SP-Arte 2022 – Arte Natureza: Ressignificar para viver

June 1802. The German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was climbing the Chimborazo, in the Andes, until then considered the highest point in the world, when he had an epiphany that would change the course of science: everything in nature is switched on. The imposing volcano is the protagonist of his famous drawing “Naturgemülde”, in which Humboldt presents data such as temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure, thus allowing to establish relationships between the local vegetation and that of other areas. This classification revolutionized the understanding of nature that we have until today, giving us the current notion of Ecology: the idea of ​​nature as a living organism. This premise guides the exhibition Arte nature: re-signifying to live, on display at the 18th edition of SP–Arte.

The resignification of what surrounds us is key to the sequence of human life as part of the environment. The transformation of matter, as well as its compensation in other elements, makes balance and, consequently, our permanence on Earth, possible. There is nothing more effective than putting such a dialogue in the middle of one of the main parks in Latin America, where humanity, art and the environment meet and coexist. Running through the center of the exhibition is a long wooden structure in the shape of the constellation Ursa Major, reiterating the relevance of the connection between heaven and earth. About it, productions by 21 artists are exposed, who touch the universe of ecology and sustainability in different ways, either through the raw material used or through the discourse, which promotes reflection on preservation.

As the German artist and activist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986), central figure of this exhibition and of the art nature movement, said, when explaining his famous phrase The revolution is us, “people could make the revolution if they used their own power, but they they are not aware of the enormous power they have, which is why there is no revolution”. But the doors are still open and art is certainly one of the ways to reach this thought and finally put it into action.