Hélio Oiticica (1937-80) was a Brazilian visual artist, sculptor, painter, performance artist, and theorist who was arguable the most influential Latin American artist of the post-World War II era. He was a significant contributor to contemporary art during this time and actively participated in the Neo-Concrete Movement. Within this movement Oiticica was known for his innovative use of color and his tendency to push boundaries, which later led to works coined "environmental art”. Some of his most famous "environmental art” pieces include Penetrables and the famous Tropicália and Eden.
Oiticica’s artistic career began with geometric investigations in painting and drawing, but quickly moved to sculpture, writing, film, , structural installations, often of large-scale and immersive environments that moved the viewer from outside the role of spectator and into the position of an active participant.
In 1969 Oiticica Wrote in an art critic at Village Voice, that his “..art was devoid towards an increasing participation, and the mistrust in the gallery and museum business”.
Paper compositions from Oiticica’s early career (1955–58). These pieces became progressively more dynamic, paving a path for his practice to be liberated from flat painting by sculpture and film.
Hélio Oiticica. Metaesquema, 1958–59. Collection of Diane and Bruce Halle.
Hélio Oiticica. GFR 022, 1955. Collection of Donna and Howard Stone.
Tropicália (1967), his most famous work, is an architectural and immersive environment bringing together clichés associated with “tropicalness”—sand, gravel, exotic birds, and lush foliage. But this kitschy post-card version of the tropics was contrasted by a television monitor continually emitting images and sounds.
Penetrables were a series of installations from 1960 to the 70s that essentially “physicalized” color theory. These pieces allowed viewers to walk into, or through, architectural abstract “paintings” like a maze.
Hélio Oiticica. PN1 Penetrable (PN1 Penetrável), 1960. César and Claudio Oiticica Collection, Rio de Janeiro. © César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro.
Hélio Oiticica. PN27 Penetrable, Rijanviera, 1979. César and Claudio Oiticica Collection, Rio de Janeiro. © César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro.
Oiticica’s Parangolés was a body of work made-up of created objects that were meant to be carried or worn by participants and are considered some of his most radical contributions to contemporary art of the time.
Luiz Fernando Guimarães wearing Oiticica’s P30 Parangolé Cape 23, M’Way Ke, at the West Side Piers, New York, 1972. Private Collection. © César and Claudio Oiticica, Rio de Janeiro.
References:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/25/arts/design/helio-oiticica-penetrables.html
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