In this text, critic Francisco Bittencourt discusses the work of sculptor Rubem Valentim. He asserts that Valentim’s diverse body of work “effects a synthesis that may yield, for the first time, a language with a Brazilian accent, that is, nonetheless, universally intelligible.” Bittencourt argues that because Valentim’s work does not fit neatly into the various “isms” operative in art, it is neglected by the market. The critic furthers his argument by stating that “all of Rubem Valentim’s objects and sculptures are works of pure geometricism; [they are] perfectly formulated constructions that can be combined endlessly.” They hold within “meanings that, to be understood, demand attention that exceeds the solely visual.” In other words, “in the shift from a semiotic structure to an artistic plane, the symbolic arsenal of the Afro-Brazilian ritual pantheon is turned into signs [. . .] that take on a new nature; they are the inversion of folklore without foregoing all the magical possibilities of the sacred tradition.” 

Art critic Francisco Bittencourt was an active participant in the Rio de Janeiro art scene in the late sixties and early seventies, a critical moment when despite government censorship, some intellectuals tried to keep critical debate and the political life of the country alive despite the Institutional Act Number Five decree that revoked civil rights.

Self-taught artist Rubem Valentim (1922–91) was an active participant in the cultural movement that emerged in the forties in the state of Bahia, which had been the site of the Conjuração Baiana in 1798. Owing to a fellowship, he traveled to Europe in 1962. While there, he studied African art, later traveling to Dakar, Senegal, to take part in the First World Festival of Black Arts in 1966. While teaching at the Universidad de Brasília in the sixties, he produced a Constructivist body of work whose unique imaginary was based on Afro-Brazilian culture. Art critic Mário Pedrosa discusses this aspect of Valentim’s work in a text in the Catálogo da exposição de Rubem Valentim (Rio de Janeiro: Galeria Bonino, 1967).

Drawing inspiration from the libertarian Inconfidência Mineira (“Minas Gerais Conspiracy”) movement, Valentim’s ironic “Manifesto ainda que tardio” [doc. no. 1110438] demonstrates great awareness of Brazil’s cultural complexity.

This document is incomplete (page forty-five is missing).