Press Release 1 Oscar Niemeyer, Contemporary Art Museum, Niterói,
Exhibition outline The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo is proud to stage Japan s first major retrospective of the work of Oscar Niemeyer (1907 2012), father of Brazilian modernist architecture. The unique creativity of Niemeyer s designs for prominent buildings in his native Brazil earned him tributes both at home and abroad, including a raft of architectural awards such as the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, Pritzker Architecture Prize, and Japan s Praemium Imperiale as well as the International Lenin Peace Prize. Oscar Niemeyer The Man Who Built Brasilia will present a comprehensive overview incorporating plans, models, photographs and video footage of close to a century of architectural design by the legendarily charismatic Niemeyer, who was still indefatigably turning out new designs right up to his death at the age of 104. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Oscar Niemeyer studied architecture at Rio s National School of Fine Arts before going on to work with his mentor Lúcio Costa. Following an encounter with Le Corbusier, Niemeyer worked with the modernist master in the design of the Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro (1936) under the coordination of Lúcio Costa. Already famous in his own right after having designed Pampulha architectural complex, Niemeyer worked with Le Corbusier again in designing the United Nations Headquarters in New York (1947). Niemeyer s greatest achievement however would have to be the building of the new capital Brasilia, Brazil s preeminent national project of the 1950s. Designing several of the major buildings (including the National Congress building and Cathedral of Brasilia), Niemeyer created a city of the imagination. The triumph of Brasilia took on historical significance above and beyond its architectural brilliance, raising Brazil s international profile, and in 1987, earning its unique capital World Heritage status. During the country s military regime of the 1960s, Niemeyer moved to Paris and based his practice there for 20 years, returning to his native land in 1985 and continuing to work prolifically, at the same time endeavoring to nurture his successors. Niemeyer, who always insisted on the importance of art in architecture, had been gifted at drawing from a young age, and found that if he looked at his pictures for long enough, they began to feel real. Niemeyer s designs are suffused with the boldness and freedom of freehand drawing, and the physicality with which these traits are converted into spatial form, and distinguished by organic, dynamic lines likened to the curves of a woman s body, and a harmonious blend of vitality and modernist geometry. Their futuristic shapes have also served as an inspiration to many Japanese architects. As Brazil and Japan celebrate 120 years of diplomatic relations and Rio de Janeiro prepares to host the Olympics in 2016, Oscar Niemeyer The Man Who Built Brasilia will showcase a century of this great architect and son of Rio. Exhibition Highlight 1. Models of some of Niemeyer s foremost buildings, in various sizes, will be on display including in the museum s approximately 500 m2 atrium, allowing visitors to experience for themselves the dynamism of his designs. 2. The venue design is courtesy of SANAA (Sejima and Nishizawa and Associates), architects greatly influenced by Niemeyer, with enormous respect for his work. Taking as basenote a white conjuring up the brilliant light of Brazil, SANAA have put together a setting for the exhibition that is dynamic and modern, yet characterized by organic curves. 3. The exhibition will also include video material showing Oscar Niemeyer s day-to-day life and revealing the secrets of his creativity, plus detailed documents concerning the construction of grand capital city Brasilia. 2
Oscar Niemayer Biography +81 Voyage Magazine Photo by Hiroshi Hatate 1907: Oscar Niemeyer was born on December 15, 1907, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 1934: Graduated from the architecture department of the National Academy of Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro. 1935: Joined the design studio of Lúcio Costa. 1936: Joined the design team of The Ministry of Education and Health in Rio de Janeiro consisting of Lúcio Costa, Carlos Leão, Jorge Moreira, Affonso Reidy and Ernani Vasconcelos. Niemeyer met for the first time with Le Corbusier, who was invited to collaborate on the project. 1937: Received his first private commission - Obra do Berço Rio de Janeiro. 1938: Designed the Brazilian Pavilion for the New York World s Fair in collaboration with Lúcio Costa. 1939: Designed the Pampulha Architectural Complex, invited by the Mayor of Belo Horizonte - Juscelino Kubitschek who would later become President of Brazil. 1945: Joined the Brazilian Communist Party. 1947: Joined the architect international committee responsible for the design of the United Nations Headquarters in New York 1952: Designed Casa das Canoas, Rio de Janeiro. 1956: President Juscelino Kubitschek appointed Niemeyer to be the chief architect of Brasilia, the new capital of Brazil, and also participated as a jury member of the capital plan competition. 1957-1958: Design of the new capital Presidential residence (Alvorada Palace), National Congress of Brazil, Presidential office (Planalto Palace), Federal Supreme Court and so on. 1967: Moved to Paris and and obtained a permission to work as an architect. 1968: Mondadori Publishing House Headquarters, Segrate, Italy. 1969: University of Constantine, Algeria. 1985: Pantheon of the Fatherland and Freedom, Brazil. 1987: Latin America Memorial, São Paulo, Brazil. 1988: Awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in Chicago. 1991: Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1996: Awarded the Golden Lion for the Architecture Biennale, 6th International Architecture Exhibition. 1999: Ibirapuera Auditorium in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo, Brazil. 2002: The Oscar Niemeyer Museum was inaugurated in 2002, Curitiba in the state of Parana, Brazil 2004: Awarded Praemium Imperiale 2012: Niemeyer died, aged 104, on December 5, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro. 3
Exhibition Information Exhibition Title Period Opening Hours Venue Closed on OSCAR NIEMEYER The Man Who Built Brasilia July 18, 2015(SAT) Oct 12, 2015 (Mon) 10:00~18:00 (opens until 21:00 on every Friday from July to September) *Last admission and ticket sales is 30min before closing time. Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (Exhibition Gallery B2F) Mondays (except 7.20, 9.21, 10.12), 7.21, 9.24 Organized by Exective Production in Brazil Exhibition Design Model Design and Production Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Embassy of Brazil in Tokyo/Ministry of Culture of Brazil/ Nikkei Inc. Base 7 SANAA noguchinaoto architect s Admission Related Programs Adults: 1,100yen/ University Students, Over 65: 800yen High School & Junior High Students: 600yen/ Elementary School & Under: Free *Free entry to MOT collection ticket holders SANAA Yuko Hasegawa Talk session We Love Niemeyer (Tentative Title) Date:August, 22(Sat), 2015 15:00- Venue:Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Auditorium B2F Gallery Tour by the Chief Curator, MOT Date:August, 29(Sat), 2015 15:00- September,12(Sat) 2015 15:00- Venue:Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Exhibition Gallery B2F *Other details will be announced on the official website for the event. Access From Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Hanzomon Line: 9min. walk from the B2 exit. From Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Station on the Toei Oedo Line: 13min. walk from the A3 exit. Inquiries +81-3-5245-4111(General Information) +81-3-5405-8686 (Hello Dial) www.mot-art-museum.jp Curated by Curatorial Staff Yuko Hasegawa(Chief Curator, MOT) Hikari Odaka(MOT) Chika Mori(MOT) Also showing An Art Exhibition for Children Whose place is this? The Railway Series THOMAS&FRIENDS MOT Collection Press Contacts Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo 4-1-1 Miyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan Mihoko Nakajima m-nakajima@mot-art.jp TEL.03-5245-1134(Direct) FAX.03-5245-1141 4
PRESS IMAGES ② Oscar Niemeyer, Contemporary Art Museum, Niterói, Photo: Takashi Homma 2002 ③ Oscar Niemeyer, Metropolitan Cathedral, Brasilia, ④ Oscar Niemeyer, Pampulha Complex - S. F. Assis Church, Belo Horizonte, ⑤ Oscar Niemeyer, Casa das Canoas, Photo: Takashi Homma 2002 ⑥Oscar Niemeyer, Mentouri University, Constantine, ⑦ Oscar Niemeyer, Ibirapuera Auditorium, São Paulo,
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