The institutional debate : a comparative study between neoconcretism and minimalism

Abstract

This dissertation compares Brazilian Neoconcretism and American Minimalism. Whereas the former movement took place in Rio de Janeiro from 1959 to 1964, the latter emerged in New York during the 1960s . Despite these distinct origins, there is evidence that both movements performed similar roles in the history of modern art of that period . To proceed with the analysis, two parameters are chosen : the space of the gallery and the role of the observer. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that Neoconcretism and Minimalism treated these parameters differently. To verify it, a series of art works is analyzed in visual as well as conceptual terms . As regards Neoconcretism , the chosen works are Willy's de Castro’s Objet os Ativos (1959 - 1962 ) and Hélio Oiticica’ s Parangolé s (1964); to c ontemplate the Minimalist movement , it is studied Carl Andre ’s Lever (1966) and Robert Morris’s Unitary Forms (1960 - 1966). These analyses suggest that where as the space of Neoconcretism was originally “ heterogeneous” , that of Minimalism was “ homogeneous”. On the other hand, the observer of the former movement was “participtive”, but that of the latter was “ skeptical ”. Thus, the hypothesis of this dissertation is corroborated. Besides this , the direct comparison between Neoconcretism and Minimalism indicates that they created different strategies to face the institutional insertion of their artworks .