catalogo_MACRS

Rio Grande do Sul has a Museum of Contemporary Art. After three
decades of movement and moments, uncertain as to where it would find
a seat for itself or for the consolidation of its collection, the Museum for
the first time has its own life, truly secure in its current and future role.
Progressively, the results of this management, guided by the safeguarding
of its artistic and now architectural heritage, are highlighted.
The headquarters of MAC 4 th District, although still in its execution
stage, given its recent installation, is an established reality, creating
an important space for the exchange of artists and exhibitions with
other centres of artistic production, in the country and abroad. And this
publication, presenting the Catalogue of the works of the Museum, offers
Gauchos, Brazil and the world a panorama of this esteemed collection,
available not hesitantly or sporadically, but on a permanent basis. Thus,
this book and its developments contribute to building public attention
for the diversity and plurality of views the Museum increasingly holds,
researches, and disseminates.
In times of difficulty, our state and the people of Rio Grande do Sul
have always demonstrated vigour in the preservation of achievements
and spare no effort in the direction of new exploits. It is our feature to
persevere, from a socioeconomic and cultural point of view, always in
strategic and leading roles, a touch of pride for ourselves and inspiration
and admiration in other places. Our land continues to be recognized for
the value of its identity, as well as, in today’s globalized society, its different
perspective on human development.
The cataloging of its collection and the new headquarters for MACRS
are steps of enormous relevance in the contemporary Brazilian art
scene. The construction of the Museum and its collection, a conceptual
and concrete imperative, is established with the view of balancing and
expanding the vision for the future of our state. No longer short a gallery
for the grandeur of its collection and institutional mission, the Museum
of Contemporary Art of Rio Grande do Sul begins writing, in the history
of visual arts and its own trajectory, a fruitful chapter, advancing, through
this book, the website and this new space for its existance, knowledge in
other cultural territories.
Eduardo Leite
Governor of the State of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is a state that lives in the intimacy of our lives.
Through it we enter the now, cross the boundaries of uncertainty and
push ourselves forward. It makes us walk and we walk, we follow, and we
will get somewhere together. But all great trajectories are made by those
who, at some point, keep their doubts and live their own journey through
time. All of us who strive to build the present will be remembered by
history and we know we need an answer to demonstrate what we sought
to be. And hence we build a museum, so the uncertainties of the present,
the actions which shape it and the subjects who live it can respond to the
future as to what was done, who we were and who we would like to have
been. A museum will always have the strength to tell us when we exist and
when we do not. Art will tell us all about it. And we want it to be there, in a
place which protects the contemporary, in the deep space of our identity.
So, this project we are engaged in is of an institution constantly
questioning whether we make time for the now, it is a Museum engaged
with its context, identifying the speed of life, and wanting to break
the silence to tell us what the world is. It is the most difficult task, but
taking time for the now does not give us permission to abdicate our
responsibilities. MACRS, just like life, is there for us to feel hope, to not
be afraid to exist and to overcome disenchantment. Its collection, its
actions and its expansion will form an entity whose task is to not forget
us. It is the strength of those who give existence to their own territory.
Rio Grande do Sul will be constantly revisited, recreated and dreamt of
by its artists. In your memory, they will seek support. For this reason, this
Catalogue, this important project made through the commitment of the
cultural community and the admiration and support of SEDAC, shows us
the legitimate place of a museum exercising its strength to make time not
just a small machine to forget. A museum is made to make us exist. A better
way to tell us who we are. That is what we believe in. Valuing and expanding
this space is our response to everyone who fought for and will continue to
fight to build the present. A museum lets us know we are moving forward.
Beatriz Araujo
Secretary of State for Culture of Rio Grande do Sul
A museum of our time, supported by artists and the society
benefitting from it as an important articulator of contemporary regional
culture. The Museum of Contemporary Art of Rio Grande do Sul – MACRS,
thus, navigates the last three decades, while concretely re-signifying and
expanding its physical space, and also subjectively qualifies its symbolic
and affective space in the culture of our community.
The Association of Friends of the MACRS – AAMACRS is proud to bring
society together and to represent it, in the aim of providing support and
financing for the Museum’s actions at a particularly sensitive moment in its
history when, externally, it expands its reach through its new headquarters
in the 4 th District, physical and digital roaming projects, and a growing
dialogue with institutions in the interior of the state. At the same time,
it is also internally organized as one of the most important collections of
contemporary Brazilian artistic production through its collection.
MACRS, with 1.813 works acquired through donations and exhibitions,
represents in fact, and by law, the Collection of Contemporary Art of RS, a
cultural heritage of Rio Grande do Sul. Its inestimable artistic value is related
both to the quality of the works it contains and to the representativeness
and curatorial engagement which guarantees the necessary inclusion
and plurality along multiple axes: the gender and ethnic backgrounds of
the artists who comprise it and the diversity of techniques, formats and
supports that permeate contemporary artistic expression.
The mission of cataloging and presenting this set of works is thus of
paramount importance as a social report on the existence, nature, and
extent of this heritage, in addition to providing due transparency on the
part of a public manager and in preparing the collection for presentation
in other formats and multimedia channels.
An account of the path taken so far, contrasting the adversities imposed
by the context in which we live with focus, dedication, and collective
commitment. But also an invitation to all, to share and appropriate the
Museum, collaborate and contribute to its development as friends of
MACRS, as a legacy of our contemporaneity for future generations.
Márcio Carvalho
President of the Association of Friends of the MACRS
CONTEMPORARY ART RS
Vera Pellin
Society is organized around art and culture, the material and
immaterial asset every citizen has a right and the need to enjoy. Art
makes society more human and alive. Artists, through their sensitive and
aesthetic experiences, fulfill their social role.
This was the primary motivation in organizing the project “Arte
Contemporânea RS”, run through Digrapho Produções Culturais in
conjunction with a team of excellence through the Call for Proposals
– Cultural and Artistic Productions, promoted by SEDAC under the
Aldir Blanc Law. With so many restrictions, it is extremely gratifying to
edit the first MACRS Collection Catalogue, in print and digital, and to
make available to society this important document in the history of
contemporary art.
The Museum of Contemporary Art has built, over its nearly 30 years of
existence 1 , an important collection of works by artists from our state and
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