Seja marginal, seja herói
| seja marginal, seja herói | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Hélio Oiticica |
| Year | 1968 |
| Medium | screen print on fabric |
seja marginal, seja herói ('be an outlaw, be a hero') is a 1968 artwork by the Brazilian visual artist Hélio Oiticica.[1][2][3][4][5]
Description
[edit]It is a flag-like fabric screen printed with representation of Manuel Moreira, popularly known as Cara de Cavalo ('Horse Face')—a well-known bandit gunned down in the favela of Mangueira by the police of Rio de Janeiro in 1964 and a friend of Oiticica's—and the phrase seja marginal, seja herói ('be an outlaw, be a hero') beneath it.[2][6] The dead body is prostrated, vulnerable, splayed as if it were a crucifix, inverted.[7] The work celebrates the figure of "the marginal" despised by conservative mainstream society.[7]
History
[edit]Seja marginal, seja herói was first exhibited February 1968 at the Festival das Bandeiras held at Praça General Osório in Rio de Janeiro.[4]
The axiom seja marginal, seja herói became a rallying cry for dissidents under the military dictatorship in Brazil.[8]
Reception
[edit]For Luiz Antonio Garcia Diniz, the image of Cara de Cavalo, shot dead by a Rio de Janeiro police death squad in 1964, recalls the various forms of repression under the military dictatorship in Brazil.[2]
The figure of the antihero or the unknown or anonymous hero is a recurring feature in the work of Hélio Oiticica, who himself sought to live as an artista-marginal, an artist existing on the margins of a society determined to preserve and center, in its mainstream politics and culture, values such as productivity and stability.[2]: 59
In popular culture
[edit]A seja marginal, seja herói flag made by Oiticica adorned the stage of the Sucata club in Rio de Janeiro the night of a performance by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, after which the two were detained end eventually exiled under the accusation of having sung the national anthem of Brazil in parody.[4][9][10][11]
In 2023, a history and art teacher in Brazil was dismissed from her job for wearing a seja marginal, seja herói t-shirt after federal deputy of the Liberal Party Gustavo Gayer criticized her for it on social media, commenting "professora de história com look petista em sala de aula" ('history teacher with a petista look in the classroom').[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Por que homenagear bandidos – MAM Rio" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- ^ a b c d Diniz, Luiz Antonio Garcia (2012-09-17). "Seja marginal, seja herói: a figura do herói e do anti-herói na obra de Hélio Oiticica". Soletras (in Portuguese) (23): 53–66. doi:10.12957/soletras.2012.3804. ISSN 2316-8838.
- ^ Souza, Renata Cristine Gomes de (2022). "Sentidos da marginalidade: uma leitura espacial de Marginais e outros contos a partir da obra de Hélio Oiticica". Abril: Revista do Estudos de Literatura Portuguesa e Africana - NEPA UFF. 14 (29): 57–64. ISSN 1984-2090.
- ^ a b c Cámara, Mario (2016-01-11). "El artista plástico Hélio Oiticica: escritor y fotógrafo". Outra Travessia (in Portuguese). 1 (21): 93–104. doi:10.5007/2176-8552.2016n21p93. hdl:11336/106342. ISSN 2176-8552.
- ^ Dercon, Ernesto Neto, Marepe, Catherine Yass and Chris. "'Be an outlaw... Be a hero' – Tate Etc". Tate. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Rohter, Larry. "Viva Tropicália! | Larry Rohter". ISSN 0028-7504. Retrieved 2023-05-15.
- ^ a b Rosa, Tatiane Santa (2019-02-05). "Venceremos: Resisting the Rise of the Far-right in Brazil". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- ^ llull, Paula (2016-10-01). "Hélio Oiticica: Be an Outlaw, Be a Hero". Sculpture. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- ^ "As canções do exílio – Cultura 930". www.cultura930.com.br. Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ ""Seja marginal, seja herói": la obra que llevó al exilio a Caetano". Agente Provocador (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2023-05-10.
- ^ Moura, Kathleen McCaul (2016-07-01). "Kathleen McCaul Moura | 'We are favela!' · LRB 1 July 2016". LRB Blog. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
- ^ "Professora que foi demitida após deputado criticá-la por usar camiseta com frase 'seja marginal, seja herói' diz que está recebendo apoio de colegas e alunos". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-15.