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Waldemar Cordeiro
Sem título | Untitled, 1951óleo sobre linho
oil on linen40 x 50 cm
15.7 x 19.6 inWaldemar Cordeiro was a key figure in the development of concrete art, a vanguard movement essential for the transition of modern art to contemporary art, which came to define 20th-century Brazilian art. Besides being a pioneer in computer art as early as the 1960s, Waldemar Cordeiro developed and implemented important landscaping designs in Brazil. In his interdisciplinary research he defended painting in its essence, with self-supporting basic colors and lines, without the backing of figurative representation. He was notable for his objective and rational art, very much associated with his theoretical studies, as well as for his investigation of industrial materials and elements. Cordeiro worked for an art accessible to all, seeking a collective sense that was also aligned with technology, to design and to landscaping. His research in art was always coupled with a social and political concern.Waldemar Cordeiro stands as one of the key figures in Brazilian art history, having played a principal role in the transition from modern to contemporary art. He was a forerunner in the Brazilian and worldwide context of various art movements including concretismo and computer art, while also working as a landscape architect. His artistic trajectory was distinguished by its interdisciplinary nature and resonance with various art movements and trends: figurativism, concrete art, intuitive geometry, popcreto, and computer art.The principles of concretism called for the elimination of any lyrical or symbolic connotation from painting. The ideas of German philosopher Konrad Fiedler (1841–1895) and the postulates of Gestalt psychology provided important theoretical foundations for the central concepts of Brazilian concrete art, which Waldemar Cordeiro developed in the early 1950s, largely informed by the functional style and geometric formalism of the Bauhaus, particularly in relation to mathematical rules and aesthetic purity.Waldemar Cordeiro foi um dos principais agentes da história da arte brasileira, figura chave para a transição da arte moderna para a contemporânea, sendo precursor de movimentos artísticos, como o Concretismo e a Computer Art no Brasil e no exterior, além de paisagista. Sua trajetória artística foi marcada pela interdisciplinaridade e ressonância com seus respectivos contextos: Figurativismo, Arte Concreta, Geometria Intuitiva, Popcreto e Arte de Computador.Os princípios do concretismo defendiam a eliminação de qualquer conotação lírica ou simbólica da pintura. As ideias do filósofo alemão Konrad Fiedler (1841-1895) e os postulados da psicologia da Gestalt representaram bases teóricas importantes para o desenvolvimento dos conceitos centrais da arte concreta brasileira, desenvolvidos por Waldemar Cordeiro, no início da década de 1950, que privilegiam o estilo funcional e formalismo geométrico da Bauhaus, especialmente aquele relacionado às regras matemáticas e à pureza estética.
