Indigenous cultural production and Art History in Brazil: Exhibitions and their statements (part I - Alegria de Viver, Alegria de Criar)

Abstract

This text presents the first movement of a reflection that aims to articulate historiographical revision, documentary research and analysis of different conceptions about indigenous arts in Brazil, having as object of investigation Brazilian exhibitions dedicated to the theme. In order to address the proposed problem, it was decided at this moment (part I) to consider a case study in its uniqueness: the exhibition Alegria de Viver, Alegria de Criar [Joy of Living, Joy of Creating] (1977-1978), idealized by Mario Pedrosa, but not realized. We will call attention to the theoretical-methodological approaches related to the conception and planning of the exhibition, investigating how the conceptual universe of the show allows us to observe the direct relationship between curatorial and/or institutional thinking and the evidence of the persistence of a certain historical view about the cultural production of indigenous peoples in Brazil. This essay also aims to articulate the relationship between “objects” of (research in) art, theories of art and anthropology, based on curatorial studies.