Ernesto de Sousa entrevistado pela televisão italiana no Pavilhão Alvar Aalto. Ao fundo, a instalação de Melo e Castro; à direita, o desenho de Ana Hatherly.Ernesto de Sousa interviewed for the Italian television at the Alvar Aalto Pavillion. In the back, Melo e Castro's installation; on the right, a drawing by Ana Hatherly.Vista parcial da instalação de Melo e Castro.Partial view of the installation by Melo e Castro.Joseph Beuys (à porta), acompanhado Ernesto de Sousa, visita o Pavilhão de Portugal. Na parede, a reprodução do painel Começar de Almada Negreiros (1969).Josephy Beuys (at the door) visits the Portuguese Pavillion, accompanied by Ernesto de Sousa. On the wall, the reproduction of the panel Começar by Almada Negreiros (1969).Visitantes deitados nas letras de espuma de poliuretano de João Vieira (1972).Visitors lying down on João Vieira's polyurethane foam letters.Vídeo de Ernesto de Sousa e pintura de António Sena.Video by Ernesto de Sousa and painting by António Sena.Os músicos Maria João Serrão e Lopes e Silva no vídeo The Word and the Letter de Ernesto de Sousa (fotografia de produção, 1980).The musicians Maria João Serrão and Lopes e Silva in the video The Word and the Letter by Ernesto de Sousa (production still, 1980).
39th Venice Biennale, Alvar Aalto Pavilion, June-September 1980. Portuguese representation commissioned by Ernesto de Sousa. A collective installation with the theme "The Word and the Letter".
Participants included Ana Hatherly, António Sena, E.M. de Melo e Castro, Ernesto de Sousa and João Vieira. Almada Negreiros (with a reproduction of the panel Começar) and Fernando Pessoa were evoked pionneers of the written-word. The musicians Lopes e Silva and Maria João Serrão participated in Ernesto de Sousa's video The Word and The Letter.
We decided to organize not just a mere "accrochage", but an installation on a common and rigorous theme that doesn't mute individual contributions. This theme – THE WORD AND THE LETTER – favors the written word and the sign, not only in contemporary visual arts but also as a reflection of a dynamism that possibly characterized the Portuguese social and cultural life of the last years. In this case no distinction is made between art and critique, image and sound, the musical note and its performance, sound poetry and visual poetry. This presentation is a homage to Fernando Pessoa and Almada Negreiros, pioneers of the Portuguese written-word.
