Night photographers of MON

Two students of the Omicron intermediary course of photography caught on a practical class of flash light on a Monday night at MON.

Unfortunately practical classes at night at MON are no longer possible because the museum administration has banned access to the site after 7 p.m.

Theme day: Refletions

The picture shows a young couple enjoying a warm winter day in Curitiba at the MON. The weather in this period of the year is known in Curitiba as "Veranico" (something like little summer), which is a period of the winter time when the temperatures are nice enough to avoid heavy clothes.

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Valentine's day in Curitiba

It is hard to explain why the june 12th was chosen to be the Valentine's day in Brazil. Some say that it is due to Saint Anthony, the most popular saint in Brazil and said to be a matchmaker saint. Anyhow, today anywhere you go, love is in the air and young hearts show their affection.

Waving from the Eye

The photo was taken from the top of the tourism line bus right in front of "Eye" of the MON. The girls waved to the "tourists" coming out of the structure that holds the "Eye". This structure holds the great room that has a permanent exhibition of a collection of paintings and the tower of photography along the stairways, which always presents a photograph exhibition.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

She is ignoring him.

In the courtyard of the sculptures of MON (Oscar Niemeyer Museum) in Curitiba, various works are permanently exposed, where you can walk around and interact with them.

The sculpture of the image (I need to confirm this information) is by Bruno Giorgi, born in 1905 at Mococa (SP). He moved with his family to Italy, where he began his studies in the arts. Arrested for political reasons, he was extradited in 1935 to Brazil. Living in Sao Paulo in 1939, Bruno Giorgi met the artists of the Brazilian Modernist Movement. In 1943 he moved to Rio de Janeiro, installing his studio, where he guides young artists. He has several works in public spaces throughout Brazil. He died in Rio de Janeiro in 1993.

The little buddy and his father, authorized the publication of the photo with the sculpture by Bruno Giorgi. The female figure sculpture seems to be ignoring or bored with the presence of the boy.

Theme day: Red

Coincidentally, I took this picture circulating the halls of MON during Vik Muniz's exhibition. The title I gave to this picture was "Vermelho" (Red), due to the contrast of the red color of the woman's blouse and the B&W pictures being observed by her.

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Picnic on the granite

In the parks of Curitiba, especially on weekends, teenagers gather with friends to chat, dance and eventually for a picnic, as shown in the picture taken at MON.

Vik Muniz

The photos are mine but the text I have taken from the MON website, where the exhibition Vik Muniz took place in Curitiba. For more information, please access the link: http://www.museuoscarniemeyer.org.br/exhibitions/vik.html

From Sao Paulo to New York

Vik Muniz was created in São Paulo, where he began his art studies, and came to the United States thanks to an accident. After break up a street fight, he was hit by a shot in the leg. The author of the shot, trying to compensate his attitude, offered Vik a good sum of money, which funded his trip to Chicago in 1983. Two years later, he went to New York, where he still lives. Success, however, came 14 years ago, when his work was seen in a gallery by a critic of the New York Times. The article has opened doors and earned an invitation to the exhibition New Photography at MoMA and the acquisition of his work on the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Today his works are in private collections and galleries across continents and in museums like the Tate Modern and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Getty Institute in Los Angeles, and MAM in Sao Paulo. Recently, the recognition of his work earned him an invitation from the MoMA in New York for curators to the prestigious Artist's Choice (Choice of Artist), held last December at the headquarters of the museum - the first time for a Brazilian. Vik Muniz is still the only living Brasilian to appear in the book 501 Great Artists of All Times, Penguin Books.

Creative Process

Initially intended as sculptures, Muniz noticed in the early 90s that documenting his art through photography, he got an artistic result better than the sculpture itself. Since then, Vik decided to unite the two languages, to which he added others, such as drawing, painting and collage.

Before capturing as a photographer, what will become the final product of his work, Vik creates a true theater of scenes, portraits, objects and images, some on a gigantic scale, using elements as diverse as shredded paper, junk, sauces and cotton in a construction processes that can take weeks or even months.

That is how some of his works were created, such as the soldier made up of many toy soldiers; the Medusa of pasta and marinara sauce; and pictures of the actress Monica Vitti composed of hundreds of tiny diamonds.

The material used on his art is not accidental, like in the series Children of Sugar, 1996, which recreated with sugar, pictures of children who Vik met at the Caribbean. An aesthetic metaphor about the "childlike sweetness".

Enjoying VIK

The photo shows two of the most important people in my life, examining closely one of the stunning photographs of the artist Vik Muniz, on display at MON. Soon I will make a post detailing a bit more the work of this artist.

Eeva-Liisa Isomaa at the MON in Curitiba

I have taken this picture of a person observing the works of the Finnish artist Eeva-Liisa Isomaa, at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba. Moreover, the museum was crowded with visitors, for the first sunday of every month the admission is free, which is a fantastic initiative and a great success by the amount of people who I saw walking all the rooms of the museum.

About the incredible exhibition of Eeva Isomaa, I found the following news on the website "Paraná Online":

"On March 5th to July 04th 2010, The Oscar Niemeyer Museum brings the exhibition "Journal of Water" by the Finnish artist and printmaker Eeva-Liisa Isomaa, for the first time in Brazil. The set features a retrospective of the artist's trajectory over the past 18 years. From photographic bases the artist prints her images in fine fabrics that are used as support, giving lightness, transparency and sensitivity to the work. The water and the landscape are some of the themes explored by the artist. Due to Eeva's innovation, in 1998 she was awarded at the international biennial of Sapporo, Japan and Prague, the Czech capital."

Sculptures at the MON

The sculptures of the photos are arranged in the outdoor areas surrounding the MON or Oscar Niemeyer Museum or Museum of the Eye in Curitiba, at the Centro Cívico district. The white spiral was photographed only in its upper part, it is placed at a courtyard floor, where many sculptures are arranged for movement of people between them, causing their interaction.

Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON)

The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (or Museum of the Eye, as is known in Curitiba) was inaugurated on November 22nd, 2002, with the presence of the then president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso and the architect Oscar Niemeyer.

The museum has 144 square meters, with 33,000 m2 of built area. These dimensions make the MON the largest museum in America.