Lenir De Miranda

Between the Political and the Experimental (1966-1985)

Abstract

This article analyzes part of the artistic production of Lenir de Miranda (Pedro Osório, Brazil, 1945) between 1966 and 1985. This period was marked by the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship (1964–1985), during which, despite state repression, the artist developed dissident and politically engaged practices. Based on online correspondence and documents exchanged between the artist and the author, taken as evidence of a broader context, the article outlines the practices adopted by Lenir since her entry into the Pelotas School of Fine Arts, encompassing works produced in the 1970s and her coordination of the experimental art group Cerebelo in the early 1980s, affiliated with the Institute of Letters and Arts of the Federal University of Pelotas. Based on a methodology that moves from the micro to the macro and proposes transnational dialogues, the article seeks to situate the relevance of Lenir's work in conjunction with other artists and initiatives of her time. The analyses highlight how the political and the experimental constituted central dimensions in his first years of professional activity, contributing to the understanding of the importance of his production in the Brazilian artistic panorama under the authoritarian regime.