Hélio Oiticica, Cosmococa

Narrator: On this wall, you’ll see a series of proposals for cinematic installations that Oiticica called Cosmococas—two of which have been realized nearby. Curator Donna De Salvo.

Donna De Salvo: In the Cosmococas, he creates an immersive environment that brings together sound, touch, all of the senses. And these are total environments. And it's emblematic of much of the work that Oiticica does in New York where he begins to experiment with film, with sound, with imagery— in a way that  was very different than what he had done in Brazil.

Now, the proposals for the Cosmococas are quite interesting to look at because in reading these typewritten scripts, you actually see what comprises the Cosmococas. And there's a certain level of interpretation that one deals with inevitably when you reconstruct. Each of these pieces, of course, no longer exists so they are constructed anew every time they are shown. The materials are contemporary materials. However, the imagery, as in the case of CC5-Hendrix War, are the original materials.