Relay Column: The Clothing of Resistance – On the Parangolé, the Pioneer of Participatory Art – (Chiaki Yamanoi)

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PROFILE

Chiaki Yamanoi

Born in 1997. Graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts Department of Aesthetics. Specializes in participatory art, especially focusing on the pioneering work of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica, conducting research from the perspective of 'play'.

Image 1: Caetano Veloso wearing 'Parangolé Capa 1' (1968) Projeto Hélio Oiticica, doc. no. 2003. 68-p1.

Please take a look at Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso (Caetano Veloso, 1942-) dressed in the vividly colored 'parangolé' (Image 1). With the shining sky as his backdrop, he presents a heroic and elegant figure that is memorable even today. However, the 1960s, when this was taken, was a harsh time for Brazilians.

Perhaps this text might not be considered a discussion on fashion. However, I write in order to convey that this beautiful 'Clothing of Resistance' was a part of the beginning of one important current within art history, 'Participatory Art'.

Hélio Oiticica (1937-1980), the creator of the 'parangolé,' was an artist and writer active mainly in Rio from the mid-1950s. Although he is referred to as a pioneer of 'participatory art,' this is backdrop to his society of that time.

In 1964, a military coup took place in Brazil, starting a military dictatorship. The 1960s in Brazil were thus a period of harsh oppression and censorship. The Rio de Janeiro police, especially in the slums known as favelas in the northern part of the city, arrested, tortured, and killed criminals, suspects, and resistance activists.