Afterall “Exhibition Histories” Series

Cultural Anthropophagy: The 24th Bienal de São Paulo

With an introduction by Pablo Lafuente, main essay by Lisette Lagnado, additional texts by Renato Sztutman, Mirtes Marins de Oliveira, Carmen Mörsch and Catrin Seefranz, and interviews with participating artists and curator Paulo Herkenhoff.

The 1998 Bienal de São Paulo remade art history from a Brazilian perspective, and presented a new model for exhibition-making in the era of post-colonial globalisation. The show employed the Brazilian notion of anthropophagy as both concept and method, encouraging ‘contamination’ and ‘cannibalisation’ of the canon, alongside an expanded understanding of its pedagogic function for the integration of art, culture and political history.

In the sixth book in Afterall’s Exhibition Histories series, the 24th Bienal is presented in detail, with critical reappraisal and extensive photographic documentation of this important exhibition. The main essay by Lisette Lagnado provides extensive critical analysis and historical context, with additional texts by Renato Sztutman, on the history of anthropophagy, Mirtes Marins de Oliveira, on the Bienal’s critical reception, Carmen Mörsch and Catrin Seefranz on its educational commitments, and interviews with participating artists and curator Paulo Herkenhoff providing further valuable insights. Introduction by Pablo Lafuente.

The Exhibition Histories series investigates exhibitions that have shaped the way contemporary art is experienced, made and discussed.

Published by Afterall Books in association the Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, 2014. Distributed by Koenig Books, and ARTBOOK | D.A.P.

ISBN 978-1-84638-149-5 – Afterall Books – £14.95
ISBN 978-3-86335-554-8 – Koenig Books – €16.80