Fernando Cocchiarale wrote a historical overview of the pioneering uses of technology in art created in Rio de Janeiro, emphasizing the return of the close links between art and life initiated in the 1960s. The writer also foresaw the revival of the figurative image, its politicization and its application in various fields of art. He believed that a significant number of films made by artists in Brazil were tied to the experiences and ideas that fermented during that earlier period. In fact, the early makers of such films were the same artists who took other risks, using unconventional media to produce their art. Cocchiarale mentions and interprets Mário Pedrosa’s idea about the “experimental exercise of freedom” as the great motivation that was underlying the new media, new materials and the integration of life and art.

This was based on the chapter “Artists’ films,” written for the catalogue of the exhibition Filmes de artista: Brasil 1965-80. The exhibition was held in the exhibition space Oi Futuro, in Rio de Janeiro, from May 1 – June 17, 2007, curated by Fernando Cocchiarale (b. 1952). It was a highly interesting comprehensive retrospective of the pioneering works created in film and video by Brazilian artists. The show was a significant contribution to the debate on that body of work, barely studied until this exhibition, much less understood.

To better understand some of the critics’ positions related to its broad perspective, see the texts “Sinais da contemporaneidade no modernismo: do fazer à apropriação” [doc. no. 1111425] and “Artes do espaço e fluxo do tempo” [doc. no. 1111426].

Before serving as a curator and arts administrator, Fernando Cocchiarale had a short period working as an experimental artist in the 1970s, when he was also one of the main promoters of the Experimental Room at the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro (MAM-Rio). Starting in the 1980s, he became a distinguished art critic, performing notable work as a curator as well. His work as an arts administrator included stints as director of Fundação Nacional de Arte (Funarte) and of MAM-Rio, itself.