Arquivo Brasilia/Arquivo em trânsito

Intervene in the streets of pilot plans and satellite plans

depolluting gestures and actions

bodies and heads

bodypoem heart

peaceful proposals, without pain

Ary Pára-raios

It is no coincidence that the theme of the intersection of axes emerges as a question right at the beginning of the journey through the exhibition space. It is as if the crossing of the axes, over time, has become a cliché image, to be repeated as the zero point of creation to which we must always return. Today, when presented in transparency, it serves as a reminder of a distant time. The image has become an enigma and a landmark for reflection on the status of the city today, fifty years after its inauguration. The intersection of axes—the road and the monumental, indicated by Mario Fontenelle's photograph from 1956/57—reveals, in its orthogonality, a curious approximation with the geometric-constructive trends that emerged in Latin America in the 1950s. Since then, perceptions of the city have changed, and artists, here as proposers of new spaces and ideas, have made their contribution by exercising a critical view of the city. For the artist, there is the collateral effect of time, which acts on the space, and, when stretched, seems to demand its occupation and appropriation. What constitutes the contemporary perception of the city? If we bring together Vitruvian categories, fundamental for understanding the organization of urban life, and thus begin to answer the question, we realize that, despite their functional differences, these categories form a framework for thinking about the permanence of the city over time. Today, the materiality, immobility, and durability that make up the urbis are in question, just as the thought that ensures the crossing point of the lines in Fontenelle’s photo as a reference point is. Utopian cities, when viewed as firmitas, are places where the spatial condition must meet the needs of social regulation that Brasília is linked to, in its role as the capital of the country.

The spatiality of the central plateau, the urban designer's plan that favored horizontality, freedom of flow, and varied views, is lost amidst the corrosive and distorted action of the idea of capital imagined through misguided political and ideological conceptions, which force the original plan's conceptions to disappear. Cildo Meireles—represented in the exhibition by a reproduction of Caixas de Brasília: Clareira, 1969—commenting on Brasília's project, a city with which he has sentimental ties, concludes that the project was deformed: beautiful in its utopian side but also naïve, prone to improper appropriations, where spaces once conceived as spaces of fellowship were converted into spaces of persecution, as occurred during the military regime. Today, the controlling gaze of the dictatorship years may have lost its function, but it has given way to the harmful action of abandonment and distortions that arise, among other reasons, from real estate speculation and political interests.

The curatorial design, both conceptually and in terms of its exhibition, sought to reflect on the meanings the city acquires as urbis and civitas when the artist proposes to look at it, invent and intervene in it by reinstalling artworks and gathering visual records of already realized works, forming a kind of open archive aimed at revelation rather than forgetfulness. As one walks through the exhibition space, the viewer enters “micro-spaces” that allow access to different sets of works with the purpose of triggering different relationships. In this archive of contemporary production, 41 artists are gathered, with individual and collective works.

The “archive” allows for consultation, access to ideas and conceptions through works that directly express concerns about political facts, as in Marília Rodrigues' prints in her series O difícil é reformar o bicho homem, from 1977, as well as pointing to possibilities for the reinvention of places, like the installations of posters at bus stops created by the Entreaberto group in 2007. There is also space in this “archive” for interventions and objects with a more poetic and conceptual character, like the photographs in Luiz Alphonsus' series Paisagem Estrutura Móvel, from 2005, which were made by the artist at various points in the city since 1969, when he still lived in Brasília, invoking cosmic aspects of the landscape, and the political-poetical-aesthetic object by Wagner Barja, entitled Quéops Brasilis, from 1990, which draws conceptual bridges with structures of social organization, commenting on the fragility of power: pyramid, transparency, and inversion.

In the initial “sector” of the exhibition, which could be considered the historical core of the arquivo, the viewer encounters, besides the already mentioned photograph of the axis, two reproductions of emblematic works that provoke the reflection intended, which could even be considered, conceptually, as displacements of the orthogonal axis in Fontenelle's photograph. They are O Porco by Nelson Leirner, from 1967, and Caixas de Brasília, Clareira by Cildo Meireles, from 1969. Several interesting factors surround the emergence of these works, providing a link with the other productions presented in the show. Created in a politically turbulent decade, in a newly born Brasília, they connect with contemporary artistic trends like Conceptual Art, Land Art, and the French New Realism. They are participants in moments of radical change in Brazil and the world, and employ action strategies that provoke modifications and new insertions into the reception of the art system. In the case of Leirner, there is a critique of the regulatory mechanisms and the art object, as in the case of the 40th Modern Art Salon of Brasília, and in Meireles' case, there is a desire to question space and time, less through the object than through the act of demarcating a space, which, in this case, was the margins of Lake Paranoá.

Dialoguing with these three older works in the exhibition are three works by two young artists based in Brasília: André Santangelo and André Ventorim. In Ar de Brasília and Centro, from 2004, Santangelo updates the city's history in his own versions. Ar de Brasília, the first work we see as we enter the space, acts as a kind of catalyst for the artistic and historical questions of the show, stimulating an analysis that intercepts movements pointing to aspects of local history, using the "candango" as a synthetic image, photography as language, and aspects of Conceptual Art, whose source, by principle, traces back to Marcel Duchamp's readymades from the early 20th century, which Santangelo references by addressing the work 50 cc of Air from Paris, from 1919. In Centro, there is a direct association with the original photograph, as well as with issues of time and space, raised by Meireles' work. The photographs by Fontenelle and Santangelo are arranged in a way that forms an overlay with the transparency of the original photograph, attempting to establish new meaning for the idea of the axis.

Ventorim's work, Segredo de Lithus, from 2004/5, placed in front of Leirner's work, proposes another dialogue, not directly criticizing the art circuit but starting from the material transfiguration of Leirner's object. As one continues the journey through the space, cut through by panels, new associations of memory are proposed, and the viewer can choose to establish them through spatial and/or temporal intersections, resulting in various symbolic and aesthetic exchanges. One can reflect on the artist's political action, for example, by drawing connections between documentary records of actions such as Olhos na Justiça, by Xico Chaves, from 1992, and Sinfonia das Diretas, by Jorge Antunes, from 1984, both related to national political events, such as the impeachment of then-president Fernando Collor de Mello and the movement for direct elections.

Or, by shifting the focus to the work of art as a vehicle for denunciation and venting, we find Marília Rodrigues' series of photogravures, made from journalistic reports. Highlighting the photogravure from 1977, Quando o Congresso Sai de Cena, where we see a darkened image of the empty National Congress plenary after the AI-5 decree. Without a specific political address and presenting itself as points of interrogation and alert to issues that reach other spheres, such as the anthropological and ecological, we encounter Paulo Andrade’s screenprints and Siron Franco’s Anta.

In O Eterno Retorno, a series of screenprints by Andrade from 1984, there is a revival of images of Brazilian indigenous people made by Jesko Von Putkammer, which he appropriates through collage, re-contextualizing them in the touristy, cliché image of Brasília’s scenery, where the indigenous people are disproportionately superimposed, creating a somewhat surreal atmosphere. Meanwhile, the object Anta by Franco, which was part of a large installation in front of the National Congress in 1986, serves as a kind of memory index of that specific action, as well as of his other works informed by his involvement with Brazilian fauna, which is the source of some of his politically charged pieces.

Also, relating urban space to mythical memory, with the calango as a bridge and personal memory reference, is the series of photographs by Bené Fonteles from 2007/2008, documenting an intervention carried out on the walls of gas station posts in the city. From the almost silent intervention—understood more as an insertion into the landscape—by Cildo Meireles, conducted in the 1960s, another factor emerges, expanding the bifurcations of the "arquivo", which became a constant in the memory of the city, combining the multiple, from the absurd to the poetic.

Lastly, in the gallery as a whole, it is this movement that unfolds the intersection of axes in contemporary production. Just as time, time in itself, time as historical inquiry, and the perception of the city, refer to the extended, retraced, and traversed “axis”.

Ventorim's work Segredo de Lithus (2004/5), placed in front of Leirner's piece, proposes a different dialogue, questioning not the direct critique of the art circuit but rather starting from the material transformation of Leirner's object. As the viewer continues through the space, cut through by panels, new memory associations are proposed, allowing the viewer to choose whether to establish them based on spatial and/or temporal crossovers, resulting in various symbolic and aesthetic exchanges. One might reflect on the artist's political action by tracing connections between documentary records of the works Olhos na Justiça (Xico Chaves, 1992) and Sinfonia das Diretas (Jorge Antunes, 1984), both related to national political events, such as the impeachment of then-President Fernando Collor de Mello and the movement for direct elections.

Alternatively, by focusing on the artwork as a vehicle for protest and expression, we encounter Marília Rodrigues' series of photogravures, created from journalistic reports. We highlight the 1977 photogravure Quando o Congresso Sai de Cena, where a darkened image of the National Congress plenary, empty after the AI-5 decree, is depicted. Without a specific political address, and serving as points of inquiry and alert to broader issues such as anthropology and ecology, we also find the serigraphs of Paulo Andrade and Anta by Siron Franco.

In O Eterno Retorno, a 1984 series of serigraphs by Andrade, the artist reclaims images of Brazilian indigenous people made by Jesko Von Putkammer, appropriating them through collage and re-contextualizing them in the common tourist image of Brasília, where indigenous figures are superimposed disproportionately, creating a somewhat surreal atmosphere. Meanwhile, Franco's object Anta, part of a large installation in front of the National Congress in 1986, serves as an index of memory for that specific action as well as other works informed by his involvement with Brazilian fauna, which forms the basis of some of his politically charged works.

Also exploring the relationship between urban space and mythical memory, with the calango as a bridge and reference of personal memory, is a series of photographs by Bené Fonteles (2007/2008), documenting an intervention carried out on the walls of gas station posts in the city. From Cildo Meireles' almost silent intervention in the 1960s—understood more as an insertion into the landscape—another factor emerges, expanding the bifurcations of the "archive," which became a constant in contemporary production: that of collective work. Caixas de Brasília was carried out with the participation of visual artist Alfredo Fontes and musician Guilherme Vaz.

This tendency toward group formation—groups commonly known in the arts as "artist collectives"—is not new but has taken on such varied configurations as there are today in cultural, social, political, and ideological differences, particularly since the 1990s. Amostra Grátis, Corpo Piloto, Entreaberto, Ex-Cultura, Projeto de Arte Entorno, and Projeto Fora do Eixo are the groups occupying parts of the exhibition space. Alongside the individuality of each artist within these groups, there is the collective desire to develop investigative strategies around specific themes that may define the group.

In what could be considered the "historical core of the intervention," due to its emergence in a very early moment of Brasília's artistic scene, is Ex-Cultura, which, created in the late 1970s by students of the University of Brasília, had as its central action the use of public space through painting, sculpture, and collage. It is interesting to observe the political and university context surrounding the artistic moment of its emergence, which can be interpreted almost as an insurgency: since 1976, the University of Brasília had been under the dictatorial regime imposed by rector José Carlos Azevedo, with invasions by military troops and expulsions of teachers and students.

The Brazilian and global art scenes, not detached from the political and social context, proposed engagement in practices involving the body, the word, and spaces beyond the limits of galleries and museums. However, a process of political openness was on the horizon by the late 1970s, and during the 1980s, trends that had emerged earlier deepened, such as Performance and others that had been dormant, like painting, which returned with full force in its most expressionistic vein.

Exploring physicality and a wide range of expressive material resources, O Corpo Piloto (active from 1986 to 1988) adopted the language of performance as a core part of its proposals, although they also carried out interventions. The body, seen as an unlimited vehicle of action, was not subject to the interference of institutions or the constraints of ideals. Their actions took place both in external spaces and galleries they occupied. Moving slightly away from the path addressing collectives but still related to performance and the occupation of neglected public spaces, such as Praça Portugal, we encounter, in one of the exhibition environments, the work of José Eduardo Garcia de Moraes from 2010. Located in a central area and being the most recent piece in the exhibition, it serves more as a question mark than as an assertion, reinforced by its spatial positioning—an intersection?

Contrary to the usual performative action, where object and body are inseparable and the result is the record of the performance, the artist inverts the logic and proposes the installation as something to be transformed by leaving the exhibition space for Praça Portugal at the end of the event. Returning to the path of collectives and bringing the discussion into a more recent historical panorama, we find Amostra Grátis, which has existed since 2002. All of its members are graduates in Fine Arts and work toward subverting the economic order of the art object—sellable, inaccessible—proposing a demystification, not only of the object but also of the network that supports it. Thus, the group members create objects to be donated and distribution systems.

In the exhibition, four of their eight projects are presented: Eleições 2002, NaoSim, Espaço, and GagNews. There are correlations between their strategies and those of Cildo Meireles in the 1970s, such as his Inserções em Circuitos Ideológicos e Antropológicos, seen by him as art placed in a real situation: "things existed in function of what they could provoke in the social body." Direct intervention in reality, the search for proximity with the public through the distribution of objects and invitations, as well as community practices and performative actions, are also on the agenda of Projeto Entorno, which has been active since 2001 and has carried out many projects. In addition to small goods, they also distribute lots as part of the actions of a character created by the group, O Candidato do Entorno (The Candidate from the Periphery).

An interesting characteristic of recent collectives is the printing of graphic pieces for distribution, as clearly seen in the intervention memory of Entreaberto presented in this exhibition. Its format directly alludes to "lollipops" used for propaganda and advertising, typically found near bus stops. The poster, featuring an image of a rat, Juscelinomys Candango, opens space for reflection on a marginal yet existent issue, associated with JK (Juscelino Kubitschek) and, therefore, a "certain" history of the city.

Other types of groups do not form collectives, such as Átila Regiani, Ruth Sousa, Delei Amorim, and Lila Rosa, who work sporadically in pairs. We find, both in Estrutura Parasitária (2004) by Átila and Ruth, and in MAR - Museu de Arte na Rua (1995) by Delei and Lila, a non-conformity with the "white cube" as the legitimizer of the role and location of art, in actions that make us revisit the type of engagement involved.

Attesting to the power of everyday phrases in the urban imagination, Gehre creates a video installation that adds more popular sayings for reading, now in motion, provoking compression in the time of reception and understanding of the messages, which, despite being quickly absorbed by the eye, linger in the mind of those who read them. Members of the collectives presented here also develop their own poetics, such as Polyanna Morgana from Entreaberto, Marta Penner, and Clarissa Borges from Projeto Entorno.

In her performance record titled Pollyannas (2001/2002), Polyanna creates a new meaning for the official record, taking the subject as the measure and art as an action for measuring between spaces. This aligns with the documentary approach of some conceptual artists, as well as the Situationists, who were active from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. In their search for a "new urbanity," less alienating and more participatory, they carried out environmental intervention situations they called psychogeography and drift. Clarissa Borges and Marta Penner use photography as a language for intervention, with the political theme as their focus. In Turista Censurado (2003), Borges critiques the impartial and neutralizing images of Brasília that tourists typically encounter. By attempting to remove the clichéd image from the scene, another landscape emerges, one that has always been there, previously obstructed by the monument.

A work that establishes connections with the serigraphs of Paulo Andrade is Jardim de Inverno (2001) by Penner, which navigates between document and art, provoking the viewer to reflect on the "naturalness of the landscape" that, at first glance, appears to be a simple representation made on fabric. A closer look reveals the situation of the "land of union" inhabited by trash and scavengers, printed on pillowcases and sheets.

In attempting to close the relationships between parts of this archive, I propose a path that leads us to artists who use video as a record of action, as in the case of Catedral Rosa and the works of Moema Coelho and Rodrigo Paglieri, and as a record of spatial observation, as Elyeser Szturm did. In both ways of dealing with video, they propose a renewal of the gaze on spaces of everyday access. Catedral Rosa, the name given to a flash intervention carried out by Fábio Baroli and Susanna Aune at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Brasília on June 28, 2006, Gay Pride Day, involved 15 other participants in a collective act of revisiting the heritage, both politically and aesthetically. It is presented in the exhibition as a video record.

Other interventions, such as A porta da rua é a serventia da casa (2007) by Moema Coelho and Obra Limpa I (2004) by Rodrigo Paglieri, had a longer duration. In Moema’s intervention, whose sticker still remains in the location—a small "scissor" between superquadras 110I and 111 south—thoughts arise about inside and outside, and about the street as the space of art, reinforced by the phrase that is the title of the work. As an artist-architect, Moema considers the scales and properties of the location in her work. In an action similar to that of Orthof and Gehre, Moema adds another message to the circuit. Paglieri creates Obra Limpa in a highly trafficked area, both by cars and pedestrians, at the lower part of the overpass connecting the North and South wings, commonly known as "buraco do tatu." Through this aesthetic intervention and commentary on modernist construction ideals, the artist reveals new forms by cleaning the tiles, following their geometric logic and minimalist procedure, ultimately, through poetic gesture, unveiling a new space.

Plano Piloto, a work in progress by Szturm, is a project consisting of photographs taken between 1999 and 2010, pointing to the corrosion time imparts on the urban landscape, confronting the viewer with both the concept and the concrete reality: the pavement cracks, revealing the idea of gesture marking the place, as in the drawing by Lucio Costa, a kind of rebirth of the urbanist’s gesture, even after the passage of time.

In the exhibition space, the photos of cracked concrete, exposing the design of the plan as a projection on marble flooring—the material par excellence of noble institutions—overlay realities: the one linked to the urban, living, and pulsating space, which has been consistently present in this archival cut, and the one in the inside space, suspended in time, isolated.

How to overcome the detachment of these axes of reality by intertwining them? Perhaps the answer lies in returning to the first vision of the place, as the artist Félix Barrenechea envisioned in contact with the space under construction: "...when the cerrado is torn apart, one sees red, virgin earth. This earth is soul, our torn body. It must be reconstituted for beauty." The artist's experience connects, disconnects, and reconnects in a constant articulation of spaces, which, through actions, become dense and full of new meanings, ensuring the archive remains always open.