The Nova Objetividade Brasileira exhibition [see in the ICAA digital archive the essay by Hélio Oiticica “Esquema geral da nova objetividade” (doc. no. 1110372)] was organized by the MAM-RJ (Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro) in 1967. It was a landmark event that, on the heels of the Concrete and Neo-concrete movements, had a profound influence on Brazilian art and culture at that point in time. The list of participating artists includes members of the Nova Figuração movement (Antonio Dias, Carlos Vergara, Carlos Zílio, Roberto Magalhães, and Rubens Gerchman, among others), and some artists from the 1950s (Hélio Oiticica, Lygia Clark, Lygia Pape, and Waldemar Cordeiro)—see the essays by Waldemar Cordeiro: “Novas tendencias e nova figuração” (doc. no. 1110840), and “VII Bienal: “nova figuração” denuncia alienação do indivíduo” (doc. no. 1110842).
Nova Objetividade Brasileira provided some continuity for certain matters that remained unresolved by earlier exhibitions—Opinião 65, Opinião 66, Propostas 65, and Propostas 66. Its prime accomplishment was to have simultaneously addressed the impact of the Constructive movement’s legacy and the tensions of an emerging, local mass culture. It also heralded the emergence of a new approach to art in Brazil in response to the hostile political environment created by the military dictatorship that dragged on for more than two decades (1964–85).
[As complementary reading on the exhibitions mentioned above, see the essays by Cérès Franco “Opinião 65” (doc. no. 1090499); by Ferreira Gullar “Opinião 65” (doc. no. 1090530); by Beatriz Arantes “De ‘Opinião-65’ à 18ª Bienal” (doc. no. 1110641); by Frederico Morais “A Opinião Brasileira de 66” (doc. no. 1110550); and by Cérès Franco et al. “Declaração Poética para ‘Opinião 66’” (doc. no. 1110375)].