Albuquerque Mendes, do artista como obra de arte à utopia da mudança : performance e pedagogia

Abstract

In the second half of the 20th century, innovative artistic practices with a pedagogical dimension emerged in the international art system, especially in the field of performance art, aiming at transformations, both in the artistic system and in the spectator. Some of the protagonists of those artistic practices were influenced by philosophers and pedagogues such as John Dewey, with particular relevance to their conception of aesthetic experience. Directing the object of study to Portugal, we carried out research, in a case study, on the artistic context of the Portuguese artistic avant-gardes, their protagonists and, in particular, on the work of the artist Albuquerque Mendes, describing, analyzing and highlighting: specificities, objectives and strategies. We conclude that, also in Portugal, most initiatives and practices were carried out in an experimental laboratory environment and by artist-teachers, in alternative contexts in the center and north of the country, where the role of the Círculo de Artes Plásticas de Coimbra stands out, with dynamization initials by João Dixo. In the field of artistic events, the role of Ernesto de Sousa, Jaime Isidoro and Egídio Álvaro stands out. Albuquerque Mendes is, from our point of view, the artist who presents a work and a longer and more consistent body of performance, in constant renewal, plural and vast, so in the case study, we highlight his path, influences, characteristics of the his artistic work, of the performance body, idiosyncrasies and, finally, four strategies that he frequently resorts to in his performances: co-option, conduction, deconstruction and interrogation in favor of the spectator's emancipation, which in turn were constituted as strategies in which we go to find links to theoretical concepts deriving from cultural pedagogy and pedagogy of the event