The 1969 São Paulo Biennale: Participation/ Presence of Artists from Bulgaria

Authors:

Pages: 17-28
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/XSRS1236

Abstract:

The attempt of Brazilian, French and other artists to boycott the São Paulo Biennale in 1969, triggered by the dictatorship regime, did not get any response in the artistic and critical circles in Bulgaria, which participated in the Biennale with nine artists and 31 graphic prints that year. The focus of the Bulgarian collection displayed was on the reference to national traditions from the premodern period. Yet, the moment of intense interest in the pre-academic art forms (woodcarving, embroidery, coins, etc.), both in Bulgaria and elsewhere in the world, was already gone in 1969. The formula of the “national presentations” in the São Paulo Biennale, just as in the Paris Biennale of Young Artists, was exhausted. The aggravation of the circumstances after 1968 was neither mentioned nor discussed in the Bulgarian press. The Paris Biennale changed its regulations and Bulgaria terminated the participation of its artists. The participation in São Paulo continued under the strict control of the communist government.

Keywords:

São Paulo Biennale; political context and art forums in 1969; artists from Bulgaria; art biennales and national presentations.

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