Letters to the Art System

Letter for a possible PhD Programme

My name is Ana Amorim and I live in Brazil. Last year I worked with Sita in Belém - Pará - northern Brazil during the first Symposium on Isolated Indigenous Peoples, organised by FUNAI - National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples. I was an Interpreter for Sita for the duration of the Symposium and we had a lot of time to talk. Sita was the one who suggested that I should contact you regarding my PhD project.

Second letter sent to marcos Moraes (no reply)

Dear Marcos Moraes,

*This letter will be sent to curators, artists, students, gallery owners, art critics and members of the population. This is part of a project of questioning of Art Institutions and their criteria and motivation when accepting sponsorship form corporate capital.This letter will be published in the weblog " Letters to the Art System" and "Cartas ao Sistema de arte".

Following my first letter dated November 10th, 2003, where I asked some questions about the 9th Fine Arts Week organised by FAAP (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado) starting from Monday (10/11) which included an exhibition of the institution's works by students and teachers; the exhibition "São Paulo: A Reflection on the City" and the Bayer/Aventis CropScience (originally Rhone-Poulenc and Hoechst/AgrEvo) 2004 Calendar.

I would like to stress that I am emotionally attached to FAAP , I am an alumni student, having graduated in 1986. Since my graduation I have experienced a growing interest on the corporate mediation of capitalist institutions in the arts which added to an old discomfort of mine about the appropriation of the arts by the economic elite. I have developed various art works that in various degrees discussed exactly that.

More recently I have decided that the best way to understand what is going on is to ask.

I come back today, a week after my first letter was sent, and to remind you that I am still expecting a reply to the questions raised. I admit that an art week of this size on top of your office routines would not leave you much time to spare, however I hope you can find sometime to write once the IX Art Week is over.

The questions raised were the following:
--Taking in consideration the theme of the exhibition "The process and the Creative product", I would like to ask you a question about the work process of your students during the creation of the Calendar 2004.

--What emphasis did the teachers place in stimulating the students to think about the reasons that would make a multinational that has businesses in the areas of biotechnology, food, house paint, textiles, leather and paper, besides producing other plastic materials such as Makrolon, which is a component in the production of CDs and DVDs, why would it want to invest in art?

--The exhibition "São Paulo: A Reflection on the City" was conceived considering the city as being the people, the life of the people, and the elements that interact with the life of the people, be them political, social, economic and environmental?

--Did that by any chance include brief visit to the site Zona de risco - (www.estadao.com.br/ext/ciencia/zonasderisco/area.htm?cid=spaulo )
which has an index of the already identified contaminated areas in the State of S?o Paulo?
--So you did find out that Bayer is in that list?
Bayer S/A (R. Antônio Forster, 700)

I consider these questions of great importance as far as art students are considered. When we talk about art students we are talking about a permeable and receptive imaginary that can have its universe stretched and questioned.
In my previous letter I took the liberty to suggest a theme for the debates that would happen throughout the week:

--It seems to me that a very important topic for discussion would be the possible implications in the collective imaginary when the actual title of an art catalogue becomes purely a marketing medium for a transnational company.

Did you manage to discuss anything about during the week? I would like to hear about the topics discussed and the outcomes if possible.

Well, I am looking forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely,
Ana Amorim