What was unusual about this work was its political content. Although it raised questions intrinsic to art, political content was not a constant characteristic of the work created by other members of Nervo Óptico. In “Regarding the Smile,” the artist, Vera Chaves Barcellos (b. 1938), makes an acerbic reference to the political situation prevailing at the time in Brazil, which was under the shadow of a military dictatorship (1964?85). Maintaining constant vigilance, that government carried out bloody campaigns with the clear goal of quashing any sign of opposition. Ironically, the way to survive was to “keep smiling” for any official-registry photograph, lest the government detect any subversive purpose. Among other readings, we could even identify here a group awareness of a marginality assumed vis-à-vis the hegemonic art market. Chaves Barcellos constantly performs deep explorations of the language of photography in her work, which is generally created in multimedia formats. Since 2004, the artist has continued her work at an arts institution named after her whose focus is contemporary art.
Under the epigraph “Publication open to the dissemination of new visual poetics,” Nervo Óptico was published monthly in Porto Alegre (Rio Grande do Sul) for a total of 13 issues (from April 1977 to September 1978). The journal was created by a group of artists who identified themselves with the journal’s initials, N.O. The participants in Nervo Óptico included Vera Chaves Barcellos (b. 1938), Carlos Asp (b. 1949), Carlos Pasquetti (b. 1948), Clovis Dariano (b. 1950), Jesús Escobar (b. 1956), Flávio Pons (b. 1947), Mara Alvares (b. 1948), Romanita Martins (b. 1940) and Telmo Lanes (b. 1955).
The publication was created in the form of a small plaque, printed on only one side of the sheet (32 cm x 22.05cm), with an average run of 2,000 copies. Circulated nationally and internationally, Nervo Óptico was sent out to a broad mailing of artists, journalists and art critics.
The content of Nervo Óptico was basically visual, reproducing works by the group or invited artists, almost all including the language of photography, whether as artwork in itself or as photographic documentation of performances. The publication created a space for debate about contemporary art events far from the values that prevailed in the art market and the demand for collectible objects. Nervo Óptico focused on conceptual art, thus creating its own instrument of legitimation.
All 13 issues of the Porto Alegre publication Nervo Óptico are available in the ICAA digital archive.
For a description of the works in the group’s first exhibition and other artists’ testimony on the semiotic intentions of its work, see “[Em manifestaçao realizada em dezembro último...]” by the Grupo N.O. [doc. no. 1110913]. In addition, regarding the group’s thinking about the artist’s role and creative potential beyond market conditions, see the document distributed during the exhibition entitled “Manifesto” [doc. no. 1110690]. The second issue of this Rio Grande do Sul journal presented work by Mara Álvares [doc. no. 1110914]; the third issue, work by Carlos Asp [doc. no. 1110915]; the fourth showed work by Carlos Pasquetti [doc. no. 1110916]; the fifth issue highlighted the radical approach of Telmo Lanes [doc. no. 1110917]; while the sixth issue brought us the photographic work of Clovis Dariano [doc. no. 1110918].
