Exhibition Histories, Volume 4
An exhibition history of the 24th Bienal de São Paulo, 1998

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 postcolonial globalization. The show employed the Brazilian notion of anthropophagy as both concept and method, encouraging "contamination" and "cannibalization" of the canon. By doing so it proposed a new model for large-scale curatorial projects that could effectively address nonspecialist audiences. Photographs and gallery plans reconstruct this important project, and an essay by Lisette Lagnado provides critical analysis and historical context. Additional texts by Renato Sztutman, Mirtes Marins de Oliveira and Carmen Mörsch and Catrin Seefranz are complemented by recent interviews with curator Paulo Herkenhoff and participating artists. With an introduction by Pablo Lafuente.

The Exhibition Histories series offers critical analysis of exhibitions of contemporary art that have changed the way art is seen and made. Each title addresses a different set of concerns, with reference to a particular exhibition or cluster of exhibitions in the last sixty years. All books include newly commissioned essays and interviews, key texts from the time (such as reviews) and compelling visual documentation.

Designed by A Practice for Everyday Life

Published by Afterall Books, 2015

Softcover, 216 pages, 95 color and 7 b&w images, 6 × 8.5 inches

ISBN: 978-3-86335-554-8