Lina and Leão: geopolitics of a late tribute.

Abstract

This article aims to identify the meanings of the Golden Lion tribute in memoriam (2021 Venice Biennale), received by Lina Bo Bardi three decades after her death. For this, it proposes to rescue ideas and political positions expressed by the architect throughout her life, that can help us reflect on their current status, as well as identify the risks of doing so without mediation. Initially presents his intellectual immersion in Brazilian thought, where she creates the tools that guided her search for the construction of an architecture / design that was modern and popular. It points out the failure of its effort to return the findings of this search to Europe and her geopolitical affiliation to anti-colonial and third world confrontations, through which she sought to give political meaning to her production. It identifies, in her last phase starting in 1976, the balance between political intention and architectural form. It concludes by evaluating the international critical fortune of her work after her death, which contextualizes the limits of the current tribute.