Luiz Roque “O Novo Monumento”
Envoy Enterprises (87 Rivington St.)
This event has ended.
Luiz Roque (Brazilian, b. 1979) is an artist based in Brazil working with photography and video. This exhibition marks his first solo presentation in Northern America.
O Novo Monumento was created during an art residency near Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Brazil’s Minas Gerias. The region, once the site of great industrial optimism, represents for the artist a gloomy example of a future failed economic boom. Wanting to celebrate Afro-Brazilian culture and bring attention to their contribution in the history of the success of the mining industry of the region, Roque worked closely with local youngsters. The narrative of the video is set in a small town, in a period between a past and future where gender rules perhaps don’t exist and a king can rule with a king on his side. In poetic black and white imagery we see the creation and celebration of a new monument: costumes are made, mixing futuristic elements with traditional African symbols, and dance rituals are held. The finished monument -based on a sculpture by Amilcar de Casto (1920 - 2002), one of Brazil’s most renowned modernist artists - is then revealed, mounted on a truck and driven up a nondescript mountain in a vast empty landscape surrounded by super heroes on motorbikes, marking the apotheosis of the celebration.
On view in a loop for the duration of the exhibition the soundtrack and images become a haunting and energetic taste of Brazilian culture in a summery New York City.
O Novo Monumento is curated by Tim Goossens and presented at Macie Gransion, in collaboration with envoy enterprises. The video had its premiere as part of O Ultimo Dia, Roque’s solo exhibition at Phosphorus, São Paulo, curated by Maria Montero.
Luiz Roque (b. 1979. Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil) lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil.
Media
Schedule
from August 08, 2013 to August 24, 2013
Opening Reception on 2013-08-07 from 18:00 to 20:00