Name: TAMARA SILVA CHAGAS
Publication date: 19/04/2024
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| ALMERINDA DA SILVA LOPES | Presidente |
| FERNANDA PEQUENO DA SILVA | Examinador Externo |
| PEDRO ERNESTO FAGUNDES | Examinador Interno |
| SANDRA MAKOWIECKY | Examinador Externo |
| UEBER JOSE DE OLIVEIRA | Examinador Interno |
Summary: This study addressed the production of Thereza Simões and Cybèle Varela within the current of the New Brazilian Figuration and, also, of Conceptual Art. It involved Brazil from 1965 to 1970. We sought to reflect on how the sociopolitical commitment occurred in their works against the repression promoted by the Civil-Military Dictatorship, in addition to verifying the value judgment expressed in their productions regarding the consumer society as a supporter of the structures which allowed the coup and the duration of the dictatorship. The intention was to highlight similarities and differences in the discourse around such society on the part of the New Brazilian Figuration and Pop Art. The political role of the female figure was highlighted, especially the two artists, who took a stand against the dictatorship. The hypothesis is that Simões and Varela developed a critique of the oppressive socio-political scenario in Brazil in the 1960s, extending this critique to consumer society and cultural industry due to their resulting ills – as an instrument for maintaining the repressive status quo of the dictatorship. The qualitative method was used to carry out this theoretical research, which assumed an exploratory and explanatory nature. The study was thus justified by the originality of the topic and its relevance, as both artists produced works of aesthetic and historical value, both for their experimentalism in the languages of painting and objects, and for their participation in the most popular art exhibitions of the time and, even, due to the dialogue maintained with its artistic and historical scenario. The historical context that permeates the artists' production is marked by the duration of the Civil-Military Dictatorship and its persecution of political opponents. Censorship and repression led many of the members of the artistic vanguard to take a critical stance towards the dictatorship. Several of the creators linked to the New Figuration were persecuted or had their works seized, as happened with Simões and Varela, authors of works considered subversive. As a theoretical reference, we used the writings of philosophers Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer and Pierre Bourdieu on the cultural industry, in dialogue with the critical commentary present in the artists' works regarding the consumer society. Herbert Marcuse's reflections were also used in defense of the role of art as an instrument of social transformation, to establish a parallel with the political commitment existing in the works of Simões and Varela.
