Ovo-dilacerado: Grupo Gutai, Grupo Frente, Grupo Ruptura e as vanguardas artísticas nos anos 1950-1960

Abstract

This study has the goal of exposing and analyzing part of the artistic movements in Brazil from 1950 to 1960. More specifically, it focuses on the Concrete Art Movement in Sao Paulo and the Neo-Concrete Movement, which led to the formation of the Grupo Ruptura and Grupo Frente, respectively. Additionally, the study draws comparisons between the above-mentioned movements and the Japanese Gutai Group. Despite the geographical differences, all these groups had commonalities between them, as they were established in a post World War II reality filled with restlessness and questioning. The movements were shaped in a world filled with development ideologies (i.e. Juscelino Kubitschek in Brazil; Japan and the American restructuring program; etc.) that allowed for the exploration of new means of expression, mixing the rational and the experimental in an attempt of answering the challenges of the geopolitical context of the time. Central to the conversation was the role that artists felt they played. For them, it was necessary to restructure their meaning of belonging to the world through artistic means and for the art itself. The notion of oneself was destabilized and rethought along with the relationship between art and body. Such movements saw a greater wish for freedom of expression, in addition to exploring new means for expressing art. Furthermore, this search for expression allowed for the creation of new activities that broke with the traditional relationship between artist and object, such as the artistic manifestations of Action Painting, Body Art and Happening, among others. The emphasis of this study will be on the avant-garde movements that worked within functional and rational paradigms for the search of a universal language, including Max Bill in Europe, the Concrete and Neo-Concrete Movements in Brazil along with the Gutai Group in Japan