Museological inventions on display: MAC of Zanini and MASP of couple of Bardi (1960-1970)

Abstract

The project aims the description and critical analysis of the exhibition Ambiente de Confrontação, held at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo, in 1972, from the perspective of recent studies on exhibitions, which emerges as a new research possibility in the history of art. Exhibitions are environments in which ideas and meanings are constructed, modified and even destroyed. This study approach is like an axis to understand the passage of the individual history of the artist or the artwork to the institutional history.The exhibition Ambiente de Confrontação was part of an experimental program of the MAC USP, whose purpose was to make the museum not only a preservation space for artworks but also a laboratory for artists and visitors. This initiative was part of a movement undertaken at the time by some institutions which were seeking appropriate ways to work with new art forms.Thus, this study intend to understand the museological model, the conceptions of art and critical theories associated with this exhibition in order to situate it in the trajectory of the Museum, considering also its position in the country's art scene at that time.