catalogo_MACRS

the diversity and even contradictions established in the collection being
built. In addition to this resource, projects were also conducted to obtain
financial support for the purchase of works, as was the case for obtaining
two Marcantonio Vilaça da Funarte Awards. 10 A third method of enriching
the collection was the donation of individuals, such as André
Venzon, Delson Luiz Martini, Gilberto Habib, Renato Rosa and Roberto
Schmitt-Prym, or companies such as Itaú Unibanco S/A and Wolens
Empreendimentos. As a result of its history, the collection is quite
heterogeneous, considering the possibilities, interests, and circumstances
of each moment.
As a result of its exhibitions, the collection highlights the personal
and professional roles of its curators. Gaudêncio Fidelis, first director of
MACRS, is responsible for the original core of the collection, showing an
openness to prominent names in national contemporary art, as listed in
the Brazilian Contemporary Art Cycle: a set of ten individual exhibits held
by the State Institute of Visual Arts, IEAVi, in which Carlos Fajardo and
Nuno Ramos participated, in 1992; Ângelo Venosa, Vera Chaves, Dudi
Maia Rosa, Carlos Vergara and Jac Leirner, in 1993; and Marco Gianotti,
Karin Lambrecht and Iole de Freitas, in 1994. Under this project, large
exhibitions were held, bringing to the state what was being
consecrated in the centre of the country. Still under the curatorship
of Gaudêncio Fidelis, the exhibit O olhar contemporâneo:
descentramento e posição (The Contemporary Look: decentralization and
position) was held, bringing together 57 young artists dedicated to
contemporary art, including Elaine Tedesco, Frantz, Gelson Radaelli,
Lenir de Miranda, Lia Menna Barreto, Maria Lucia Cattani, Milton Kurtz,
Patrício Farias, Romanita Disconzi and Vera Chaves Barcellos. These two
exhibitions mark the origin of a collection based in very ambitious
objectives, with the encouragement that, in addition to these, other artists
also donated works to the institution as it was inaugurated.
In this course, during which individual and collective exhibits
constituted the primary strategy for the formation of the collection, its
curatorships guided its constitution. In this, the museum enjoyed the
participation of several critics, artists and researchers, of which the
following stand out: Ana Albani de Carvalho, Ana Zavadil, André Venzon,
Bianca Knaak, Blanca Brites, Bruna Fetter, Benhur Bortolotto, Cris Rocha,
Eder Chiodetto, Eduardo Veras, Flavio Gonçalves, Graziela Salvatori,
Henrique Menezes, José Francisco Alves, Katia Canton, Kika Levy, Laura
Castilho, Marilice Corona, Milton Couto, Neiva Bohns, Nilza Haertel,
Paula Ramos, Paulo Gomes, Sandra Rey, Walter Karwatzki, Vera Chaves,
Marcelo Gobato and Bernardo José de Souza, the final two being primarily
responsible for the video art collection.
In the constitution and cataloging of this collection, we can observe
the first moment documented by Ana Albani de Carvalho in research
carried out for the exhibit A medida do gesto. At this point, she identified:
230 registered works, with the following specifications: a)
more than 80% had been made - and dated by the artists,
their authors between the late 1980s and the early 1990s; b)
almost all belonged to artists from the state of Rio Grande do
Sul, active in the period mentioned, the late 1980s and 1990s;
c) an expressive amount of two- dimensional graphic paintings
(drawing and engraving) followed by three-dimensional
works, mostly objects. The protagonism of photography and
installation, remarkable in the artistic production of the 1990s,
especially from the second half of the decade, are not evident in
the MACRS collection. (CARVALHO, 2012, p. 17)
From 2011, the date of the previous survey, there is an intense period
of expansion and diversification of the collection, today comprising 1,813
works by 921 artists. When cataloging was complete and looking at the
totality of this collection, some data and trends can be highlighted. Despite
the predominance of male artists (476), there is an important female
presence (423) and an almost total absence of black (11), indigenous (2) or
transgender (3) artists. In relation to the works, there is a preponderance of
certain artistic categories, in this order: graphic works such as photography
(469) and printmaking (422) are most numerous in the collection,
followed by painting (236), drawing (167) and sculpture (126). Within
the three-dimensional works, in addition to sculpture, we have objects
(46) and installations (38). Among more recent categories, video is highly
represented (82), followed by artist’s books (30), performance documents
(13) and digital art (14). Although most of the works are from more traditional
categories, it can be said most of the various contemporary artistic trends
are represented in this collection. The works are distributed by date of
completion as follows: 1970s/80s, (213) 1990s (258), and 2000s (1,125), in
which the first two decades account for less than the following decade
and, from 2000 onwards, over two decades, there is impressive increase in
numbers. This distribution demonstrates how the collection predominantly
hosts the most recent production and how it has expanded and diversified
over recent years. Regarding artists, it can be observed they are primarily
from Rio Grande do Sul (463), however some other states are also well
represented, such as São Paulo (112), Rio de Janeiro (27), Minas Gerais (22),
Pará (14) and Santa Catarina (12), while it also includes some foreign artists
(59). The large number of artists from Rio Grande do Sul demonstrates the
Museum is aimed at preserving and giving visibility specifically to local
production and also demonstrates its plurality. Dialogues with the national
circuit, present in the origins of the Museum remain, however the origins of
the artists have diversified. Additionally, a few international artists appear,
with an emphasis on South American artists, including León Ferrari, Marta
Minujin and Gonzalo Mezza, possibly a result of the relationship with the
Mercosul Biennial. The works of certain artists, such as Luiz Carlos Felizardo
(80), Marta Loguércio (46), Xico Stockinger (18), Maria Tomaselli (22) and
Teresa Poester (14), represent a significant part of the collection. In addition
to the fact most works were donated by the artists (1,370), their generous
donations also demonstrate the importance of MACRS to them. 11
Approaching the works, the challenge was to find the primary
axes of this set, considering the possibilities of creating a profile and
understanding its place in the complex panorama of contemporary art
and the museums which host it. A bold, difficult and to some extent
impossible task if considered a final or unique answer. Thus, what I propose
is to launch this Catalogue through an exhibition which should be seen as
a possible reading, an experimental exercise of understanding, expanding
meaning without creating categories or stereotypes.
To develop this curatorship, I looked closely at the collection as a
whole, having the opportunity to discover gems, works and artists I did
not know. I am sure this catalog will be a decisive source of information
for future exhibitions. From this whole, I selected certain artists with works
characterized by their representativeness and their innovative contribution,
seeking to understand local dialogues with the national and international
scene. Some particularly important names are not included because they
do not have significant works in the Museum’s collection, pointing to the
need for future policies to consolidate the collection, filling these gaps. In
my choices, I also included the spaces of the two galleries at the Casa de
Cultura Mario Quintana, where the exhibit launching this Catalogue is held.
In the near future, at MACRS headquarters in the 4 th District, a new exhibit
may be considered to show more of this large, important and diverse
collection. Many readings and evaluations can and should still be done.
Considering this exhibit aims to increase the visibility of the collection,
highlighting aspects of its constitution, I selected artists in four large
groups: first, works from the 1970s and 1980s, which, as seen above, is
the time when, slowly and gradually, contemporary art was established
in Rio Grande do Sul; second, the 1990s, when this production began
to consolidate in the local environment, with the support of new
institutions; third, the years after 2000, a time when these practices
became hegemonic and quantitatively strong, spreading and diversifying
in the artistic panorama; and fourth, video art productions, which do not
observe chronological criteria.
In the first group are Carlos Pasquetti, Carlos Vergara, Carlos Fajardo,
Cildo Meireles, Frantz, Karin Lambrecht, Luiz Carlos Felizardo, Maria Lidia
Magliani, Milton Kurtz, Romanita Disconzi and Vera Chaves Barcellos.
The limited number of works from this period highlights a need for the
expansion of the collection, to properly document the beginning of
contemporary art in the state and it’s national and international dialogues,
disseminating and studying this recent history.
In the second group are Ângelo Venosa, Felix Bressan, Irineu Garcia,
Lia Menna Barreto, Lenir de Miranda, Maria Lucia Cattani, Nuno Ramos and
288