SAIC Camera Arts 2012: Day 6 - BOZAR & Cinema Nova

Day 6 and it's Sunday here in Brussels, but there's no rest for the art-minded as our group is off to see some exciting stuff today, starting with the Center for Fine Arts, Brussels, aka BOZAR, aka Paleis door Schone Kunsten (Dutch), aka Palais de Beaux-Arts (French). That's a lot of different names, but there's a reason for it that you'll soon learn as we did. The main exhibit we're interested in today is a show of artworks from Brazil. Featuring work from the 19th century through the new millennium, there are great examples of modern-esque painting & sculpture, contemporary installation art, along with several galleries full of Brazilian photographer's works from throughout the same timeframe.

First, a little bit about the building, because that's important as well. We re-visit our Belgian architectural friend Victor Horta for the morning--you'll remember him as the designer of the Comic Strip Center we visited earlier in the trip. Yes, he's very important to Belgian architectural history and should be considered a national commodity as his buildings champion the Art Nouveau style with their intricate detailing and resourceful use of space. I'm sure you'll hear more about him as the trip goes on. If you missed the link in the first post mentioning Mr. Horta, click HERE.

Entering the exhibit space, you first encounter the five galleries that are chock-full of large scale photographic prints in both black & white and color. You'll see some fantastic examples of what the photo arts scene in Brazil has to offer from across the decades, ranging from mid-nineteenth century colonial times to current day work. The large scale prints are heavily laden with detail and the output quality is as good as you'll see anywhere. The visual content of the works stretch the spectrum from abstract to documentarian to social commentary.

The second half of the exhibit follows the modernist tradition to be found in Brazil that parallel movements in the United States and Europe from the same time periods. Photographs were not allowed in that part of the show, so you only get one before the nice gentleman in the gallery reminded me of the forbidden nature of contemporary recording devices...aka iPhone 4S. Sorry about that. But, if you know anything about modern art in the US, then you can imagine the range of works found in the galleries. Everything that compares to constructivism to minimalism to expressionism to post-modernism could be found and speaks volumes about the global nature of art though out the last 150 years and the influence that world communities have had on each other and the formal aesthetics produced from such interactions. And that's all the "art speak" I have in me for you today...I'm sure you're thanking me. If you're curious enough to learn more about the aforementioned movements, click their names for links that provide more information.

In the next post, we'll discuss our time at the Cinema Nova and the works encountered there.