On December 27, 1968, the musicians Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were arrested under charges of disrespecting the national anthem and the Brazilian flag. A few days earlier had seen the entry into force of Institutional Act #5, the decree that ushered in hardline military dictatorship laws. The offence had allegedly taken place during a concert in Rio de Janeiro’s Sucata nightclub; a flag by fine artist Hélio Oiticica was shown onstage portraying a criminal known as Cara de Cavalo (Horse Face) who had been executed by a death squad, alongside the inscription “seja marginal, seja herói” (be a criminal, be a hero). The picture and rumors that the national anthem had been sung profanely were grounds for the arrest. The video program and the publication are divided into five sections. In We Are Zumbi, collective Frente 3 de Fevereiro, Luiz de Abreu and Jonathas de Andrade explore race and class issues and prejudice in Brazilian society. In Minorities and Gentrification, Ailton Krenak, Raphael Escobar and Virgínia de Medeiros discuss rights violations and state-sponsored violence against minorities and the low-income population. In Narratives of Power, Clara Ianni, Jaime Lauriano and Roberto Winter denounce the role of the media and historical narrative in the power play. In City, Gian Spina subverts representations of memory in the public space; Graziela Kunsch invokes the right to the city through the struggle of the secundarista2 students movement, as a right to redo the world we live in; and Lia Chaia works with her own body to investigate urban space in the megalopolis of São Paulo. Lastly, in Outcome, the work of Berna Reale sarcastically metaphorizes the tragedy of Brazilian politics; Rodrigo Braga enacts the angst of the scream that won’t be stifled; and a video by Renata de Bonis prompts reflection on the time of the world and what separates Brazil and Africa; what is it after all that makes us alike, what is it that draws us closer? In the publication, texts by Julián Fuks, Paulo Fehlauer and Peter Pal Pelbart ponder a few of the questions tackled in the exhibit; and essays by Sato do Brasil and Traplev and a manifesto by Daniel Lima amplify the historical reflection that the research suggests. 2 The Brazilian equivalent of high school.
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.