The case “read hilda”: consummation and consumption of a name

Abstract

This essay approaches the case of the written phrase “read hilda”, that appeared as graffitis in the walls of Sao Paulo in the first semester of 2018. The street intervention obtained repercussion, mainly through the appropriation done by brazilian's biggest publishing conglomerate, Cia das Letras, in its divulgation campaign of the Flip - Internacional Literary Party of Paraty, an event that takes place every year in Brazil, and that in its 2018 edition had Hilda Hilst as its homaged author. Relating this case to other similar attempts of appropriation in artistic works, made by companies, in this text we reflect critically on axis that include topics such as urban and street art, authorship, art market and capitalism.