The baroque foretold modernity

The common impression about the baroque is that it is an irregular, obsolete, exaggerated, and necessarily royal, affiliated with the inquisition, aligned with slavery and colonialism. And here I would like to reflect a bit. Somewhere in the late Renaissance, in the occidental world, begins the democratization of art, and the Baroque, paradoxically, made a contribution to this. Resulting from the reactional intention to reaffirm the power of the church and the monarchy, Baroque concepts seek to communicate with popular taste, using gold, illusion, sculpture and decoration. Hence it brought to a maximum scale and impact all forms of art, from architecture to music, in order to convence with the magnificence of the celestial kingdom but ended up confirming the beauty and pleasure of earthly existence, finishing at once and for all with the remnants of Gothic asceticism. Aiming to convey to an illiterate population, the Baroque spread knowledge and enlightenment; inspired by the science and discovery of the world, the baroque foretold modernity.

This is an excerpt from the text of the catalog by:

Madina Zingashina, curator of the project ART-MAP Braga 2017

"Thinking Baroque"

An artwork of art usually gets its title after being complete or during its creation, but an exhibition instead begins with a title. The title is the subject, the colour and direction of all future production; the title significantly defines the success of the exhibition. The subject of Baroque seems like a first choice for Braga, although, it was not an easy choice from the curatorial point of view. Announcing "Thinking Baroque" as an open call for artists, felt a little like a gamble, I was excited. In "Thinking Baroque" is missing "the"; which I was aiming for, as it meant for evoking the baroque way of thinking. I was not sure what how the artists would react: will this challenge inspire some outstanding relevant proposals or will it merely attract the repetitions of the decorative elements of what is called the "Baroque style" or mannerism? My gamble paid off. The artistic works presented for the exhibition have notably little to do with historical recollection, wether it be the narrative or the technical solution; these artworks are contemporary; but still they are baroque. Therefore, there are so many ways of thinking Baroque; and agglomerating this artistic intention in Braga has its charm and sense and its shock. The shock comes from the habitual reduction of the baroque to its decorative manifestations. The city's architecture claims its full historical rights to authentic baroque heritage; introducing new interpretations, in the form of artworks, unfreezes the margins of habitual perception and promises a continuity for the great tradition. The Baroque heritage, deservingly, serves here as an aesthetic bridge between the archaic and the modern: the stories role into vital shapes and dance, the metal sings, the gold shines, it is not possible to compete with this mastery with of past architects and artists; but it is possible to engage in a dialogue.

This is an excerpt from the text of the catalog by:

Madina Zingashina, curator of the project ART-MAP Braga 2017

Madina Zingashina

It is almost only the ancient cities, those witch grown without a premeditated plan, that are able to endow the content to their aesthetic shapes: here forms, which were born out of human intentions and which appear as mere materializations of the spirit and of the will, represent, by their conjugation, a value that goes beyond these intentions; and which makes them expand as an opus superer ogationis (...) and the distances between the eras, styles, personalities and vital contents, that have left their marks here, are as broad as nowhere else in the world, yet are woven into unity, harmony and affinity ...

Georg Simmel wrote those words about Rome, but they equally describe Braga so well. An art historian far from the twentieth century mainstream art critical discussion about the legitimacy of the artwork, about the death of art, and the pursuit of beauty. Simmel gave a simple answer to the complex labyrinth of questions of "what is art?" Art, like beauty, he said, is a privilege, which resides in the capacity of distinguishing, seeing the relations and making sense in one’s own mind, out of the multiplicity of objects, facts or phenomena. Simmel, probably a devotee of the Romantic school, also noted, that natural objects contain an aesthetic potential: harmony or stress of totality of parts or of elements reveal the immediate beauty; while harmony as such does not exist in manmade creations; only time can provide them an aesthetical completeness. In Braga, this statement does not even need demonstration, it is explicit and impressive.

This is an ancient Portuguese city, with thousands of years of history, whose relics and scars are manifest themselves on the face of the city through archelogy and architecture, and the city is alive, cheerful and young in spirit. Demographically the youngest city of Portugal, Braga remembers, summons up and celebrates all its eras, from Roman to Modern, throughout the year. While the cherishing of the past is construct on memory and archive, where all the preceding ages, styles and symbols are at peace with each other under the umbrella of the heritage, the present is still unconquered, unrolling, controversial. When there are no tensions between Roman, Gothic, Baroque, or Manueline styles, which are often composed one over another; time is the perfect artist which erects, forgets and mixes; the page of contemporary art is not listed yet, the discourse is being constructed on the celebration of its difference from the past eras.

This is an excerpt from the text of the catalog by:

Madina Zingashina, curator of the project ART-MAP Braga 2017

ART-MAP catalog Braga 2017

It is in the hot and promising summer of 2017 that ART-MAP invaded the bi-millennial city and opened the wings in a peculiar and creative way of recalling, trough na ambitious project of visual arts, one of its most golden periods – The BAROQUE. Answering the challenge launched by the curator Madina Ziganshina, the Municipality could not fail to associate and presented to Braga a large demonstration in spaces which are so dearing to our citizens and intriguing for visitors. The works and the artists, despite being so diverse in their life experiences and in ways of their creative expression, responded the cal to THINK BAROQUE.

What pleased me about this initiative, was the unexpected notion in this original approach of the relationship between history and art during this unique event. Involvement of sufficiently well-known names and of emerging artists, attracted not only the audience directly interested in such specific genre of artistic intervention, but also invited the general public, who entered for the first time in some of these spaces to contact new artistic conceptions and innovative perspectives. Due to audacity and willingness, one more challenge, which aimed for the valorisation of contemporary art, the preservation and knowledge of history and monuments and in promotion of cultural and tourism of our territory, was accepted.

This is an excerpt from the text of the catalog by:

Lídia Dias, Councillor of Culture

Gallery of the Station

Gallery of the Station

Gallery of the station is actually a huge complex, recently reconstructed, consisting of 3 gallery spaces with a separate entrance each, on the ground floor and a series of white rooms on the first floor.

The building is prepared to show art, it has hanging systems in the galleries, light, high ceilings, stands. The 8 rooms of the first floor are smaller and perfect for installations, sound installations or private projects. This establishment offers all for experimentation.

Museum of the Image

Museum of the Image

This museum is specialized on photography and all connected with image. It is well known for its dense agenda, central location and quality of the exposition conditions. The museum offers 3 ample showrooms with rustic decoration and professional light and hanging system. Video projection room can be provided.

Largo do Paço

Largo do Paço

The Largo do Paço, located in the historic center of Braga, is made up of a group of buildings that were the former residence of the Archbishops known as Paço Episcopal Bracarense.

Largo do Paço is made up of four buildings, which currently houses the Noble Hall of the University of Minho, the Braga Public Library and the Municipal Archive.

Casa dos Crivos

Casa dos Crivos

This heritage building from the 16th century is amazingly preserved and has a function as a art gallery in the heart of Braga.

Tiny from outside, inside it has 3 floors of ample exhibition spaces: white walls and wooden glossy floors, featuring all necessary condition to show any kinds ofartworks, from paintings to installations. 

The light is well designed, there is a projection room. 

Edifício do Castelo

Edifício do Castelo

Right in the center of Braga is a building that, if it is not abandoned, few people will know who is there and the services that work there. I refer to the building of the old Commercial School of Braga, which occupies a large part of the street of the Castle.

Infraestruturas de Portugal owns about a third of this early twentieth-century building by the architect José Marques da Silva. For some months now, the municipality and the University of Minho, which owns the other two-thirds of this building, have been negotiating a solution that allows the transfer of the property to the chamber. The intention is to make feasible a rehabilitation project of that space, although the modality of this agreement nor the future use of the equipment is not yet defined.

Creative bookstore Centésima Página

Creative bookstore Centésima Página

This place is made to take a break and relax with good books and delicious cakes. The bookstore occupies all building, featuring café downstairs and several creative galleries upstairs. Every corner of this shop is art; there are conditions to show paintings, graphics, artist books, sculptures.

There is also a protected garden attached to the building, where summer concerts and presentations take place.