science closer to the general public. The activities and educational actions carried out in this Garden play a key role in raising environmental awareness as well as in biodiversity preservation.  

 

The Garden of All Senses was accomplished through a partnership between the Environmental Education team, the Friends of Inhotim program and institutions specialized in people with visually impairment. 

 

Written by Diego Pimenta, environmental guide at Inhotim.