Grupo EmpreZa
performance art
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa
VESÚVIO / VESUVIUS
#1 Serão Performático (14/03/2015)
Performance Documentation
VESUVIUS
Grupo EmpreZa’s VESUVIUS is an occupation of the space for a period of two months, developing investigative and experimental activities, which will progress into six assorted “Serões Performáticos”* The arousal of this space, will happen naturally with the continuous exercise of “body storms”, in which the group, intends to engage and reverberate their presence through out SESC Pompéia. Involving the public in their creative process, demystifying attitudes and in then again straining the limit of their stay under this creative and experimental pressure.
*"Serão performático" is a term coined by Grupo EmpreZa and in Portuguese means extra hours, mostly seen in institutional language. It also makes a reference to the word “sarau”, derived from the Galician 'Serao' and the latin 'Seranus'. Determining the actions composed by various elements and performances.
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa
VESÚVIO / VESUVIUS
#2 Serão Performático (25/03/2015)
Performance Documentation
DUSTY CYCLES (by Gustavo Bonfiglioli)
"On Wednesday, March 25, from 1pm to 9pm BRT, anyone who entered the “In Between” space at Terra Comunal - MAI emerged with their shoes covered in brick and bone dust. It was from Grupo EmpreZa's Serão Performático, the second in a series of six performances that are part of the project Vesuvius.
Two performers occupy the “In Between” space, wearing formal attire. One stands with a pile of bricks next to him. He pounds one brick after another without pause using a mortar and pestle made from a tree trunk. The other crawls on the ground, completely covered in dust from the bricks. He exhales deeply, blowing the dust into a red fog that fills the room and covers the floor. Viewers wear surgical masks during the performance.
Some members of Grupo EmpreZa have already been doing this for four hours. At 6pm, they start to incorporate other actions. It begins with cleansing the energy of their surrounding environment using rituals inspired by African religions such as Umbanda."
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa
VESÚVIO / VESUVIUS
#3 Serão Performático (07/04/2015)
Performance Documentation
BURNING UP (by Ulisses Carrilho )
"The climax of the piece is in the evening, but work begins in the afternoon. A totem is gradually built with candle wax. It is then melted and put in water to form to form semi-solid membranes that, once placed on the floor, harden into a sort of net around the “In Between” space, from its center all the way to the entrance.
Sitting on a chair, one of the artists remains still while another holds a large candle over him and melts wax on his jacket, head, and hands. In another corner of the room, a third member of Empreza holds a candle in his own mouth. Paraffin drips onto his beard and lips, some hardened pieces end up in his mouth, restricting the movement of his jaw. The evening culminates in a great ceremony, Requiem of the Cow [Réquiem da Vaca]. Candles are concealed inside pieces of paper, a sort of "prayer book" from which a performer reads, emulating a priest."
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa
VESÚVIO / VESUVIUS
#4 Serão Performático (17/04/2015)
Performance Documentation
HEAVY WEIGHT (by Ulisses Carrilho )
"With deliberate slowness and sustained effort, Grupo EmpreZa presents their Fourth Serão Performático. Mentally engaged with their own actions, the common theme among all the performers’ actions was carrying heavy stone. Even though not a single word is uttered, it is a clear and undeniable celebration of Sisyphus.
Throughout the afternoon, two group members work with gravel. The exhibition room fills with dust, alluding to building sites. In their usual formal attire, members of the collective drag each other's bodies around, marking their paths and leaving trails behind in dust. Pulling the weight tests their physical limits, pushing them to exhaustion until the end of the performance. (...)
The fourth Serão ends with the crowd gathered around a huge bonfire of large, heavy stones. The job is done: the energy from the minerals have fill the space. Howling can be heard from outside the exhibition area.
This Serão Performático was the fourth in a series of six performances that are part of project Vesuvius, by Grupo EmpreZa."
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa
VESÚVIO / VESUVIUS
#5 Serão Performático (17/04/2015)
Performance Documentation
HUMAN FLESH (by Ulisses Carrilho )
"And then there were five. The fifth Serão Performático ended a series within the Vesuvius project, presented by Brazilian collective Grupo EmpreZa as part of the MAI Presents program. This performance was kept minimal, using primarily the flesh of the artist's body. In this last presentation of performance before the final Serao, which is a discussion, Grupo EmpreZa tone down their actions. Subtly, the provocation of materials is replaced by the exploration of the body’s limitations. All members of the collective have somehow previously experienced pain as a form of interaction with the public in performance.
Pain, or the illusion of pain, creates tension between the public and the artist. When the public recognizes anguish in an artist’s expression, a shared language is created. With Grupo EmpreZa, the pain was never intended to be— or appear to be an illusion. Truth be told: pain was the far from the main focus of the night, it would be a reductive interpretation of the events that unfold."
Terra Comunal
Marina Abramovic + MAI
Grupo EmpreZa + Marina Abramovic
Encontros com Marina Abramovic
Eighth Lecture Highlights (30/04/2015)
GRUPO EMPREZA X MARINA ABRAMOVIC
(by Carol Pascoal )
"Posso dizer que no 52º dia de Terra Comunal entendi o Grupo EmpreZa. Marina Abramovic e o Grupo EmpreZa levaram os seus manifestos sobre arte de performance para o palco do Teatro. O coletivo deu início ao ato. Os dez integrantes entraram em cena com megafones em mãos e pediram para que o seu lado da plateia repetisse o que estavam ali proclamando. Todos falavam ao mesmo tempo. Foi possível pescar uma palavra aqui, outra acolá. Mas entender com precisão, não foi possível. Quando abriram os microfones para perguntas do público, mais uma vez o grupo mostrou a sua fuga de “mesmismos”. O público perguntava e todos respondiam – ao mesmo tempo - via megafones. Ficou claro. Aquilo era o Grupo EmpreZa. Muitas vozes, ideias, cabeças criativas e personalidades. O entrosamento e a ausência de vaidade são primordiais, além do fato de nenhum membro agir como um líder."