The New Brazil

About 70km away from Belo Horizonte is a large artists environment set in beautifully kept gardens and open to the public. We got to the rodoviario early in the morning of 22nd February 2013, and boarded the bus to Centro de Arte Contemporânea Inhotim (Center of Contemporary Art Inhotim, pronounced In-hot-cheem). Inhotim was build by mining magnate Bernardo Paz in the 1980’s. It is now over 5000 acres and has over 1000 employees tending to it. In 2011 it attracted over 250,000 visitors. Art pavilions are dotted all over the landscape, hosting artists from all over the world. Artworks brave the 30-degree Celsius heat among the garden spaces, in between the 5 lakes that are there.

The bus drops you off right outside the access way to Inhotim and the guy shouts out loads of stuff in Portuguese. Exiting the bus we just followed everyone else up the gravel roadway to the entrada. It costs R$82 for the both of us (about $US41 for two) for entrance, as we opted for the ticket that included the free transport provided at select places in the grounds – little golfing buggies that zoom you between designated spots – the only way to travel!

You can decide to take it easy on your visit around Inhotim, but we decided to try and see the whole lot in one day It wasn’t going to be easy, but we were both determined.

Art installations we saw included 3 distinct VW Beetle bugs with different colors on each panel by artist Jarbas Lopes. They were adorned with Portuguese poetry that were written on the cars windshields – when the artist and his friends drove the cars across Brazil listening to an interconnected music system all playing the same songs in each car at the same time. The cars look really cool in their new home next to a lake in Inhotim.

There was also the obligatory pretentious crap too, such as Cildo Meireles’ work ‘Immensa’, 2002, which seemed to be just some tables sitting on top of each other.

One pavilion I was particularly unimpressed with was the ‘Sonic Pavilion’ by Doug Aitken, 2008. The pavilion was supposed to be ringing with the sounds from a hole that was in the middle of it, running down 200 meters into the earth, acting as a sort of acoustical enhancement. Listening to the sounds of the earth. It just seemed like some pre-recorded background noise to me – and I could not help thinking how this pavilion, which was one that took a golf buggy to get to and was quite out of the way, was a bit of a waste of space. It certainly didn’t speak to me, anyway.

My favorite piece by far was by Cardiff and Miller, called ‘The Murder Of Crows’, 1998. You enter a large warehouse-sized pavilion. In the middle are chairs arranged almost like an orchestra. There is music playing, from many different speakers all around the warehouse. Each speaker plays a different instrument, or sound. The mood of the piece is dark, somber and even threatening. Sitting in the chairs in the middle is a privilege. You can really feel the piece take you to a frightening place. The acoustics here are amazing, and it was only when leaving did I realize the stuff covering the floor, walls and ceiling, were thousands and thousands of feathers.

Upon leaving these pavilions you feel you really get a chance to absorb what you have seen because you are in a safe and beautiful environment. We trekked on, and came to an interactive exhibit. Marila Dardot’s A origem da obra de arte, 2002, as essentially a large workspace in which you could plant your art. Flower pots made of clay in the shape of all the different letters in the alphabet were available, as were various flower seeds. The idea is to sow the seeds in soil in the letters you want to use and then to plant your words, or ideas, and watch them grow! This artwork more than any other really seemed to capture the spirit of what Inhotim is all about.

Other clever installations included one which documented the crushing poverty in Salvador in a series of photographs by Miguel Rio Branco; one installation which you had to pass by a turnstile to enter, which in turn opened a massive 100 ton jack that was attached to the walls of the installation only by a fraction of an inch – this meant it was possible, theoretically, that if enough people visited, they could all literally bring the gallery space crashing down. We figured that this was highly unlikely so ventured inside. Another was a room consisting of all things red, floor, walls, fridge, EVERYTHING in this room was red. Right up to a freaky red liquid all over the floor which led into a darkened room, right up to a sink on the wall at an unnerving angle that reminded me of a neo-noir detective story, like Sam Slade, or Max Payne.

 

Works that Francesca really liked were by Tunga, a weird guy if you ask me, who seemed to enjoy using blood and urine in his artwork (someone has issues), and another interactive exhibit that had multiple rooms with a different film projected on the wall of each one. ‘Spacial interventions’ were an idea developed in the 1970’s by Helio Oiticica in New York. Each room contains something different, in one, hundreds of baloons, another a swimming pool, and another had hammocks you could lie in. Each work is considered incomplete without a spectator, or ‘participant’. Pretty cool stuff, especially as the movies were all of 60’s era heroes like Jimi Hendrix, blasting the music of that time too.

Unfortunately, the guards at Inhotim are even more avaricious than the usual breed of Brazilian museum guard and enforced the no photography rule as if there lives depended on it; otherwise we would have loads more pics to share. Inhotim is a brilliant day trip from Belo Horizonte and well worth the visit though. Apparently they are busy planning to build hotels and apartments there now, including a 15,000 capacity amphitheater. I think we went just in time before the prices get hiked to death, and you can’t move for fellow art lovers!

The Gold Trail and Inhotim is not the only things the state of Minas Gerais can be proud of though. With its rich history and contemporary outlook matching the first two places we visited from Belo Horizonte (Ouro Preto and Inhotim), Beagá itself (the local name for Belo Horizonte) is a revelation and a breath of fresh air after the putrification of Rio and the crushing ominousness of Sao Paulo. BH is described in the Lonely Planet guidebook as ‘more or less a charmless concrete jungle’. We found exactly the opposite to be true. Settled during the Gold Rush, BH was planned and conceived in the 1890’s to replace the old Imperial capital of the state, Ouro Preto. The new republic wanted to get rid of everything Empire and so wanted a new capital for the state. Surrounded by mountains and containing several large parks and open spaces, we noted BH’s wide avenidas, or avenues, and interesting, characterful architecture. Even the modern programs of urban renewal and food security for the poor have received international recognition for the third most populated city in Brazil. We found, by luck, rather than by design, that our hotel was located right in the center of the places we wished to visit – not many in BH, true, but we did find them to be interesting, nevertheless.

The main place we visited was the Vale sponsored Memorial Minas Gerais. Located in the public and open-spaced Praca da Liberdade, this museum was one of the most interesting and accessible museums we have visited in Brazil. We were introduced to our English speaking guide Breno who spent hours with us guiding us around the museum and answering our questions throughout. He explained the philosophy behind the museum is one of public participation with emphasis on accessibility for all. The museum and guides are all free, as is the usage of the reading and research rooms. The architecture typified the thinking in Minas Gerais, then as now, with more than a nod to Roman and Greek styles, with a Minas Gerais flag complete with the motto ‘Order and Progress’ demonstrating the pride that the inhabitants have of their great state.

The museum was separated into 3 floors. The first floor is dedicated to the artists of Minas Gerais, including Guimaraes Rosa, one of Brazil’s most famous writers. There is a ‘tree’ with purple flowers comprised of paper with a passage from The Devil to Pay in the Backlands. Also the puppet theatre group Teatro Giramundo Movel who travel the country putting on shows for people. We got some great shots of the puppets they use.

The second floor’s theme is of heritage and historical culture of the region. Everything from the city’s first foundation stone, through the lives and lifestyles of its historical inhabitants since the 18th Century are explored. We saw artworks that used ancient cave paintings found in Brazil, clay pieces from many different artists representing people from all walks of Brazilian life going about their lives. Joao Alves was my favorite.

There was one room that was built like a tiny version of Ouro Preto, and they had little movies depicting what different people might be doing at that particular time of day. So, if you visited the museum in the morning the videos would be showing people of the colonial period doing morning stuff, like going to market, fishing or mining, and if you went in the evening, you would see people dancing and drinking, etc.

They even had a small replica of the Municipal Theatre we went to in Ouro Preto. Apparently, slaves were very keen on getting work in the theatre in colonial times – it was much preferred over the back-breaking and dangerous work in the mines. We also found out that slaves would get paid for this work – eventually earning enough to buy their freedom. Many slaves who did this went on to run successful businesses and bought their own slaves! Brutal.

The third floor was all about the mining history of Brazil – lots of spaces  to have presentations, etc. We left the museum because we ran out of time – although with Breno’s excellent guidance we could easily have spent 4-5 hours here. We had to leave though, alas, because we wanted to visit Brazil’s only Hard Rock Café before our flight to Brasilia later that afternoon.

It turns out Brazil’s only Hard Rock Café is also the most remotest and emptiest restaurants South of the Equator.

After visiting the Hard Rock Café in Belo Horizonte I will never complain about a place being dead again! The whole shopping center was deserted and located in the middle of nowhere – I really cannot see it being open even in a few months time.

Next stop, Brasilia, the capital. We flew there from Belo Horizonte because flights are only marginally more expensive and it meant we could avoid the overnight bus.

The first capital I have visited South of the Equator is Brasilia, and unfortunately it was a massive flop. Francesca says she did not mind Brasilia, and we definitely both had fun picking it apart when we were there. I, however, have a theory about Brasilia, and it is this. Brasilia is not in Brazil, it is in North Korea. Somehow, and I am not sure how, when you are on the plane flying to Brasilia, they switch you out, over to another part of the world, and they land you in the DPRK – North Korea. The only thing missing were Brazilian minders following us around and bugging our hotel rooms! From the wide boulevards with little to no pedestrian traffic, to its Communist-era filing cabinet style office blocks – empty car parks belying the fact that the buildings are all empty. The main attraction is the TV tower in the middle of the city – a city which for reasons passing understanding actually boasts about its centro being in the shape of an airplane. It feels like the whole city is a Communist era faux-city, a fake-out meant to trick visitors into believing there is wealth here, even people. But there isn’t. So what is going on here? Why is this capital so devoid of any life?

Built in 1960, Brasilia was supposed to signify a new era for Brazil; one where the nation wrests power away from the rich Southern coastal areas, and instead focuses on holistic Brazil – North and South, black and white, rich and poor – we are the world, etc. A central capital was written into the Constitution of the New Republic back in 1827 with this idea in mind. However, no-one could agree where to put it! It wasn’t until Juscelino Kubichek (JK, ex-mayor of Belo Horizonte) was President that the location where Brasilia now stands was picked out. Lucio Costa ‘won’ a contest to be the urban planner in 1957, along with Brazil’s favorite (massively overrated) architect, Oscar Niemeyer. Most if not all important buildings in Brasilia were conceived, designed and oversaw by Niemeyer – a friend of Kubichek’s from back in the Belo Horizonte days. In fact, the more we found out about Kubichek and his development of Brasilia, the more murky and sketchy the whole deal seems.

We visited the Kubichek memorial building the first day of being in Brasilia. A towering tribute to the man, and also to Russian Communist era architecture.

And no wonder! He was knighted by the Crown, given the keys to practically every city in both hemispheres and was generally loved by all and sundry – the darling of the Kennedys and presented the Jules Rimet trophy by the team when they won the World Cup.

What really struck me though was all the photographs of JK at board meetings and site visits with the developers of Brasilia. He seemed to be part-owner of at least one company that had major government contracts. He and Niemeyer seemed to have carved up the proceeds pretty nicely when it came to Brasilia.

Niemeyer, a Communist by name (although typically for Communists of the era he soon turned Establishment when he started earning money from the man, like Jorge Amado, the writer, for example), famously travelled to Russia, and was asked by Russian media what he liked most about the buildings there. He replied that he thought all Russian buildings were ugly. Niemeyer himself stated that he was attracted to curves, not the straight line, because it reminded him of the female form. Hmm, maybe so, but a lot of his buildings are simply bad. They either look bad, aesthetically, or they are practically bad. We have yet to be impressed by ANY Niemeyer building from Sao Paulo, Belo Horizonte OR Brasilia.

We took a bus trip around Brasilia the next day, and we saw the whole city in a few hours. Mostly Niemeyer’s works, we saw the National Library (biblioteca nacional), the Cathedral of Brasilia, the JK bridge, the Palaces and Congress. The whole journey was not really catered to English speakers, because by the time the translation on the tape started we had long gone past the thing being described.

The shift from colonial impressiveness, and Imperial magnificence in the aesthetics of Brazil’s architecture to this new modernistic Niemeyer-driven soullessness is as great a shame as the tearing down of Penn Station in New York. Modernism says ‘new is good’, without justifying itself through its own beauty or power. I say modernism has ruined Brasilia, and corruption has ruined the idea of Brasilia. I hope that the guardians of Brazil’s architecture, culture and heritage remain the local people who care about their environments, so that places like Paraty, Ouro Preto, Petropolis and Belo Horizonte remain the beautiful sites (UNESCO or otherwise), that they are today.

Brasilia does seem like a faux place to visit and I cannot recommend it, but I am glad I went. It is only by going to these places that you find out hat they are like. No matter that taxis in Brasilia are more expensive than in London, Francesca and I are glad we went, because now we know where the true capital of Brazil lies. Not in Brasilia, and, perhaps surprisingly, not in Rio. The real capital of Brazil is Salvador, Brazil’s African cultural home. That is where we flew next.