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Possibilities of the Object Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art 6 March – 25 May 2015 45 Market Street, Edinburgh Mon–Sat11am–6pm, Sun12–5pm Entry to our exhibitions is always free Learning Through Exhibitions A resource for teachers and community leaders All images are installation views of Possibilities of the Object at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Photographs: © Ruth Clark. The Fruitmarket Gallery

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Possibilities of the ObjectExperiments in Modern andContemporary Brazilian Art

6 March – 25 May 2015

45 Market Street, EdinburghMon–Sat11am–6pm, Sun12–5pmEntry to our exhibitions is always free

Learning Through ExhibitionsA resource for teachers and community leaders

All images are installation views of Possibilities of the Object at The Fruitmarket Gallery. Photographs: © Ruth Clark.

The Fruitmarket Gallery

Learning Through Exhibitions A resource for teachers and community leaders

The Learning Through Exhibitions series helps schools and community groups to explore exhibitions before,during and after a visit to The Fruitmarket Gallery. They can also be used for arts activities at any timealongside our other resources documenting the exhibition. The series suggests ways to think with and through art and be inspired to make it. Creative Challenges are open-ended and adaptable to any age group.

Art forms: sculpture, performance, dance, poetry, storytelling

Themes: politics, scale, displayActivities support Curriculum for Excellence levels 0-4: Expressive Arts, Literacy, Religious and Moral

Education, Social Studies

The Learning Through Exhibitions series can be downloaded from www.fruitmarket.co.uk. Group visits are free and include an introduction to the exhibition and a copy of the current Learning

Through Exhibitions resource.

Exhibition: Possibilities of the Object: Experiments in Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art

Curated by Paulo Venancio Filho

Date: 6 March – 25 May 2015

In the 1950s and 1960s, artists in Brazil radically transformed what the object of art could be. It was aperiod of intense experimentation, and its effects are still being felt today. For the exhibition at TheFruitmarket Gallery, curator Paulo Venancio Filho has brought together objects by artists from this periodand contemporary artists still working in this tradition today. The exhibition includes objects by some of themost famous Brazilian artists - Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Cildo Meireles, Ernesto Neto – and others by artistswhose work has rarely been seen outside Brazil.

Displayed on the floor, on the walls, hanging from the ceiling, on shelves or gathered together on tablesas if still in the studio, these objects invite us to look at art afresh. Made from materials including steel,wood, and paint; everyday objects such as rubber bands and stockings; organic materials such as breadand leaves; and vinyl letters and rice paper, some works are colourful and sensual; other work is moredirectly political. Playing with ideas around abstraction, figuration, the ready-made and even performance,

the exhibition allows us to think again about what sculpture can be.

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Thinking with art

Use the guide below to introduce your group to ideas around the artwork in the exhibition before a visit tothe Gallery or starting your own project.

Collect objects that you find around the home, school, community or from outside e.g. a tin can,•plastic cup, old clothing, utensils, broken fragments or stones. Look for shapes, colours and items thatcatch your interest. Play ‘guess the object’ with some members of your group blindfolded. Display allthe objects as a group and discuss their different properties: colour, function, size, shape and weight.

Discuss the differences between objects, painting and sculpture. •

Research the artists in the exhibition and look at and discuss examples of their work as a group.•What are the similarities and differences between their work? What do you notice about work madein different periods?

Find out about the political period in Brazil since the 1950s. How might this context influence artists•making work?

Research some of the approaches to making art that influenced artists’ work in the exhibition:•geometric abstraction, concretism and neoconcretism, conceptual art, the ready-made, andperformance in relation to objects and sculpture. Share your findings with the group.

Investigate some of terms used to categorise the object during the 1950s and 1960s: ‘non-object’,•‘specific object’, ‘relational object’, ‘active object’, ‘poem object’, ‘book object’, ‘graphic object’,‘anxious object.’ What might these terms mean in relation to the object as art?

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Look and RespondThe guide below helps you explore the artworks in the exhibition. It can also be used alongside resourcesdocumenting the exhibition.

Look around the exhibition and find objects or materials that are recognisable as things in the•everyday world. What is their function, and how has it changed?

Make notes on the range of materials used to make artworks in the exhibition. How many can you•find? How many are everyday, organic, or have been adapted or constructed into new things?

Look for different shapes in the artwork in the exhibition. Do you notice any themes emerging? What•different ways have similar shapes been used, and what is their effect?

Find objects that are not recognsiable as everyday things. Look out for shape, colour, line and form.•Look for objects that are simple and ones that are complex. Write a short poem about their meaningto you.

Find objects in the exhibition that move, or that might move, and examples of objects that have both•positive and negative space, or space inside them. How do these objects differ from large-scalesculpture, painting or drawing?

Find objects in the exhibition with stories behind them, or objects that suggest stories, and write them•down.

How does the scale of the artworks in the exhibition affect your encounter with them?•

Look at the range of different ways objects have been displayed, and their placement next to one•another, and in the space. How does this affect your encounter with them? How close can you get tothem? What difference does it make to be able to see all around a whole object, and not be ableto see its other sides?

Look at the titles of the artworks. How does this change your encounter with them?•

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Creative Challenges These creative challenges use participants’ own ideas and artistic responses to the exhibition to make new artwork.

1. Art Object

Collect a range of different everyday materials, e.g. elastic bands, stones, plastic bags, newspaper,•string, utensils, old clothing that has an interesting texture, food, sticks, leaves. In a group, examinetheir different properties and how they feel. Choose found materials that are of interest to you andcombine them to make a new object. Think about texture, colour, weight, and function. Whatmessage do you want to convey about the qualities of the materials or the function of the object?

Design and construct a new small-scale object from scratch. You could use quick and simple•materials like paper or cardboard, or build your object using wood, metal or plastic. Think aboutform, function, and colour. How expressive do you want your object to be? How true to theproperties of the original materials would you like to keep it? Is your object functional, open orclosed? Can it be handled?

Discussion points

What are the new properties of your object? How have the materials changed once they’ve been•combined or constructed into something new? Is your object light or heavy, fragile or robust?

What are other people’s responses to and associations with your object?•

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Left: Carlos Zilio, Fragmentos de paisagem (Landscape fragments), 1974, glass, nails; 12 x 6 cmRight: Waltércio Caldas, Prato comum com elásticos (Ordinary plate with rubber bands), 1975, plate, rubber bands; 30 x 30 x 30 cm

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2. Active Object Objects can be active because they suggest a use; trigger associations; can be touched or invite touch;suggest movement or tension, or are kinetic, moving structures. Objects, like painting or sculpture, areactivated in their encounter with the viewer through the response they provoke. The following activitiesexplore active encounters through the movement of the body and making objects.

Do a dance performance in a group using contact improvisation. Work without music and spread•around the space, using an interesting or unusual space if possible. One person starts the dance bymaking a movement that feels appropriate, making contact with the next person by touching them,triggering their turn to dance. Continue until everyone in the group has moved and the dancecomes to an end. How does moving freely through the space in response to touch feel? What doyou notice about the shapes or moves that you make? How do different people encounter ornavigate their way through the space? How does the placement or weight of touch influence yourmovement?

Look at the artworks in the exhibition by Artur Barrio, Sergio Camargo, Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias, Cildo•Meireles, Ernesto Neto and Hélio Oiticica. Make an object that is mobile, mechanical, suggests ause, invites touch or can be touched, or has an active balance of tension in its materials or methodof display. Be playful and creative: you could highlight or exaggerate the function of an everydayobject, or tell a story about its use (e.g. the movement of a mop across the floor, a postbox thatcould contain many stories). Your object could be a simple paper structure hanging from the ceilingto a more complex constructed work made from a variety of materials. What associations do othersmake about your finished object’s suggested use, tension between materials and the space it isplaced in or surrounded by?

Images clockwise from top left: Lygia Clark, Bicho Pássaro do Espaço (Creature Passing through Space [maquette]), 1960 aluminium; 24.3 x 24.1 x 0.9 cm Sergio Camargo, Cubo aberto (Open Cube), 1958–59, steel; 31 x 46.5 x 31 cm; Cildo Meireles, Sem título, Série rodos (Untitled, Squeegee series), c.1978, wood, rubber; variable dimensions; Ernesto Neto, Partícula Peso (Weight particle), 1988, nylon stocking, lead balls; 20 x 20 x 6 cm

3. Development and Display

Title the artwork you make. Think about how this changes the viewer’s encounter with your work. •

Choose the best way to display your artwork: on a plinth, shelf, in a corner or hanging from the•ceiling. Think about the relationship with the viewer, space and surrounding artwork that youwant to create.

Further develop the expressive qualities of your artwork to show your position on a political, social•or ethical problem; or a new way of making art you want to explore. Is there something youwant to put right, rebel against, or that you support? What new ways do you want to work withmaterials? Think about how your stance is expressed through the qualities of objects andmaterials you use.

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Image left to right: Cildo Meireles, Espelho Cego (Blind Mirror),1970, wood, mastic, metal; 49 x 36 x 18 cm; Waltércio Caldas,Objeto de arte sobressalente (Spare art object), 1981, paintedcardboard, metal; 15 x 15 x 30 cm; Antonio Dias, Undercover,1968, cement, metal chain, linoleum; 15cm each

General Questions

What is contemporary art?Contemporary art is the term used to describe artof the present day. It is art that has been orcontinues to be created during our lifetimes fromthe 1960s to the present.

What is The Fruitmarket Gallery?The Fruitmarket Gallery is an art gallery funded bythe taxpayer displaying exhibitions of work that arenot for sale. The Gallery brings the work of someof the world’s most important contemporary artiststo Scotland. We recognise that art can changelives and we offer an intimate encounter with artfor free. The Gallery welcomes all audiences andmakes it easy for everyone to engage with art.Gallery facilities include a bookshop and café. TheGallery is physically accessible and family-friendly.

Resources The Fruitmarket Gallery produces resources that are available in the Gallery and online at www.fruitmarket.co.uk:

Little Artists are activity sheets for families and primary school groups to enjoy the exhibition together.

Download the current exhibition guide.

View the short exhibition film in the resource room or online atwww.youtube.com/fruitmarketgallery

Talks and events are programmed for eachexhibition with recordings available online.

View publications in the resource room.

The exhibition is accompanied by a newpublication, Possibilities of the Object: Experimentsin Modern and Contemporary Brazilian Art. Aneducational discount is available: pleaseenquire at the bookshop.

Book a group visitGroup visits are free and include an introduction tothe exhibition and a copy of the current LearningThrough Exhibitions resource. To book call 0131 225 2383 or email [email protected]

Written by The Fruitmarket Gallery Follow us www.fruitmarket.co.uk

Send us your workSend us examples of work produced in response to the exhibition and wewill feature a selection on TheFruitmarket Gallery’s Facebook page.

Caitlin PageLearning Programme Manager Email [email protected].

TheFruitmarketGallery

Tell us what you think

Are you ac Teacher Primary/Secondary Name of school _____________________c Group leader Name of group _____________________c Other _____________________

Your feedback is important to us so we can make improvements to future resources.Tell us what you think about the learning resources and how you’ve used them.

Keep in touch Join our e-list ____________________________________________

By providing your e-mail address we can keep you updated about all Gallery activities including, talks, events and workshops. The e-mail address provided will be used by The Fruitmarket Gallery to send you information about our activities and will not be supplied to any other organisations.

The Fruitmarket Gallery makes contemporary art accessible without compromising art or underestimating audiences. We bring to Scotland the work of some of the world's most important contemporary artists, recognising that art can change lives. We make exhibitions, commissions and publications directly in collaboration with artists. We make it easy for everyone to engage with art and welcome all audiences.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is not-for-profit and exhibitions are always free. Our work is supported through Regular Funding from Creative Scotland, income from the cafe and bookshop and through fundraising through trusts, foundations, donations and sponsorship. Please support us to stay independent, ambitious and free.

The Fruitmarket Gallery is a company limited by guarantee, registered in Scotland No. 87888 and registeredas a Scottish Charity No. SC 005576. VAT No. 398 2504 21. Registered Office: 45 Market St., Edinburgh, EH1 1DF