After discussing the origins of the São Paulo Biennial and the earliest incidents of censorship imposed by Brazilian authorities on artists who submitted their work to the Paris Biennale, Matta points out that an injustice had occurred in February when thirty architects were arrested, simply because they had proposed a social solution to certain urban problems. In that environment, Matta believes that the Biennial is also “under a death sentence.” Because nearly every Argentine artist whom Jorge Glusberg had invited decided to join a boycott of the Brazilian biennial, this letter is an open invitation to anyone interested in joining to reply, either to him or to the press.

It is important to remember that, ever since it was started in 1951, the São Paulo Biennial was a focal point both for the circulation of art and for its establishment in Latin America. This letter was published in a book titled Contrabienal [Anti-Biennial] that was designed and printed by a group that included Luis Wells, Luis Camnitzer, Carla Stellweg, Liliana Porter, and Teodoro Maus, in which they outlined their opposition to the Brazilian biennial (so-called “the Biennale of the dictatorship”). Because Brazil, like many other Latin American countries during the 1970s, was under the iron rule of censorship, repression, and torture, this material identifies one of the strategies used by artists to resist the imposition of any form of dictatorial policies. Jorge Glusberg (1937) is an Argentinean engineer and art critic. In the late 1960s he founded the Centro de Arte y Comunicación [Art and Communication Center] (CAyC); later, between 1994 and 2003, he was both Director of the Comité Internacional de Críticos de Arquitectura [International Committee of Architectural Critics] and the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.   This document clarifies Glusberg’s position vis-à-vis the São Paulo Biennial’s complicated situation given the atmosphere of censorship and repression that permeated Brazil during the time of military dictatorship (1964-85). It is especially interesting to note that Gordon Matta’s article, dated May 19, 1971, prompted an open letter from Glusberg in which he explains the reasons for his early support for the Brazilian event and subsequent relinquishing of his role as organizer of two exhibitions, “Arte como idea [Art as an Idea]” as well as “Arte Cibernético [Cybernetic Art].