Sunday, December 14, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

MAM-RJ

MAM-RJ (Modern Art Museum - Rio de Janeiro) was designed by architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy, a native from Rio de Janeiro, and was inaugurated in 1958. The collection includes work by main Brazilian artists as well as international recognized artists. The Museum is part of a recreation complex by the ocean, that was completed in 1965.


In the sixties, the Museum was an important venue for vanguard artists meetings and events. That's where Helio Oiticica exhibited his "Tropicalia" work, starting then the "Tropicalista" Movement in the Brazilian arts.


The landscape was designed by Roberto Burle Marx, a renowned Brazilian landscape designer.


The building consists of several concrete columns that wrap and suspend a rectangular concrete/glass two-level box, leaving the street level opened for pedestrians. That makes the site very fluid and accessible. To get into the museum, one needs to go under the suspended structure.




View from inside the Museum.