When thinking about going to any museum, you don’t expect to be able to touch anything. You expect to have to walk around and keep your distance behind the black tape that is applied to the floor to keep you away from the art. In the Whitney Museum’s exhibit of Helio Oiticica, you were allowed and encouraged to be a part of the art. The exhibit itself was created to be interactive and create an experience for the visitors.
This particular exhibit was extremely interactive, which shows Helio’s intentions of showing us his experiences in his hometown in Brazil. There was one piece of art where you could walk through sand and rocks. On the paths, there were these small huts that you could sit in and there was a parrot in a cage. This whole set up gave off a tropical vibe that Im sure was supposed to resemble the small villages in Brazil.
On the other side of the exhibit, there was a more relaxed vibe. There were hammocks and beds in dark rooms that you was invited to sit in. There was also another hut towards the end of the exhibit that allowed you to walk on rocks and water. This was a very personal feeling exhibit that allowed you to interact and participate in the art instead of just having to look at it.
This Helio exhibit was a very unique one that I enjoyed very much. To be completely honest, I am not a big museum person and was not expecting to enjoy this exhibit at all. I was pleasantly surprised though when I was allowed and invited to participate in playing with the art. It was very
After visiting the Helip Oiticica exhibit, I real the article called “Cool Hear: AN Art Outlaw Who Still Simmer” by Holland Cotter. This article really opened my eyes to the meaning of the exhibit. Cotter managed to do this by explaining how Helio embraced the quote “Purity is a Myth”. This showed me how Helio believed that good can come from anywhere and everywhere. Hello lived in a small town in Brazil the was poverty stricken and yet he still found beauty in everything in that town. He conveyed that simplistic beauty to us in his exhibit. Hello found beauty in everything which is what he portrayed in his artwork which was very insightful and interesting for me to understand.
Lelja, I totally agree with your the feeling you felt when you went to that one side of the museum with the “relaxed vibe.” Personally, I felt that the whole museum had a really relaxing and lay back kind of feeling to it. Almost like home, where you can just sit around and everything is just surrounding you. Same goes with the “tropical vibe,” I also kind of had that feeling of being in a Brazilian setting and feeling like I was surrounded by the tropics. Overall, great representation and I enjoyed the review you put out!
Lejla, I agree with the fact that Hélio Oiticica’s intentions were to have his viewers be able to interact with his artwork like you mentioned the Tropicália, where you get to take off your shoes and socks and be able to walk in his hometown, Brazil. Personally, I enjoyed not just staring at a flat piece of painting and not being able to touch anything like you mentioned in the beginning that occurs in most museums. Overall, great work!