(this page was last updated in June 2020)
Born in São Paulo, Brazil, 1986.
Lives and works in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Represented by Galeria Leme and A Gentil Carioca
PIPA 2014, 2016 and 2018 nominee.
PIPA 2018 Finalist.
Vivian Caccuri uses sound as the vehicle to cross experiments in sensory perception with issues related to history and social conditioning. Through objects, installations, and performances, her pieces create situations that disorient everyday experience and, by extension, disrupt meanings and narratives seemingly as ingrained as the cognitive structure itself. Vivian has developed projects in many cities in Brazil and abroad, including the Amazon, Accra, Detroit, Helsinki, Vienna, Veneza, Kiev, Valparaíso and more. Throughout her career she has collaborated with several musicians such as Arto Lindsay (USA/BR), Gilberto Gil (BR), Fausto Fawcett (BR), Wanlov (Ghana) and has recently released her first musical project (Homa). Her sound works and compositions have been broadcasted in radio stations such as Resonance FM (London), Kunstradio (Vienna) and Rádio Mirabilis (Rio de Janeiro). At Princeton University she wrote her first book “Music is What I Make” (2012), published in Brazil and awarded by Funarte Prize of Critical Production in Music in 2013.
Website: www.viviancaccuri.net
– HIGH FIDELITY [HI-FI]
In April 2017, I went to the former headquarters of WDTR FM in Detroit. This used to be a public radio station run by the public schools of Detroit. There I found tapes of shows from the last years of the station that was shut down and sold in the early 2000s. The randomness of this content sounded like an aural hallucination to me for many reasons: I was a foreign observer and these were tapes found in the middle of ruins of the ex-richest cities of the Americas.
Shows presented by kids, political discussions, community engagement campaigns, storytelling, museum visits… the radio program is random and experimental, so I call my composition a spiritual radio hallucination that has one main hit: “Praying Spirit” by the Dynamic Clark Sisters, a famous gospel quartet from Detroit. I also improvised and composed with similar textures, style and sounds, as an emotional expansion of the past from my personal/musical perspective.
The sound system is made from a combination of vintage speakers from the 60s, 70s and 80s and Electro Voice subwoofers that blow three candles on the beat of the music.
– ORATÓRIO (TIDAL WAVE)
Oratório (Tidal Wave) is a sound-based work using subwoofers and lit candles, their ames set in motion by deep rhythms. The ambience is rooted in the Ambrosian hymn Aeterne Rerum Conditor, one of the rst forms of chanting in Western history, practiced by Christian monks. By exploring architectural and musical forms in religion, the artist expands connections and meanings to consider the cultural interrelations between the use of the bass with ritual and cult. As religious Christian music has historically distanced itself from percussion, drums and deep pulses in order to privilege the voice, wind instruments and strings, Caccuri’s musical interpretation seeks sonic forms in which the bass still performs as a vehicle for the mind through body and skin.
– TABOMBASS
“TabomBass” (2016), commissioned by the 32nd São Paulo Biennial, is a sound system composed of stacked speakers, similar to those used at street parties. However, this sound system is composed of subwoofers only, meaning that it only plays low-frequency sounds. Placed in front of them, lit candles move with the displaced air and dance to the rhythm of the deep sounds – basslines composed by artists from the city of Accra, who collaborated with Caccuri after her research in Ghana. Accra received groups of African-Brazilians after the Malê Revolt, a slave rebellion that took place in Salvador in 1835. To this day, their descendants are known as ‘Tabom’ – because, not knowing the local languages, they answered all questions with ‘tá bom’ [roughly translated as ‘okay’]. Caccuri takes this historical background, seeking to expand connections and meanings to consider the Africa-America trajectory, proposing an encounter in which Brazilian musicians and performers improvise based on the African sounds and, through this combination, create a hybrid work of art.
– ODEBRECHT SOUNDSYSTEM
Odebrecht Soundsystem is a baile funk sound system – usually called “paredão” (big wall) or “equipe de som” (translates “sound team”) that was covered with glazing glass, a material that is broadly employed in the civil construction of Odebrecht building company, Brazil’s most corrupt and politically nefast. The sound quality is not compromised with the covering of the reflective screen, on the contrary: sound is empowered and overcharged.
– ADEUS
“Adeus” (Goodbye) consists of a mini sound system with microprocessor devices, FM receivers and antennas, that are able not only to tune radio bands but also to perceive movement. The closer people are from the metal antennas, the more sensitive they become to the FM waves, thereby producing less noise in the decoding of electromagnetic signals and, consequently, more definition in its transformation into sound waves propagated by the environment. The work highlights the important relationship, in the “Silent Walks”, between movement, perception of sound and different territories and domains, here as a metaphor expressed by different FM stations.
– OCO SOUNDSYSTEM
Made in wood and fabric, Oco (translates “hollow”) sound system is a silent and transparent set of speakers, a “shell”, a work-in-progress that allows different amplification technics.
– DUBROOM (FOURTH WORLD)
“DubRoom” is a dark room that contains a sound-installation built with speakers from the Cidade de Deus’ baile funk court. The system plays the reggae song “Quarto Mundo” [The Fourth World] by Gilberto Gil on a loop. There is a periodic sea wave-like change in the song that mutes voices and deepens basslines followed by flashlights that quickly reveals the brutal sound system to the viewer. DubRoom was created as a commission for the celebrate exhibition of Gilberto Gil’s 70th birthday
– CAMINHADA SILENCIOSA
“Silent Walk” is the itinerary of an eight-hour urban tour for fifteen to twenty people. The journey is carried out under a vow of silence and takes the group to places that have special acoustic activity. Buildings and constructions that shelter contrasting sounds, acoustic problems, terraces, isolated neighbourhoods, archives, and religious spaces are some examples of places through which the group traverses. Throughout the day the tour may encounter situations in which one more easily sees the relationship between architecture, privacy, property and intimacy.
At the end of the route, the participants may return to speaking at a specially prepared dinner during which the participants share their impressions and hear the voices of the others for the first time. The walk has been performed twenty times in cities like Valparaiso (Chile), Rio, Sao Paulo, Niterói, Helsinki (Finland), and Riga (Latvia).
The purpose of the silent walk, since its first execution, is to question the configuration of circulation in public and private spaces, understanding urbanism, architecture, and capital as forming agents of the personality of urban spaces. Modifying the way these spaces are visited and used promotes an opportunity for changing the consciousness and deconditioning the participants. The presence of 15 silent people in a specific location also attracts attention, revealing social behavior codes in cities. Throughout its two years of existence and the 20 times it has been held – including two evening editions – the silent walk has visited restricted access locations, under the prerogative of silence. With institutional support from organizations like O Capacete, Casa Daros, Instituto Pivô, and the Swiss foundation Sound Development, the project managed to visit rarely accessed places like the helipad and presidential room at the BNDES in Rio de Janeiro, the cloister at the St. Benedict Monastery in São Paulo, the concert hall called “Finlandia” in Helsinki, the private island Lucavsala in Riga, and many others.
– DISSIMULADO
In this performance, Vivian sings “Airplane Samba”, a song written by the bossa-nova pioneer Tom Jobim, that describes the sight and feeling of looking at Rio’s landscape from an airplane. Each phrase is sang and played in reverse mode. Vivian listens to the recording of the reversed phrase and tries to sing it that way. She then records herself singing backwards and reverses it once more and plays the new version. This process deteriorates two important bossa-nova materials: breathing and the Portuguese language. Vivian was followed by the artist Maíra das Neves who listened to her words and tried to write them down.
– GARGANTA
“Garganta”/”SoftEquator” is an installation where eight people gather in a circle with contact microphones that they are supposed to place on their necks, next to where their throats vibrate with the voice. When they make sounds, their throats are amplified by the outside with a long delay sound, a method that cancels any attempt of forming words or meaning with the voice. What is achieved is an ever-changing unison of the six throats, and as there are no set rules for what sounds they should make, the group finds its own intuitive way of creating harmony, change or movement. The audio of the choral is carefully distributed in space.
- Site e-flux, “Sonic rebellion, music as resistance”, 2017
- “C&” Magazine, 2017
- Frieze Magazine, “a song for rio”, 2017
- Site ArtForum, Pinchuk Art Prize, 2017
- e-flux.com, 2017
- Miami Herald, 2016
- Frieze Magazine, 32nd Bienal de São Paulo, 2016
- Hyperallergic, “after the olympics and an impeachment brazilian artists look to the horizon”, 2016
- Sleek Magazine, 2011
- ‘Alice Nel Paese Delle Meraviglie. Ill Silenzio è d’oro. E il Rumore?’ (in italian)
Education
2017
– Music Production and Sound Design, Dubspot, New York City, USA
2011
– Teaching assistant, Department of Visual Arts, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA
– Master’s degree in Musical Sound Studies from Princeton University, New Jersey, United States and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2007
– Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the São Paulo State University, UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil
Awards
2017
– I EFG Artnexus Latin American Art Award, Colombia [Shortlisted]
– I Prêmio Paulo Costa e Silva, Porto, Portugal [Shortlisted]
– Future Generation Art Prize, Pinchuk Art Center, Kiev, Ukraine [Shortlisted]
2014
– PIPA Award, Prêmio Investidor Profissional de Arte, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Shortlisted]
2013
– FUNARTE Award for Critical Production in Music, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2011
– Sergio Motta Award for Art and Technology, São Paulo, Brazil
2008
– Rumos Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil
Solo Exhibitions
2018
– Galeria LEME, São Paulo, Brazil
2015
– “Condomínio”, Galeria Leme, São Paulo, Brazil
2013
– “Tá na Mente”, Galeria Progetti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Group Exhibitions
2018
– “Mercosul Biennial”, Porto Alegre, Brazil
– “Água Parada”, duo show with Ayrson Heráclito, balcony of MAC Niterói, Niterói, Brazil
– “Ojalá”, Carslbad Museum, Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA
2017
– “We live in the best city of South America”, Fundação Iberê Camargo, Porto Alegre, Brazil
– “Charivaria”, CentroCentro, Madrid, Spain
– “Sonic Rebellion”, Museum of Contemporary Art of Detroit, USA
– “Buried in the Mix”, MEWO Kunsthalle, Memminghen, Germany
– “The third world asks for blessing and goes to sleep”, DESPINA, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Festwochen” in collaboration with Daniel Lie, Vienna, Austria
– “Future Generation Art Prize”, Palazzo Contarini Polignac, Venice, parallel to Venice Biennale
– “Black Atlantic”, Goethe Institute – Rele Gallery, Lagos, Nigeria
– “Future Generation Art Prize”, Kiev, Pinchuk Art Center
– “A Song for Rio”, inaugural opening of Fortes D’Aiola, Gabriel Gallery, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2016
– “32o São Paulo Biennial”, “Live Uncertainty”, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Sistemas (anti) produtivos”, Galeria Pilar, São Paulo, Brazil
– “O que vem com a aurora”, Casa Triângulo, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Xanadona”, A Gentil Carioca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2015
– “Morro” (curated by Ulisses Carrilho), A Mesa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Ter lugar para ser”, CCSP, São Paulo, Brasil
– “Ter lugar para ser”, CCSP, São Paulo, Brasil
– TRIO Bienal, Transversalidades das Identidades Tropicais, National Historic Museum, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “O que caminha ao lado”, SESC Vila Mariana, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Sonido”, Markers ArtDubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2014
– “Laboratório Contemporâneo”, Casa Daros, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Festival Novas Frequências”, Institute Sergio Porto and Oi Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Open Museum Open City”, MAXXI Museo, Rome, Italy
– Pivô Pesquisa, Instituto Pivô, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Brazil Arte-Música”, Zacheta National Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2013
– “HAPPENING”S, Casa França-Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Panorama de Arte Brasileira”, Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, MAMSP
– “VERBO”, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
– “GIL70”, Museu Rodin, Salvador, Brazil; Museum of the Republic, Brasília, Brazil
2012
– “VERBO”, Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Gil70”, Itaú Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil; Centro Cultural dos Correios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “VAZA”, Fábrica da Bhering, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Sonora Paço”, Paço das Artes, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Tro-pi-cal, Alternative Orders: A glimpse of Brazilian Art”, Akershus Kunstsenter, Oslo, Norway
2011
– “Data Garden”, Botanical Garden, Philadelphia, USA
– “Drawing Retrospective”, Lewis Center, Princeton University, USA
2010
– “CAPACETE” at the 29th São Paulo Biennial, Teatro ARENA, São Paulo, Brazil
– “Domingos da Criação”, Museum of Modern Art, MAM Rio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Ciclo de Arte Sonora”, Parque Lage, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “MULTIPLICIDADE”, Teatro Oi Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Coletiva”, Galeria Progetti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
– “Elenco”, sound work of Arto Lindsay, Galeria Progetti, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Residencies
2014
– “Pivô Pesquisa”, Instituto Pivô, São Paulo, Brazil
– Sound Development Expedition City, Riga, Latvia/Helsinki, Finland, Sound Development Institute, Zurich, Switzerland
2012
– “CAPACETE”, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Books
2013
– “O que Faço é Música” (Music is What I Make), 7Letras, Rio de Janeiro, RJ
Collections
– Permanent co llection of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, Brazil
– ‘Sound Development City’, by Vivian Caccuri.
Video produced by Matrioska Filmes exclusively for PIPA 2014:#32bienal TabomBass, Vivian Caccuri, Duration 52″
Related Posts
- 'This Land', featuring Vivian Caccuri, reflects on landscape
- Vivian Caccuri and biarritzzz participate in the group show "Attention After Technology"
- The PIPA Institute announces a conversation with Luana Vitra, Vitória Cribb and Vivian Caccuri on September 12 at Paço Imperial
- Eleven artists discuss the contemporary Brazilian identity in the group show "Afirmação"
- Last days to visit "The Shadow of Spring": Vivian Caccuri and Miles Greenberg reflect on relationships between bodies and soundwaves
- "Signaling": group show featuring Vivian Caccuri reflects on communication
- 'Shake Your Body', with Vivian Caccuri
- "Mosquito Revenge": Vivian Caccuri's multimedia exhibition in Denmark
- Brazilian galleries participate in Art Basel 2022
- Last days to see 'Our breath allows uf to do incredible things'