Lot 50: Nelson Leirner (b. 1932)

Cal‡a felt 55 1/8 x 633/4in. (140 x 162cm.) Executed in 1973 PROVENANCE Galeria Brito Cimino, Sao Paulo LITERATURE Chiarelli, T. Nelson Leirner: arte e nao Arte, Galeria Brito Cimino, Brasil, 2001, p. 156, n. n. (illustrated in color) NOTES Nelson Leirner's body of work is constituted by a series of objects and actions with an underlying public character. Since his show Exposi‡ o Nao Exposicao at the Rex Gallery, where the spectator was invited to empty out the gallery, his work has focused on the idea of happenings and installations. All through the decade of the 70s Leirner challenged the artistic milieu and the political regime by producing a body of work that required the spectator's active participation. This in turn would make the public aware of their current existence under the repressive military regimes at the time. Cal‡a, executed in 1973, is one of the pieces that constitutes the body of work and installations about football. Leirner viewed the government's support of the sport as propaganda and as a tool to mask the existing oppression. In the installation Esporte ‚ cutura, oversized shirts, suits and pants, resembling banners, were evenly hung in the gallery space giving the installation a solemn feeling, not unlike a military parade.