My paper will discuss the geopolitical and cultural context of the Extraordinary Congress of AICA held in Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 1959 as a starting point of reflection. In 1959, the second documenta was opened, the Biennial of São Paulo was put on view in a new building of Oscar Niemeyer, and the Neoconcrete Manifesto was published in Rio de Janeiro. 1959 was also the year where signs of distrust about the utopian wish for a new Menschenbild arose, a topic that was discussed at the diverse panels of the AICA congress. This change of perception recalls the first “Darmstädter Gespräche” (“Darmstadt Dialogues”) of 1950 which was held under the slogan “Das Menschenbild unserer Zeit” (“The Image of Man in our times”) as well as the extensive polemics on the Berlin Interbau of 1957. Latter exhibition of architecture primarily promoted social housing, but was considered highly controversial precisely for this issue. The paper highlights the strong relevance of the Menschenbild as a key concept under different geopolitical and cultural auspieces and seeks to circumscribe its brisance within the re-evaluation of post-war modernity.

56° Congresso International de Americanistas 2018, Salamanca, Spain