The art-making process undertaken by Ivens Machado is outlined here by another artist, Milton Machado. The purpose of the text was to introduce an exhibition of work by Ivens as part of the program Ciclo de Escultura, organized by FUNARTE (Fundação Nacional das Artes). The period covered began with an exhibition at Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-Rio) in 1973 and ended with his participation in the Eighteenth São Paulo Biennial (1987). Milton observes that Ivens’ work struggles with issues such as “disgust” and “eroticism,” standing in open opposition to the way the market absorbs artwork. In a direct reference to the artist’s sculptures of iron and cement, Milton states: “these are constructions (…) or architecture without a blueprint, they are ‘designs’ without plans (…), anti-drawings (…).” When talking about Ivens’ work Mapa Mundo, Milton considers it “a map of Brazil assembled out of rough cement and covered with pieces; [in other words,] it is a Brazilian icon that is vulgar and brazen.”

In the art world of Brazil, Ivens Machado began to stand out in the 1970s with his exhibition in the Experimental Room at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-Rio). At the same time, he became involved with a circle of artists who were working in video art. His work was always clearly marked by a persistent investigation of materials.

Milton Machado is an artist, writer, and professor. His life as an artist began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when he participated in a few of the São Paulo Biennials as well as the Panorama da Arte Brasileira, among other national exhibitions. Organized by FUNARTE in the 1980s, the Ciclo de Escultura was held at the foundation at the Galeria Sérgio Milliet in Rio de Janeiro. The purpose of the exhibition was to “call sculpture into question, presenting, rather than its history, its possibilities in the present.” Under the supervision of the curator, Paulo Venancio Filho, the project fit perfectly into the scope of action of FUNARTE in its effort to promote contemporary art in Brazil.

To illustrate the way MAM-Rio came up with the idea of promoting artists whose work had a radical focus, there are two documents that portray this: first, a text by Ivens Machado, Anna Bella Geiger and Paulo Herkenhoff, entitled “Sala Experimental” [doc. no. 1110602]. The other text is by Herkenhoff himself describing his participation in the program in “Paulo Herkenhoff: exposição da arte” [doc. no. 1110618]. With respect to experimental art in São Paulo, as the director of Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo (MAC-USP), Walter Zanini was the great promoter of the experiences of that 1970s generation. He fostered all kinds of innovations, starting with “Vídeo-arte: uma poética aberta” [doc. no. 1110892].