Media insertion strategies and networked practices in Brazilian art, 1970–2019. 

In the 1970s, Brazilian art witnessed the emergence of experimental practices engaging with technology and mass media. Artists engaged with new modalities of production and distribution of objects and messages via-a-vis the social and political reality of the country. These presentations seek to examine artists’ engagement with technology through case studies that shed light on artists’ strategies to circumvent government censorship of dissident messages and bodies, while creating new publics and modes of perception.

From these historical examples, a parallel will be drawn with contemporary practices in which Brazilian artists are similarly engaged with web media insertion as a strategy of activism. With the rise of a conservative reactionary discourse against minority groups and cultural institutions, along with several budget cut that deeply affected the cultural sector, the social networks have been used as an alternative space for the production and circulation of artworks. Some case studies will be discussed considering the notion of agency and the possibilities of working under the hierarchical structure of the server and the lack of transparency of these platforms because of their control by algorithms.

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Currently in residency at RU, Nathalia Lavigne is a journalist, art researcher and curator as well as a contributor to Artforum International Magazine, Contemporary And (C&), Folha de São Paulo, among others. Her complete bio can be seen here.

Tie Jojima is a Ph.D. student in the Art History program at The Graduate Center, CUNY, where she is specializing in Modern and Contemporary Latin American art. Her research focuses on performance, pornography, and technology in Brazilian art of the late 1970s and early 1980s. She received dual M.A. degrees in Art History and Arts Administration from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She teaches art history classes at Baruch College in New York.

The Meet Over Lunch series is an ongoing invitation extended to local and visiting art practitioners to present their practice and projects over lunch to the RU community.

Meet Over Lunch: Media insertion strategies and networked practices in Brazilian art, 1970–2019

During these critical times, the borders between fiction and reality have become increasingly blurred. In a sphere where fascist politics regularly impinge on and tamp down civil rights, and technology companies enact their libertarian fantasies and neoliberal agendas, retreat into a fictive world has seldom seemed so attractive. How do we re-center our human selves in the inhospitable, and how might the gap between life and fiction close in times of crisis? The RU artists Pauline Batista and Ana Kuzmanić will discuss these issues and how they relate to their respective practices with the art historian and critic Charlene K. Lau.

RU Talk: Fiction/Reality – Pauline Batista and Ana Kuzmanić in conversation with Charlene K. Lau

Curator Lilia Kudelia talks to RU resident artist Erik Sikora. Back in Košice, Slovakia after his abridged residency, Sikora shares stories about biking through empty Manhattan in the wake of COVID-19 quarantine, reevaluates his video-essayistic practice on YouTube, and explains his Dadaistic strategies aimed at escaping from the pristine context of the gallery. Domestic magician, lullaby professional and creative entrepreneur, Sikora takes on these roles to deconstructs his life experiences to the smallest details, which proves the utmost resonance at the current state of global lockdown. Stay tuned until the end of the podcast to catch Erik Sikora’s newest soundtrack as a bonus.

RU Talk: Erik Sikora in conversation with Lilia Kudelia

Residency Unlimited supports the creation, presentation and dissemination of contemporary art through its unique residency program and year-round public programs. RU forges strategic partnerships with collaborating institutions to offer customized residencies designed to meet the individual needs of participating artists and curators. 