Arte e ativismo em tempos de ditadura militar

atuação política em “Do Corpo à Terra”

Abstract

This text, based on a qualitative methodology, is supported by updated bibliography on the encouragement of experimental art, political action, and the military dictatorship. This reflective exercise is grounded in the survey, observation, and analysis of experimental artistic proposals presented during Do Corpo à Terra, highlighting the exhibition’s impact on raising social awareness about the importance of adopting a political and engaged stance in the face of the political issues of that time. The aforementioned exhibition was organized by Frederico Morais, an art critic who played a significant role in promoting experimental art in Brazil and in expanding opportunities for young artists emerging in the national art scene. Do Corpo à Terra took place in 1970, during a period of intensified repression, persecution, police violence, and the imprisonment of people linked to various sectors of society. The enactment of Institutional Act No. 5, a tool of social control, institutionalized violence and granted the police full power to act as they pleased, shielding them from accountability. In this context, as shown in this study, artists used their proposals to expose the sociopolitical problems of the time, denouncing the abuse of power by the military, the disappearance of individuals, the torture of political prisoners, among other atrocities.