MAC USP WAS PIONEER IN CREATING AN EXPERIMENTAL VIDEO DEPARTMENT IN 1977.

The exhibit

Under Roberto Moreira S. Cruz’s curatorship, the Vídeo_MAC exhibition rescues a very special collection and a moment in MAC USP’s history, presenting videos by artists who worked at the institution between 1977 and 1978; a pioneering project for an art museum in Brazil: a video sector that functioned as a kind of laboratory in which the artists here presented could experiment and create proposals using this new medium. In addition to presenting them as a whole for the first time to the public, this curatorship endeavor is the result of a postdoctoral project developed in the Inter-Graduate Program in Aesthetics and Art History, under the supervision of Cristina Freire. The project used not only the research consolidated by Freire with the collection of conceptual art over decades, but also the donation of Walter Zanini’s Library to the Museum.

This exhibition is very pleasing for a university museum like MAC USP: firstly, because the it reviews the formation of the collection, focusing on a privileged moment in its history, in which Walter Zanini (as the Museum’s first director) implemented a prospective program with the creation of the Setor de Vídeo and Espaço B, stimulating artists to contribute and collaborate. Zanini idealized MAC USP as a laboratory for artistic experiments and with this purpose, he used his researcher strategies to establish the Museum. Secondly, since Vídeo_MAC is the result of academic research, it reinforces the MAC as a space for study, training and dissemination of the knowledge produced within the University.

MAC USP

Works

After a long period of disappearance, the audiovisual content produced by artists in the Setor de Vídeo, in 1977 and 1978, is publicly shown in this exhibition for the first time. The remaining ten videotapes were found in 2013 by Regina Silveira and Cristina Freire at MIS after insistent searches, since the material was not correctly indexed in the collection of that museum. This material was digitized with the contribution of the artist Antoni Muntadas, who performed the remastering process in a laboratory in Spain. The original portapak device that belonged to the Setor de Vídeo is currently in the Museum, inoperative, however.

On this website, the viewer will be able to observe a selection of 18 works produced at that time, when the first embryonic and intuitive traces of video art in Brazil were surfacing.

THESE VIDEOS DID EXPRESS POSSIBILITIES OF CREATING AN AUDIOVISUAL AESTHETIC IN DIALOGUE WITH BRAZILIAN ARTISTS PRODUCTION IN THE 1970S.

Videopost

In the second half of 1977, Colombian artist Jonier Marin performed a collective art project in the activities of the Setor de Vídeo; he gathered several international artists around the idea of producing videographic works. Starting from the practice of postal art, Marin established correspondence with 19 artists from several countries, receiving guidance on how to make an experimental video. These discussions by mail served as a kind of descriptive script, from which Jonier Marin, with the collaboration of the Setor de Vídeo team and using the museum’s portapak equipment, conducted the suggested works, composing the Videopost series, with 17 short videos with both varied themes and aesthetic proposals.

This room presents all videos produced for the Videopost series in succession, as well as some original documents from correspondence with different artists.

Curator

MAC USP was Brazil’s pioneer institution in formulating a project to promote and disseminate experimental audiovisual works in the second half of the 1970s. The director at the time, Walter Zanini, established the Setor de Vídeo in 1977, which functioned as a laboratory for the creation and diffusion of video art. The acquisition of the equipment in the portapak format, a black and white ½ inch Sony model AV3400, inaugurated the activities of this Sector, which was coordinated by Cacilda Teixeira da Costa, Marília Saboya and Fátima Berch, with technical support from Hironie Ciafreis. A set of audiovisual works was created over the short period of approximately one year; works considered to be pioneering in the context of contemporary Brazilian art. As part of these actions, informative exhibitions were also held at Espaço B – a room dedicated to periodic video art exhibitions.
The videos produced in there – by artists such as Regina Silveira, Julio Plaza, Carmela Gross, Gabriel Borba, Roberto Sandoval, Gastão de Magalhães, Donato Ferrari, among others, and the Videopost series organized by Jonier Marin –, disappeared for more than 35 years, are practically unheard of for the general public and almost unknown by researchers.
The Vídeo_MAC exhibition is an opportunity to shed light on these works and rework the history of Brazilian video art in its early years.

Roberto Moreira S. Cruz
Curator

CONCEPTUAL AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF PRODUCTION WERE AUDIOVISUAL PRACTICED IN SEARCH OF A LANGUAGE THAT STILL WAS STILL MATURING.

Timeline

This timeline highlights some of the pioneering initiatives promoted by MAC USP in the 1970s and 1980s around video as a form of artistic expression.

1974

Between 1963 and 1978, then MAC USP’s director, Walter Zanini held an annual international contemporary art exhibition at the museum. The 1974 edition presented Brazilian video art production works for the first time.

Prospectiva 74 was an exhibition curated by Walter Zanini for MAC USP, focusing essentially on contemporary production of new media. In the introductory text, Zanini stated: “This MAC exhibition, designed since the middle of 1973, seeks to bring to our audience a broad view of the language resulting from new media (…).”

1975

Video Art was the first major international exhibition of video art produced in the USA. At the invitation of Suzanne Delehanty and with the direct collaboration of Walter Zanini, the artists Sonia Andrade, Antonio Dias, Fernando Cocchiarale, Anna Bella Geiger and Ivens Machado participated in the exhibition, held at the Institute of Contemporary Art of the University of Pennsylvania.

1976-1977

Walter Zanini created MAC USP’s Setor de Vídeo and Cacilda Teixeira da Costa coordinated it. This was a pioneering sector in Brazil due to establishing a specific work proposal to produce video art in a museum. Organizing exhibitions, technical training courses for equipment use and assisting artists in the creation of their work, its activities effectively occurred from April 1977 until early 1978.

Espaço B was a room dedicated to periodic video exhibitions. This room presented the works created by the artists in the MAC USP creation environment, as well as informative exhibits. The creations of Gabriel Borba, José Roberto Aguilar, Sonia Andrade, Rita Moreira, Norma Bahia, Carmela Gross, Julio Plaza, Letícia Parente, Marcelo Nitsche are among those exhibited.

1976November

Acquisition of the Sony portapak equipment, model AV 3400.

1977June

The course on video initiation, promoted by the Setor de Vídeo, served as a learning experience to use the portapak. On the same occasion, Gabriel Borba and José Roberto Aguilar exhibited their most recent video works at Espaço B: Me e Nós, by Borba, and Lucila, a police film, by Aguilar.

1977August

Gabriel Borba produces the work O gato acorrentado a um só traço in the Setor de Vídeo.

1977September-December

Julio Plaza, Regina Silveira, Carmela Gross, Donato Ferrai, Roberto Sandoval, Gastão de Magalhães, among others, perform their first experiments with video, using the equipment available at Setor de Vídeo. Some of these works are shown at the Vídeo MAC exhibition that occurred at Espaço B in December of that same year. Other works had been screening as “Gente” (1977) by Marcelo Nitsch – this video is still missing.

1978

Organized by Walter Zanini and José Roberto Aguilar, the 1st International Meeting on Video Art showed several exhibitions on Brazilian and international video art production, at MIS. The works produced in the Setor de Vídeo of MAC USP were part of the programming.

1986

The exhibition Vídeo de Artista e Televisão, organized by Aracy Amaral and Cacilda Teixeira da Costa, presented a set of video works about the relationship between independent experimental production and commercial television.

1988

Conceived by Rejane Cintrão and Aracy Amaral, the Espaço Vídeo MAC Panasonic exhibition occurred between August and December 1988, showing a daily schedule of videos by Brazilian and foreign artists. This initiative sought to bring the reflection and diffusion of video art production closer to the context of contemporary art and the activities of MAC USP.

Data Sheet

UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO
Reitor/President: Vahan Agopyan
Vice-Reitor/Vice-President: Antonio Carlos Hernandes

MUSEU DE ARTE CONTEMPORÂNEA
CONSELHO DELIBERATIVO BOARD
Presidente/President: Ana Magalhães
Conselheiros/ Counselors: Antonio Herci Ferreira, Edson Leite; Eugênia Vilhena; Evandro Nicolau; Helouise Costa; Joseane Alves Ferreira; Marta Bogéa; Ricardo Fabbrini; Rodrigo Queiroz; Rosana Paulino.

DIRETORIA EXECUTIVE BOARD
Diretor/Director: Ana Magalhães
Vice-diretora/Deputy Director: Marta Bogéa
Assessorias/Consulting: Beatriz Cavalcanti e Vera Filinto
Secretaria/Secretary: Carla Augusto

PESQUISA, DOCENCIA E CURADORIA RESEARCH, TEACHING AND CURATORSHIP
Chefia/Head: Helouise Costa
Docentes/Teaching and Research: Ana Magalhães; Edson Leite; Carmen Aranha (Professor Sênior Senior Professor) e Rodrigo Queiroz (FAU USP vínculo MAC USP Secondary link)
Secretaria/Secretaries: Andréa Pacheco; Sara Valbon

ACERVO COLLECTION
Chefia/Head: Paulo Roberto Barbosa
Arquivo/Archive: Silvana Karpinscki
Catalogação e Documentação/Registrar Section: Cristina Cabral; Fernando Piola; Marília Lopes; Michelle Alencar
Conservação e Restauração-Papel/Conservation and Restoration – Paper: Rejane Elias; Renata Casatti
Apoio/Assistant: Aparecida Caetano
Conservação e Restauração – Pintura e Escultura/Conservation and Restoration – Painting and Sculpture: Ariane Lavezzo; Marcia Barbosa
Apoio/Assistant: Rozinete Silva
Conservação Preventiva/Preventive Conservation: Silvia Meira
Montagem/Art handling: Fabio Ramos; Mauro Silveira
Secretaria/Secretary: Regina Pavão

BIBLIOTECA E DOCUMENTAÇÃO LOURIVAL GOMES MACHADO LIBRARY AND DOCUMENTATION SERVICE
Chefia/Head: Lauci B. Quintana
Documentação Bibliográfica/Bibliographic Documentation: Anderson Tobita; Mariana Queiroz e Liduína do Carmo

COMUNICAÇÃO PRESS
Chefia/Head: Sérgio Miranda
Equipe/Team: Beatriz Berto e Dayane Inácio

EDUCAÇÃO EDUCATION
Educadores/Educators: Andrea Biella; Evandro Nicolau, Maria Angela Francoio e Renata Sant’Anna
Secretaria/Secretary: Ana Lucia Siqueira

PLANEJAMENTO E PROJETOS: EXPOSIÇÕES E DESIGN PLANNING AND PROJECTS: EXHIBITIONS AND DESIGN
Chefia/Head: Ana Maria Farinha
Editoria de Arte, Projeto Gráfico, Expográfico e Sinalização/Art Editor, Graphic Design, Exhibition and Signage Design: Elaine Maziero
Editoria Gráfica/Graphic Editor: Roseli Guimarães
Produção Executiva/Executive Producer: Alecsandra Matias de Oliveira
Projetos/Projects: Claudia Assir

SECRETARIA ACADÊMICA ACADEMIC OFFICE
Equipe/ Team: Neusa Brandão, Paulo Marquezini; Marcelo Ludovici

SERVIÇO ÁUDIOVISUAL, INFORMÁTICA E TELEFONIA AUDIOVISUAL, COMPUTER AND TELEPHONY SERVICE
Chefia/Head: Marilda Giafarov
Equipe/Team: Bruno Ribeiro; Marta Cilento; Thiago Santos

SERVIÇO ADMINISTRATIVO E OPERACIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL SERVICE
Chefia/Head: Juliana de Lucca
Apoio Operacional/Operational Support: Júlio Agostinho
Secretaria/Secretary: Sueli Dias
Engenharia/ Engineering: José Eduardo Sonnewend
Almoxarifado e Patrimônio/Storeroom and Assets
Chefia/Head: Thiago de Souza
Equipe/Team: Clei Natalício Junior; Daniel de Oliveira Pires; Marilane dos Reis; Nair Araújo; Paulo Loffredo; Waldireny Medeiros
Contabilidade/Accountants: Francisco Ribeiro Filho; Silvio Corado
Apoio/Assistant: Eugênia Vilhena
Pessoal/Personnel: Nilza Araújo
Protocolo, Expediente e Arquivo/Register, Expedition and Archive:
Chefia/Head: Maria Sales
Equipe/Team: Maria dos Remédios do Nascimento; Simone Gomes
Serviços Gerais/Operational Services
Chefia/Head: José Eduardo da Silva
Copa/Kitchen: Regina de Lima Frosino
Manutenção Predial/Maintenance: André Tomaz; Luiz Antonio Ayres; Ricardo Caetano
Transporte/Transport: Anderson Stevanin
Vigilância/Security
Chefia/Head: Marcos Prado
SPPU/USP: Rui de Aquino; José Carlos dos Santos
Equipe/Team: Acácio da Cruz; Alcides da Silva; Antoniel da Silva; Antonio Marques; Clóvis Bomfim; Edson Martins; Elza Alves; Emílio Menezes; Geraldo Ferreira; José de Campos; Laércio Barbosa; Luís Carlos de Oliveira; Luiz Macedo; Marcos de Oliveira; Marcos Aurélio de Montagner
Tesouraria/Treasury: Rosineide de Assis

EXPOSIÇÃO VÍDEO_MAC (DIGITAL)/VIDEO_MAC EXHIBITION (DIGITAL)
Curador/Curator: Roberto Moreira S. Cruz
Criação webdesign/Webdesign creation: Julio Dui (Mono Artes Gráficas)
Programação/Programming: Lucas Cancela (Estúdio Grampo)
Apoio/Support: Serviço audiovisual, informática e telefonia (MAC USP)/Computer and telephony service (MAC USP)

Research Note: Every effort has been made to locate the artists and / or copyright holders of the videos. If you have any information, contact MAC USP (docmac@usp.br).

Video_MAC

The exhibit

Works

Sem título

Carmela Gross

1977 // 03:03 min. P/B com som

As ilusões

Flavio Pons e Cláudio Goulart

1977 // 4:39 min. P/B com som

Typology of my body

Gastão de Magalhães

1977 // 4:58 min. P/B com som

O circo

José Roberto Aguilar

1977 // 04:55 min. P/B com som

Liliane a sós – solitude

Liliane Soffer

1977 // 3:51 min. P/B com som

Imitação: para fitas magnéticas

Roberto Sandoval

1978 // 3:33 min. P/B com som

“Impulsos” da esquerda para direita

Roberto Sandoval

1978 // 1:48 min. P/B com som

Reviver

Donato Ferrari

1978 // 2:53 min. P/B com som

Videologia

Regina Silveira

1978 // 2:26 min. P/B sem som

Campo

Regina Silveira

1977 // 2:34 min. P/B sem som

Artifício

Regina Silveira

1977 // 1:22 min. P/B sem som

Objetoculto

Regina Silveira

1977 // 00:59 min. P/B sem som

Me

Gabriel Borba

1977 // 4:09 min. P/B com som

Nós (Versão II)

Gabriel Borba

1977 // 1:41 min. P/B com som

O gato acorrentado a um só traçado

Gabriel Borba

1977 // 1:43 min / P/B com som

[4 fragmentos de vídeo], c.

Julio Plaza

c. 1978 // 0:50 min. P/B com som

Descanso 3’

Julio Plaza

1978 // 2:58 min. P/B sem som

Câmara Obscura

Julio Plaza

1977 // 4:06 min. P/B com som

Videopost

Curator

Timeline

1974

1975

1976-1977

1976November

1977June

1977August

1977September-December

1978

1986

1988

Archive

Data Sheet

MORE WORKS

Sem título

Carmela Gross

1977 // 03:03 min. P/B com som

As ilusões

Flavio Pons e Cláudio Goulart

1977 // 4:39 min. P/B com som

Typology of my body