{"id":113,"date":"2015-02-09T17:38:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T19:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/2016-1-24-inhotim-brumadinho-minas-gerais\/"},"modified":"2022-05-08T10:43:59","modified_gmt":"2022-05-08T13:43:59","slug":"2016-1-24-inhotim-brumadinho-minas-gerais","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marianamagcosta.com\/en\/2016-1-24-inhotim-brumadinho-minas-gerais\/","title":{"rendered":"Inhotim | Brumadinho, Minas Gerais"},"content":{"rendered":"

Officially open to the public in 2006, Inhotim has become one of the top museums to be visited worldwide. Combining botanical and art collections, the institute includes works by modern and contemporary artists such as Adriana Varej\u00e3o, Yayoi Kusama, Olafur Eliasson, Miguel Rio Branco, H\u00e9lio Oiticica, Lygia Clark and many others.<\/p>\n

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Set in Brumadinho, a municipality of 35,000 inhabitants, Inhotim is located approximately 50 km from Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais. Its remote location requires one to travel to get there, an act of peregrination in the name of art. This expedition feels like a moment of preparation, a transition between the chaotic urban centre and the isolated natural retreat. Once you get there, you feel you have reached a sacred and long awaited destination.<\/p>\n

Inhotim\u2019s beauty is a sum of three elements \u2013 landscape, art and architecture. The site is breath-taking. Along the garden paths, there are special spots for the scenic contemplation. These paths connect the art sculptures and installations through the terrain to the art pavilions, where temporary and permanent exhibitions are displayed. These buildings take advantage of the creative freedom and small scale to innovate in terms of architecture and design.<\/p>\n

Landscape<\/h2>\n

The beauty of Hugo Fran\u00e7a\u2019s design does not go unnoticed. There are 98 of his furniture pieces scattered throughout the garden. Fran\u00e7a spent 15 years living in Trancoso, where he discovered the \u2018pequi-vinagreiro<\/em>\u2019 tree, a native species of Bahia\u2019s Atlantic Forest, seldomly used in furniture design due to its wood\u2019s irregularities. From the unearthed roots, hollow trunks and tree branches, Fran\u00e7a designed a unique set of furniture, extremely striking and rare.<\/p>\n

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Bench designed by Hugo Fran\u00e7a<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Art<\/h2>\n

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has her \u201cNarcissus Garden\u201d (2009)<\/strong> on permanent display at Inhotim. The installation consists of a great number of metallic spheres, convex mirrors that allow the visitors to dwell at their own reflections. This work makes a reference to the myth of Narcissus, who became enchanted by his own reflection and drowned as he dived into the lake after it. Even though the spheres are the central element of the piece, its relationship with the lake and the surroundings brings a different layer to the composition, resembling the traditional Japanese gardens. The spheres\u2019 positions and appearances vary according to the weather conditions, emphasizing nature\u2019s influence over the installation. Kusama\u2019s work incites an awareness of what is around as well as a moment of introspection.<\/p>\n

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H\u00e9lio Oiticica, Magic Square #5 (1977) <\/strong>A \u201csquare\u201d can both be a rectangular shape where the 4 sides have the same length and an urban space with a similar form. In his work Magic Square #5 <\/strong>, H\u00e9lio Oiticica makes use of these both definitions. It is one of six pieces belonging to a series entitled \u201cPenetrables\u201d, all of which were built after the artist\u2019s death, in 1980. He developed technical drawings, diagrams and samples detailing how the construction of these modules should be. The result is a colourful space ideal for social use and permanence. It is a study on space occupation, the influence of colour on a spatial scale and its relationship with the natural surroundings. This work embodies Oiticica\u2019s pursuit of bringing art closer to real life, a concept which is also evident in \u2018Cosmococas\u2019<\/strong>, another pavilion in Inhotim. \u2018Cosmococas\u2019 consists of a sequence of different rooms, each one offering a singular experience where the visitor can interact directly with the artwork, either by diving into a swimming pool, lying on a hammock, listening to music or simply by sanding their nails.<\/p>\n

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Magic Square #5, H\u00e9lio Oiticica<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Cildo Meirelles – Inmensa(1982-2002)\u00a0<\/strong>Sculpture in stainless steel.\u00a0In Cildo\u2019s piece, the same element is replicated in multiple scales, thus establishing distinct relationships between the components and with the surrounding. The geometric composition alludes to concepts that go beyond form, as highlighted by the title \u201cInmensa\u201d, latin term for in\/on the table. \u2018Inmensa\u2019 also resembles the Portuguese word for immense \u2013 ‘imensa’<\/em>. It is worth noticing that the sculpture inverts a structural logic, since the smaller elements sustain the larger ones. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for political, economic and social structures.<\/p>\n

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Inmensa, Cildo Meirelles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Am\u00edlcar de Castro – Gigante Dobrada(2001)\u00a0<\/strong>Sculpture in stainless steel. Amilcar de Castro\u2019s \u2018folded giant\u2019 portrays a geometric form enclosed in itself. With this folding act, a single metal sheet generates a spaciality, with an interior and exterior. A two-dimensional object acquires spatial characteristics.<\/p>\n

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Gigante Dobrada, Am\u00edlcar de Castro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Olafur Eliasson – Viewing Machine (2001)\u00a0<\/strong>Danish artist Olafur Eliasson is well-known for his research in light, colours and reflections. In his \u2018viewing machine\u2019, the artist has created a kaleidoscope through which the visitors can observe the view. Through this instrument, we see Brumadinho\u2019s landscape with a unique regard, appreciating new points of view and distorted elements.<\/p>\n

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Viewing Machine, Olafur Eliasson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Chris Burden \u2013 Beam Drop (2008)\u00a0<\/strong>This is a site-specific piece built with steel beams literally dropped into a pool of wet concrete. After the performance and the drying of the concrete, the beams remained in place as a giant structure.<\/p>\n

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Beam Drop, Chris Burden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The video below shows how was this process:<\/p>\n