New Perspectives on Brazilian Constructivism

Going beyond current readings of Concretism and Neoconcretism, this book shows how these movements were bred in the Brazilian circuit, after adapting international constructivism to the cultural conditions of the country. Thus, based on a systematic investigation in the archives of newspapers of that period, this book explores the premises through which Neoconcretism became organized and gained momentum in a series of debates between the avant-gardes of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro—debates that focused on the visual arts and poetry as objects of intense aesthetic experimentation and prospective transformation. They offer a guide through what seems to be a maze of contradictory theories and purposes.

Academic readers interested in Latin American and Brazilian art will learn about the contributions of Geraldo de Barros, Franz Weissmann, Ferreira Gullar, Lygia Clark, Luiz Sacilotto, Willys de Castro and Hélio Oiticica to Brazilian constructivism, and will realize that the seven chapters of this book inevitably question the canon of contemporary art. In fact, the contributions of these artists go beyond national borders, since Concretism and Neoconcretism created early versions of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary art, participatory art, process art, visual poetry, performance, installation art, institutional critique, body art and environmental art, in some cases prior to the United States and Europe.