Prior to visiting the Whitney, I wanted to gather some background knowledge on who Helio Oiticica truly was so I could understand his painting and sculptures a little more thoroughly.
Born in Brazil, Helio came from a very nationalistic family. A lot of his paintings were influenced by modern (at the time) European art which I can definitely agree with after visiting his exhibit at the Whitney. Even thought Helio passed away at a very young age, he left a beautiful legacy of artwork behind him. After visiting the museum, I can infer as to why it was called a “delirium”. Genuinely, his paintings are pretty difficult to decipher because they are very abstract, and quite difficult to understand if you do not know how to interpret art. Helio created a mythical world of his own and interpreting his art was definitely a challenge.
The first painting of his that caught my eye in the exhibit was this one just because it was based on political views. “Seja marginal seja heroi” translates to “Be an outlaw… be a hero.” Helio was referring to a time where the Brazilian government became insanely oppressive eventually turning Brazil into a dictatorship government. Helio himself helped push a movement to fight against these drastic government changes.
My interpretation of this painting is that in his eyes, if you go against the law and fight for what you believe in, and what is best for your country, you will be a hero. Of course, being a hero sometimes comes with the consequences of you getting killed for your viewpoints. 1980s Brazil was a prime time for violence. I believe this is why the background was red, initially to signify death of the people that spoke up and acted on their true beliefs.
The second part of the exhibit that I found very interesting but rather confusing, was this sculpture. In my eyes, this sculpture signifies the overall “delirium” that is being reenforced throughout the whole exhibit.Walking around, many of the paintings and sculptures I saw were so perfectly structured and organized. I think this extreme “order” that was present added to the overall madness of Helios artwork.
The different structured rectangles, all slightly different variations of shades of orange reenforces Helios concentration and madness. Personally speaking, I could not really fully understand the meaning behind this painting, if there even was one. To me, it was just very neatly designed and made you stop and think. What caught my attention was how perfectly aligned everything was.
Overall, the exhibit showed me how many different types of artwork there could be and how many difference ways you can present art. Clearly, Helio showed that art can even be interactive! I personally enjoyed the physical paintings and sculptures rather than the interactive session, but I can totally understand why people are attracted to that area the most. I personally appreciated how much Helio connected with his roots and made several paintings and sculptures regarding the political movement of Brazil at the time.
I also really liked the red flag. I think Oiticica is a really cool artist because not only was he extremely introspective and created works of art that reflected what was inside his brain but he also made a lot of political art that maybe would’ve been dangerous to show in his home country, Brazil. Additionally I liked how you pointed out that even though the word “delirium” was in the title of the exhibit, a lot of his work was very structural and organized. It’s interesting to think about how some people can make something so beautiful from the mess in their brains.
Really loved how you did research on Helio Oiticica before your visit to the Whitney, that would’ve definitely made my visit even better. Your analysis of his background and how that directly spoke to his inspirations for his art, really put things into perspective for me! Couldn’t agree more with your idea that Helio really challenged viewers to fight for what they believed in and to stay strong despite the oppression they may have possibly been facing from the government. Overall, your interpretation of his background story, life, and art work was really articulated well and emphasized by your amazing photos. Great blog!
After reading some of the reviews posted about Helio Oiticicia, I was able to reflect on my own blog post even more. Naturally, I did the background research of Helio’s personal life but not the country he was living in. This caused me to make inferences about certain things that did not really click at the museum. Not really knowing the situation that Brazil was in made it a little more difficult for myself to interpret the sand and the interactive huts and trees and parrots all around. Know after reading, I can understand how Helio wanted that part of the exhibit to signify how Brazil used to be and how badly he wanted things to go back to the way they were. But Helio said it himself, “When you move into life, you move into politics.” There was no going back. Rather, he needed to take action as new circumstances were presented to him.