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São Paulo S.A.
(2002-2007)
São Paulo S.A. focused on the debate on contemporary aesthetic practices, urban discourse and their political implications, considering the city of São Paulo as an epicenter for reflections on large metropolises.
Photo: Paola Salerno
São Paulo S.A. – aesthetic, social and political practices in debate was a project directed by Catherine David and carried out by exo experimental org. - Ligia Nobre and Cécilie Zoonens, initiated by the Resistência/Criação collective - Suely Rolnik, Peter Pál Pelbart and Denise Bernuzzi Sant'Anna. With the same title as Luiz Sergio Person's 1965 film, which marks the economic and industrial transformation in the city's history, the aim of São Paulo S.A. was to develop a space for exchange and debate on the urban condition in its multiple phenomena which, recontextualized and reactivated by a networked dispositif, allowed for another legibility.
The conception, identification and production of the activities and events were generated from the Copan building, a project by architect Oscar Niemeyer (1951-66). Considered by many inhabitants of São Paulo to be a "vertical utopia", the Copan is anchored in the memory of citizens both for its extreme plasticity and for the movements of "grandeur and decadence" that mark its history. In this heterogeneous territory, multiple in density and population diversity, relationships of intimacy and proximity are constantly woven.The choice of this building as the base for the agency corresponded to different guidelines: a symbolic configuration in close, flexible and permanent dialogue with the city; a dispositif for receiving and progressively assembling the elements of the city and their representations (through meetings, workshops, presentations of works); and a conception of new formats for artistic and cultural production, presentation and mediation.
The activities had different aspects, spaces and temporalities, including research, residencies, journeys, routes, film screenings, debates, workshops whose developments were presented in the form of symposia and presentations of works, called “Situations”: Situation #1 Copan, 2002, Resonance Seville UNYA, 2003, Situation #2 Urban Approaches, 2004, and Situation #3 Aesthetics and Politics, 2005. The documentation was articulated by a series of booklets, publications and one-off exhibitions.
Situation #1 COPAN focused on contemporary aesthetic practices, presenting heterogeneous cultural reflections and postures from different parts of the world. Urban trajectories were taken through territories in the east, west, and south zones, passing through the historic center and the Copan building, along with a program of films proposed and commented on by film critic Jean-Claude Bernardet. The first public meeting of the project took place on the mezzanine of the Copan building, at the Cinemateca Brasileira and the Colégio de São Paulo - Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, between November 23 and 27, 2002, with the participation of Alejandra Riera (Argentina, France), Christophe Wavelet (France), Débora Bolsoni (Brazil), Denise Bernuzzi de Sant'Anna (Brazil), Denise Xavier (Brazil), Jean-Claude Bernardet (France, Brazil), Kazuo Nakano (Brazil), Maria Papadimitriou (Greece), Mauricio Dias and Walter Riedweg (Brazil, Switzerland), Maurizio Lazzarato (Italy, France), Pablo Leon de la Barra (Mexico), Peter Pál Pelbart (Brazil), Projeto olho sp (Brazil), Sophia da Silva Telles (Brazil), Suely Rolnik (Brazil), Tony Chakar and Naji Assi (Lebanon), with architectural design and furniture system by Cooperating Architects.
In February 2003, the ArteyPensamiento program at the Universidad Internacional de Andalucía (Seville, Spain) brought together Celso Favaretto, Jean-Claude Bernardet, Kazuo Nakano and Catherine David to analyze the period of the 1960s/70s, an extraordinary moment in the development of a generation of Brazilian artists, architects, filmmakers and intellectuals.
Situation #2 Urban Approaches sought to establish a regional network between critical research, artistic projects, and urban practices in Latin America. On May 24 and 25, 2004, a workshop with conceptual coordination by Kazuo Nakano was organized with the participation of Luciana Itikawa (São Paulo, Brazil), Mariana Fix (São Paulo, Brazil), Eduardo Aquino and Karen Shanski (Brazil, Canada), Fabrizio Gallanti and Francisca Insulza (Italy, Chile), and a public conference by Catherine David with Laymert Garcia dos Santos. At this time, the project was associated with the Forum Permanente debate platform “Art museums: between the public and the private”, the Maria Antônia University Center - USP, and Escola da Cidade.
Between 17 and 19 April 2005, a series of debates was held at SESC Belenzinho, Situation #3 Aesthetics and Politics, based on the thought of French philosopher Jacques Rancière, curated by Catherine David and Laymert Garcia dos Santos, and organized by Fernanda Pitta (Sesc-SP) and Cécile Zoonens (exo) with the launch of the publication A Partilha do Sensível [The distribution of the sensible] (exo/Ed. 34). Conferences and round tables brought together critics and researchers Roberto Schwarz, Otília Arantes, Laymert Garcia dos Santos, Celso Favaretto, Leon Kossovitch, Stéphane Huchet, Catherine David, Fulvia Carnevale and Sylvaine Bulle.
Alejandra Riera, Pablo León de la Barra, Paola Salerno, Peter Friedl, George Dupin, Sylvainne Bulle took part in the Urban Trajectories research-residencies developed over the medium-long term in dialogue with urban researchers Kazuo Nakano, Mariana Fix, Luciana Itikawa, Ligia Nobre, and philosopher Peter Pál Pelbart and Cia Ueinzz de teatro, among others.
arquivo exo experimental org., in exposição On Difference #2, HKV Stuttgart, 2006. fotos George Dupin
Links
Situação#1 Copan (2002)
UNIA ArteyPensamiento (Sevilha, 2003)
Situação#2 Abordagens Urbanas (2004)
Situação#3 Estética e Política (2005)
A Partilha do Sensível, Jacques Rancière (2005)
Guia do Copan, Pablo Leon de la Barra (2006)
Working at Copan/ Trabalhando no Copan, Peter Friedl (2007)
São Paulo S.A. Archive, Cecile Zoonens and Ligia Nobre (2006) for WKV Stuttgart/On Difference #3
A negação do futuro do pretérito, por Diego Matos (2013) para o website arquivoexo (2013)
Resistencia/Creación - Diez cuestiones, Coletivo Resistência/Criação, in Zehar 47&48 (2002)
Ficha técnica
São Paulo S.A. was realized in collaboration with many individuals, organizations and institutions. It was supported by the French Ministry of Culture/DAP, the French Association for Artistic Action/ AFAA, the Consulate General of France in São Paulo; FNAC Brasil, AudioPerformance, Albino Advogados Associados, CENDOTEC, Conseil des Arts du Canada, Consulate General of the Netherlands, Embassy of Mexico - São Paulo, Goethe Institute São Paulo, SESC São Paulo, Varig; and partnerships with BNV Produções (Seville, Spain), Universidad Internacional de Andalucía - UNIA (Seville, Spain), Cinemateca Brasileira, Colégio de São Paulo - Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, Editora 34, Escola de Comunicação e Artes - USP, Centro Universitário Maria Antônia - USP, Escola da Cidade, Fórum Permanente “Museus de arte entre o público e o privado”, GIRO Projetos Culturais, MSTC and Instituto Polis.