José Ribamar Ferreira (September 10, 1930 – December 4, 2016), known by his pen name Ferreira Gullar, was a Brazilian poet, playwright, essayist, art critic, and television writer. In 1959, he was instrumental in the formation of the Neo-Concrete Movement.[1]
Ferreira Gullar | |
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Born | José Ribamar Ferreira (1930-09-10)September 10, 1930 São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil |
Died | December 4, 2016(2016-12-04) (aged 86) Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
Occupation | Poet, dramaturge, art critic, translator |
Notable works | Poema Sujo |
Notable awards | Prémio da Associação Paulista dos Críticos de Arte (1976) Prémio Machado de Assis (2005) |
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The Neo-Concrete Manifesto[2] was written in 1959 by Gullar and begins:
We use the term "neo-concrete" to differentiate ourselves from those committed to non-figurative "geometric" art (neoplasticism, constructivism, suprematism, the school of Ulm) and particularly the kind of concrete art that is influenced by a dangerously acute rationalism. In the light of their artistic experience, the painters, sculptors, engravers and writers participating in this first neo-concrete exhibition came to the conclusion that it was necessary to evaluate the theoretical principles on which concrete art has been founded, none of which offers a rationale for the expressive potential they feel their art contains.
As seen in this excerpt, the Neo-Concrete Movement seeks to move beyond the Concrete Artist’s ideal of mathematical purity in art and embrace phenomenology. Gullar continues on in his manifesto to call for an artwork that “amounts to more than the sum of its constituent elements; something which analysis may break down into various elements but which can only be understood phenomenologically.”[3] The Neo-Concretists believed artworks should interact with the spectator and make the spectator more aware of his or her physical body and metaphysical existence. It is only with the participation of the spectator that the artwork becomes complete.
Ferreira Gullar was born in São Luís, Maranhão, Northeast Brazil. He was exiled by the Brazilian dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985.
In 1975, while living in Argentina, Gullar wrote his best-known work, "Poema Sujo" ("Dirty Poem" in English), in which he attributes his decision to stop writing poetry to the increasing persecution of exiles, many of whom were found dead, and to hypothetical thoughts about his own death. He spent months writing the more than 2,000 verses that constitute the poem. "Dirty Poem" draws on his memories of childhood and adolescence in São Luís, Maranhão, and his anguish at being far from his homeland.
Gullar read the poem at Augusto Boal's house in Buenos Aires during a meeting organized by Vinicius de Moraes. The reading, recorded on tape, became well-known among Brazilian intellectuals, who tried to guarantee[clarification needed] Gullar's return to Brazil in 1977, where he continued writing for newspapers and publishing books. He also had a weekly column in Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, published on Sundays.[4]
In 2002 Gullar was honoured with a Prince Claus Award from the Dutch organisation, the Prince Claus Fund.
Gullar was considered one of the most influential Brazilians of the 20th century by Época magazine,[5] and was awarded the Jabuti Prize for best fiction book in 2007.[6] The magazine recalls its critical stance in opinion articles about the populism of former President Lula da Silva, posted in national newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.[7]
On October 9, 2014, Gullar was elected as a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.[8]
Gullar died of pneumonia on December 4, 2016.[9]
Laureates of the Camões Prize | |
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1989–2000 |
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2001–2010 |
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2011–present |
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Patrons and members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters | ||
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Chairs 1 to 10 | 1 (Adelino Fontoura): Luís Murat ►
Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay ►
Ivan Monteiro de Barros Lins ►
Bernardo Élis ►
Evandro Lins e Silva ►
Ana Maria Machado | |
Chairs 11 to 20 | 11 (Fagundes Varela): Lúcio de Mendonça ►
Pedro Augusto Carneiro Lessa ►
Eduardo Ramos ►
João Luís Alves ►
Adelmar Tavares ►
Deolindo Couto ►
Darcy Ribeiro ►
Celso Furtado ►
Hélio Jaguaribe ►
Ignácio de Loyola Brandão | |
Chairs 21 to 30 | 21 (Joaquim Serra): José do Patrocínio ►
Mário de Alencar ►
Olegário Mariano ►
Álvaro Moreira ►
Adonias Filho ►
Dias Gomes ►
Roberto Campos ►
Paulo Coelho | |
Chairs 31 to 40 | 31 (Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa): Luís Caetano Pereira Guimarães Júnior ►
João Batista Ribeiro de Andrade Fernandes ►
Paulo Setúbal ►
Cassiano Ricardo ►
José Cândido de Carvalho ►
Geraldo França de Lima ►
Moacyr Scliar ►
Merval Pereira |
Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil) | |
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