Promenade sociologique de Brooklyn à São Paulo

MUSÉE D’ART CONTEMPORAIN, SÃO PAULO
NOVEMBRE 1973

Concept

L’artiste recrute par publication de petites annonces dans la presse nationale des personnes désireuses d’effectuer une " promenade sociologique " conduite par lui dans le quartier populaire de Brooklyn, on the outskirts of São Paulo. On the given day and time, the registered candidates receive a numbered stool with which they will travel on a guided tour with commentary led by the artist. A specially chartered bus will take them to the site while Fred Forest, microphone in hand, describes the urban landscape they are passing through. Once there, the group followed a programmed itinerary, identified the previous day, and took up residence in a succession of different places: a hairdresser's, a petrol pump, a record shop, a butcher, a church, an art gallery and so on. At each station, a dialogue is initiated with the local professional, with the aim of identifying his or her socio-economic condition and how each of the protagonists perceives his or her own condition and work. Taboo subjects are broached and thrown into the discussion, which is joined by passers-by, more and more of whom join the group and take part in the discussion, which quickly becomes 'political', albeit with a certain reserve due to the military regime in Brazil at the time.
Once back at the museum, the stools, videos and leaflets collected will be exhibited. In terms of sociological art, this is an investigation of an urban area that is not only 'shown', but in a way 'reactivated', highlighting its different functions and the networks of relationships that run through it. A "lived" experience, led by an artist whose aim is to look at everyday reality from a critical and aesthetic angle. The aim is also to create micro-events in a social fabric designed to facilitate and accelerate the exchange of communication.

Device

• 1 bus,
• the museum's exhibition space for three weeks,
• the museum secretariat and its logistics,
• advertisements in the daily press,
• 30 white stools numbered from 1 to 30,
• 1 Sony portapack for 1/2-inch tape.

• Text by Walter Zanini, curator of the MAC-Musée d'art contemporain
• Many articles in the Brazilian press to be found and consulted in the general bibliography of the site

• https://studio.youtube.com/video/iNWf23mT8ns/edit
• ENGLISH
  https://temporaryartreview.com/from-brooklin-1973-to-brooklyn-2011-an-interview-with-curator-ruth-erickson/