Drifts, nomadisms and urban perambulations: Lugar público, by José Agrippino de Paula, in dialogue with the arts

Abstract

José Agrippino de Paula – whose work PanAmérica (1967) emerged as an important reference of the Tropicália movement, bringing the universe of mass culture and pop world to literature – had published, two years befose, a disturbing book, entitled Lugar público (1965), which was completely grounded in urban spaces. The characters, constantly in transit around the city, walk aimlessly, resulting in a city that is configured as an a-centric labyrinth, without a point of departure or point of arrival. In their paradoxical movements, they reinvent the urban space and present new ways of re-presenting and narrating the public space. Thus, we propose a dialogue between De Paula’s novel and some artistic manifestations, such as the dance of Cunningham and Pina Bausch, Situationism, the group of Archigram architects and the painting of Mondrian.