The days from June 12 to today June 15 the Opening day for Primary Codes
The last few days have been a mixture of visiting the gallery to check on the hanging of art works and installation of the digital pieces and walking the beach front and streets of Ipanema soaking in the warmth and vitality of the place and people. We have taken in the Bar Astor, an Art Deco place for beautifully designed cocktails as well as eating out in the Caffee Felice together with Paul, Wendy, Frieder and Susannah, the visiting artists' contingent. The food and wine at Felice we thought was outstanding and the best of Ipanema eating but that was before the Pomodorino experience later on.
Our second Sunday here was spent visiting the Hippie Market in General Osorio where there was no difficulty finding attractive gifts to take home. The stalls sold nice leather bags and belts, exotic and simple forms of jewellery as well as knick knacks. The temperature hit 32 degrees and the beaches were packed solid with many swimmers ignoring the 'do not swim flags' placed after an early morning rescue from the heavy sea. That seems to be the norm here- the police both military and regular types either sit tight in their vehicles with roof lights permanently flashing or pose in leathers on their souped up motorcycles while people get up to all kinds of fun until something happens and then they react - but slowly and usually only to call the emergency services.
Throughout the day the air was comfortably warm and into the evening when we found the Palaphita Kitch bar on the shores of Lagoa for powerful expensive cocktails or succulent fruity ice frappes. Quick but very interesting exchanges with people involved in the art-technology world and visiting for the Visual Music conference in Brasilia and then back to the hotel to meet a dear friend Clarisse who we hardly dared imagine we would meet in her home city. But at last we succeeded. The dinner at Pomodorinos a Michelin star restaurant in Ipanema also at Largoa, was superb and the conversation took a different turn away from art-technology to philosophy, the state of university education in Brazil, the decline of Europe and Pragmatism and Big Data to mention but a few. Don't ask me to remember what was said but after some nice Tuscan wine it all sounded immensely profound! The consensus seemed to be that Big Data was a con using smart statistics to keep us from looking at what really matters to people, and instead promoting generality over the individual and exceptional cases. It all made me realise that I for one have been living happily without understanding what Big Data is all about!
Today and the Monday of the opening of Primary Codes, there are last minute adjustments going on as the exhibition install reaches its climax. Yesterday Fabrizio was in full swing as a one man fixer going from piece of piece sorting out problems, marshalling the technicians and assistants and finding soothing words to reassure the artists. Bringing together over 70 artworks by four artists spanning nearly 50 years of computer art is a formidable task. The effect is already looking stunning even before completion. Later today we will see the finished result. Before the actual opening the Brazilian press arrives for a tour with the artists. Then it is opened with drinks, general milling about and lots of conversations but without formal. speeches. All done Brazilian style.
