VITÓRIA MONTEIRO
PROJECTS
JEDE FRAU HAT EINEN NAMEN
(Every woman has a name) - work in progress
This research started with help from Prof. Mag. Sabeth Buchmann, where I began investigating the exchange of letters between women during modernism with an emphasis on the Bauhäuslerinnen* and the “New Woman” movement in the Weimar Republic. The project aims to recontextualize archive material and the connection between Bauhaus and the Brazilian modernist movement. This research is being kindly supported by the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, the Berlin University of the Arts and the respective exchange program bureaus.
The project “Mis amigos són los pájaros ... (My friends are the birds ...)” is an experimental short film about female empowerment and friendship between generations. The short film deals with the contrast and similarity of experiences between different generations of women. The focus of the story is Ethel Indarte and her life story. My 88-year-old Uruguayan grandmother, who wrote her memoir 15 years ago, decided to read it out for the first time: “Can you believe that I did not see the behavior of men as sexism back then, but as my only option?”.
This project is being realized with financial support from MA 7 and is currently in post-production.
MIS AMIGOS SÓN LOS PÁJAROS...
(My friends are the birds) - work in progress
A HISTÓRIA COMEÇA A PARTIR DE NÓS
(The history begins starting from us) - 2020
Mixing images of trips in Europe during the 1970s, “The history begins starting from us” visually reconstructs the experience of the exiled Brazilian women during the military dictatorship. The short film attempts to retrace the steps of the Brazilian diasporic communities created in Europe and invites the spectator into the world of an anonymous “we”. This is my story, your story, their story, but above all: our history. “The history begins starting from us” is a journey through the collective experience of persecution and exile of the Brazilian women that fled the military dictatorship. Only historical reconstruction enables us to understand and compare our past, in order to conceive new realities. But what happens to narratives that disappear due to totalitarian oppression? The short film was developed in partnership with the Austrian Filmmuseum and based on the book “Memories (from the women) from exile”.
This short film was made in a partnership with the Österreichisches Filmmuseum
NEW GAZES OF DOCUMENTARY
2020
Alternative gazing can be understood in many ways but for us it means an individual personal and daily effort to search for gazes that are not normative. The term comes from the concept first formulated by Laura Mulvey in 1974 that is known in contemporary art discourse as the “female gaze”, which transcends the binary idea of gender into the recognition of a societally imposed normative validation of the art canon. The screening „New Gazes of Documentary“ presents contemporary documentaries made by female filmmakers that experiment with the female gaze aesthetic.
The screening was organized for the event “a3queerformat cooks for ARA” by the collective a3queerformat with support from ÖH Akbild.
2019
Paying homage to Chantal Akerman's homonym film, "News From Home" is a video installation that investigates Brazil's political situation during the first democratic election after the coup of 2016. The interactive videos invite the spectator to reflect on the impact of social media in communication, politics and information distribution.
"News From Home" is a documentary investigation using text-messaging apps to interview people from a diverse range of sexual orientation, gender, color and economic background. It is a digital portrait of the time frame we encounter ourselves, where not only Brazil but the world seems to be struggling with political extremism and how to contain it. In the age of #fakenews, a “like button” reveals itself as a political agent.
Group Exhibitions:
NEWS FROM HOME
SOBRE MARIAS E TEREZAS
(About Marias and Terezas) - 2018
"About Marias and Terezas" is a docufiction short film from Das Flor Collective that frames a poetic interpretation of the lives of women that are an integral part of the Lomba do Pinheiro slum in Porto Alegre (Brazil).
The film is a by-product of the on-going partnership with the community that started in 2014 with the project "Antropofagic Dialogs" and the resulting perfomance "Lombay".
"laços" is a photography exhibition that was shown at the gallery Schüssel, Die in Vienna from the end of October through November 2017.
"laços" is about farewells and new beginnings and everything in between: both experiences and the bonds that are not present all the time, but remain part of our identity.
LAÇOS
2017
GOLIATH
2017
"Goliath" is a video-performance based on the painting series “Vendeta/Intifada” by Fábio Baroli and part of the exhibition shown at frei_raum Q21 in MuseumsQuartier in Vienna throughout February 2017.
"Goliath" uses the themes of "Vendeta/Intifada" to strike a balance between harsh reality and the innocence of childish games and connects it to today's violent realities around the world.
VIA PÚBLICA
(Cycling Permitted) - 2016
"Cycling Permitted" is a multi-platform project about cyclists in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and was created by Gabriel Motta and Vitória Monteiro. It started with a series of photo-stories shared on Facebook and Instagram in 2016. A fictional four-episode television series is currently in production.
“In the chaotic city of Porto Alegre, individuals from all walks of life ride their bikes for pleasure, leisure or out of necessity. Despite living through distinctly different dramas, they share the contrasting sensations of freedom and insecurity that only Brazilian cyclists know. The streets should be for everyone. But life isn't always easy and it's up us to keep the wheels spinning.”
DIÁLOGOS ANTROPOFÁGICOS
(Antropofagic Dialogs) - 2014
The word "Antropofagic Dialogs" comes from the custom of certain indigenous tribes in Brazil of eating the bravest warrior of a clan they defeated in order to absorb their strength. The concept was also used by the Brazilian Modernist movement, to describe the idea of incorporating European art, instead of copying it, thereby forging a more authentic national identity. The project from Das Flor Collective is a call to incorporate cultures into a country where the slums and inner city are severely segregated.
Once a week, the collective offered a free workshop for the community, with whom the developed the script for a three-hour-performance consisting of improvisations involving theater, dance, circus, music, film, photography and visual arts. With a fragmented narrative, mixing a religious procession and a carnival parade, the story about the community was presented to the community, with the community after four months of work.
LAÇOS
2017
The word "Antropofagic Dialogs" comes from the custom of certain indigenous tribes in Brazil of eating the bravest warrior of a clan they defeated in order to absorb their strength. The concept was also used by the Brazilian Modernist movement, to describe the idea of incorporating European art, instead of copying it, thereby forging a more authentic national identity. The project from Das Flor Collective is a call to incorporate cultures into a country where the slums and inner city are severely segregated.
Once a week, the collective offered a free workshop for the community, with whom the developed the script for a three-hour-performance consisting of improvisations involving theater, dance, circus, music, film, photography and visual arts. With a fragmented narrative, mixing a religious procession and a carnival parade, the story about the community was presented to the community, with the community after four months of work.