A Radical Leap
Jornal do Brazil, 1958
Concretism and Neo-Concretism
International Sources
International European Constructivism: (left) Max Bill “Art Concrete”
Retrospective, Zurich, Switzerland. (right above) Neoplasticism, Piet
Mondrian (Dutch, 1874-1944), Tableau, 1921; (right below) De Stijl, Theo
van Doesburg, Simultaneous Counter-Composition, 1925
Georges Vantongerloo (Dutch, 1886 - 1965), Curves, 1938, oil on panel,
101.8 x 70.5 cm. European source for Brazilian Concrete artists
Max Bill (Swiss, 1908-1994, “Zurich Concrete” Group) Tripartite Unity, 1947-48,
stainless steel, 19x35x46”
Museu de Arte Contemporanea da Universidade de Sao Paulo.
Moebius strip spatial and surface qualities
" We call those works of art concrete that came
into being on the basis of their inherent resources
and rules - without external borrowing from
natural phenomena…. Concrete art … is the
expression of the human spirit, intended for the
human spirit, and it should have the sharpness,
the clarity and the perfection that must be
expected from the human spirit.… Concrete art is
ultimately the pure expression of harmonious
measure and law. It orders systems and uses
artistic resources to give life to these orders … It
strives for universality and yet it cultivates
uniqueness.”
- Max Bill
Max Bill, Endless Ribbon, granite, 1953
(orig., 1935), Baltimore Museum of Art
Sculpture Garden
Alexander Calder (American Kinetic Abstract Sculptor, 1898-1976) ceiling of
“acoustic clouds” for the Aula Magna auditorium, Central University of
Venezuela, Caracas, architect Carlos Raul Villanueva, 1952
Antônio Maluf, Poster for the First São Paulo Biennial, 1951
Joaquin Torres-García, Constructivist Painting No. 8, 1938, gouache on
paperboard , 31 5/8 in. x 19 1/2 in. SFMOMA. Publication of text, Universal
Constructivism, Torres-Garcia’s theory of art that he promoted in Uruguay
after 1934 at the El Taller Torres-García(the Torres-García studio), part of the
School of the South, where artists worked collectively on murals, architecture,
sculpture, and crafts, often in conjunction with writers, musicians, and
performers.
Lucio Fontana (Argentina,1899 - Italy,1968) Concetto spaziale, 1952
enamel on metal, diameter: 9’ 9’
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale (Spatial Concept) 1965, water-based paint on canvas,
130 x 97 cm
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, oil on canvas, punctured, 1949. A painting
opened up to space like sculpture – a “sculpture-painting”
(left) Tomás Maldonado (1921- ) Argentinian-born, painter, industrial
designer, and theorist) design for the cover of Arturo (“a review of abstract
arts”), 1944, which lauched the Asociación Arte Concreto-Invención and Madi
movements
(right) Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Composition, oil on wood, 1931. Central
influence on young, non-figurative artists.
Tomás Maldonado, Untitled, 1945, tempera on cardboard mounted on
varnished wood, 79 x 60 cm. “problem” of the frame – sculpture/painting
Manuel Espinosa (Argentine, b. 1912)
Painting, 1945, oil on board, 88 x 47 cm.
Lidy Prati, Concreto, 1945
oil on board, 62 x 48 cm.
Gyula Kosice, Madí Luminous
Structure, neon, 1946
Gyula Kosice, Royi,
Articulated Sculpture,
1944, wood
Lygia Clark (Brazil, 1920-1988), at work in Rio de Janeiro 1958,
(left) Lygia Clark, Relief Painting with Yellow Square, oil, 1957, 30 in. H
Brazilian Neoconcretism
compare: Kasimir Malevich, Suprematism, White on White, 1918
Lygia Clark, Sundial, 1960, 3 views, Neoconcretism
compare with (LR) Max Bill, 1947-8 Tripartite Unity, Concretism
Lygia Clark, Machine Animal (Bicho), 1962, aluminum, 55x65, Sao Paulo
Lygia Clark, Rubber Grub, 1964 (1986), rubber, 56 in.H
Museo de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro
Lygia Clark, Mandala, from the
series, Collective Body, 1959,
Elastic bands linking people at
their wrists or ankles
Lygia Clark, Air & Stone (Multiple) 1966, inflated plastic bag and stone
(left) Lygia Clark, Mask with Mirrors, 1967; (below) Dialogue, 1968
The mask holds small movable mirrors in front of the eyes, juxtaposing and
fracturing reflections of the self and the surrounding world.
(right) Clark, Sensorial Gloves, 1968. Part of Nostalgia of the Body series.
Gloves are made of various materials, sizes and textures. Participants use the
many combinations of gloves and balls of different sizes, textures and
weights, and then hold the balls again with bare hands.
Lygia Clark, Individual Therapy with Relational Objects, Rio de Janeiro, 1975
Lygia Clark & Helio Oiticica, Dialogue of Hands (multiple), 1966,
Elastic Moebius band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYRcKaXw6EQ
(left) Hélio Oiticica (Brazil, 1937-1980), White Crossing Red – Metaschema
1968, oil, 21 in. high. Concretism
(right) Piet Mondrian, Tableau, 1921, Neoplasticism, and Kasimir Malevich,
Suprematism, White on White, 1918
Hélio Oiticica, Spatial Relief, 1959, synthetic polymer paint on wood, 38x48x8”
compare (right) Alexander Rodchenko 1891-1956, Spatial Relief, 1920, Russian
Constructivism
Helio Oiticica, Glass BolidePortuguese word for fireball or flaming meteor 4 Earth, 1964,
Glass, earth, and painted gauze
Helio Oiticica, Box Bolide, 1964, painted wood and glass, 20 in H, Rio de Janeiro
Hélio Oiticica, Tropicalia, 1967, installation exhibited in the New Brazilian Objectivity
exhibition at the Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro
Helio Oiticica, Nildo, of the Mangueira samba group, wearing Parangolés, 1964
Oiticica defined the Parangole as "anti-art par excellence" and discussed his aspirations
"to create new experimental conditions where the artist takes on the role of proposer,
impresario or even educator.”
Helio Oiticica, Mosquito of Mangueira wearing Cape 6 (Paragole 10), 1965, and dancing
with Glass Bolide 5 (Homage to Mondrian), 1964
This entire experience into which art
flows, the issue of liberty
itself, of the expansion of the
individual's consciousness, of the
return to myth, the rediscovery of
rhythm, dance, the body, the
senses, which finally are what we
have as weapons of direct,
perceptual, participatory knowledge .
. . is revolutionary in the total sense
of behavior. (Oiticica)
Lygia Pape (Brazil, 1929-2004) Pages from The Book of Creation, 1959, painted
card, each c. 30x30 cm. Neo-Concrete. Genesis narrative of human
development in abstract geometric metaphors that can be manipulated by the
viewer turned co-creator.
Lygia Pape, Väviska, 1957
Lygia Pape, The Keel – Cutting through Time, page from The Book of
Creation, 1959
Lygia Pape, Divisor, 1968, 98 ft.
cotton square. “Mathematical order
was once again displaced by
people’s movements and speech.”
(Guy Brett)
Sérgio de Camargo (Brazil, 1930 – 1990)
Large Split Relief No.34/4/74 , painted
wood, 1964-5, c. 200x100cm, Tate Gallery,
London. Neo-Concretism
detail
Gego (Gertrude Goldschmidt, b. Germany, 1912-17; d. Venezuela, 1994),
Vibrations in Black, 1957, aluminium, 75 x 60 x 43 cm, Sammlung Fundación
Gego, Caracas
Gego, Untitled, 1955. Watercolor and ink on cardboard, 10 15/16 x 9 1/16
inches. Fundación Gego Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
From the series: Drawings without Paper
Gego created these types of works beginning in 1976/1977. They are
assemblages of wires, elements from building blocks, hangers, and other
found and modified objects.
The 2003 Venice Biennale exhibited her works as “Structures for Survival”
Detail showing construction
Wire Drawing Without Paper lighted to produce
equivalent shadow
Gego, Reticularia, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, 1969
Gego, installation photo,1989(?)
Gego, Reticularea, 1975, stainless steel wire, 83 X 102 X 8 inches, Houston
MFA
Gego, "Drawing Without Paper 83/9," 1983. Aluminum hoop, plastic mesh,
plastic hoops, enameled iron wire, and metal pieces, 8 1/4 x 7 1/16 x 3/16
inches. Fundación Gego Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.