Thoughtful Saturday IV: Vice

Performative event held in collaboration with Verve Gallery in 2015

PERFORMANCES

5/22/20153 min read

ALL ADDICTIONS START WITH C

For some unknown reason, my mind was seized by a rather sinister idea: vices.
I pondered all the vices that corrupt humanity. I thought and thought, and suddenly—an insight: everything addictive curiously starts with the letter C! From soft to hard drugs, drinks, foods, or amusements, I noticed every vice began with C.

First, I recalled cigarettes, which hook harder than many hard drugs. Cigarettes are addictive and start with C. Then, the hard drugs: cocaine, crack, and marijuana. Worth noting, "marijuana" is just the nickname for Cannabis sativa—which also starts with C.

Among the most popular drinks are cachaça, cerveja (beer), and café (coffee). Gaúchos might skip their morning coffee vice but never abandon their chimarrão—which, guess what, starts with C.

Reflecting on this pattern, I cracked a question that haunted me for years: Why is Coca-Cola addictive, but not Pepsi? With nearly identical formulas and flavors, there had to be an explanation. That day, my insight revealed the answer: Coca has two Cs in its name, while Pepsi has none. Mind-blowing, huh?

And computers? Chocolate? These need no explanation. Food vices are everywhere, especially in salt- and sugar-loaded treats. Salt is sodium chloride, and the most addictive sugar comes from cane.

Some songs are addictive too. Recently, I witnessed the rise of a musical drug called "créeeeeeu". Everyone got hooked, especially when the beat hit… five.

Now, you might think: "Sex is addictive and doesn’t start with C." You’re dead wrong. Sex itself isn’t the vice—it’s just the biological distinction between man and woman. What’s addictive is the "sexual act", known as coitus.

So. Coincidence or not, all addictions start with C. But beware: not all C-words are addictive. If they were, we’d be saved—humanity would be addicted to Culture…

— Luís Fernando Veríssimo

UNLEASHED PLEASURE

-Vices-
Everyday repetitions,
self-destructive.

At Benedito Calixto Square,
amid drummed rhythms
and rhythmic bodies,
anamnestic interviews:
Do you smoke? Self-medicate? Frequent doctor visits? Are you aware of your vice? Does it give you extreme pleasure? Can you control it?

Collections of knickknacks,
compulsive cleaning,
screens dominating vision,
and anything else
that destroys and sustains
urban bodies.

Thoughtful Saturday is a production by Santa Companhia and Verve Gallery, fostering a dialogue between visual and performing arts through performances held every first Saturday of the month, cyclically or linearly. The process begins with porosity: we visit the gallery a month prior and devour the exhibited works for inspiration.

Thoughtful Saturday IV: Vice was made in partnership with ARQMATE and Small World.

FICHA TÉCNICA

Exhibition: Odd Everyday
Artists: Allann Seabra, Allis Bezerra, Alexandre Pirani, Erika Engel, Filipe Rodrigues Ramos, Hélio Moreira Filho, Hugo Bachiega, Janaina Matarazzo, João Emílio Gerodett, Jonas Tucci, Jorge Feitosa, Luciana Garbin, Luiza Malzoni, Marco Magalhães, Marina Nacamuli, Nátasha Fernandez, Renato Negrão, Rodrigo Viana, Silvia Helena Cardoso, and Thais Martinez.
Performers: Angelo Aleixo, Carmen Rizzo, Igor Fialkovits, Nicole Kouts, Pedro Palma, Rafael Abrahão, Raul Moraes, Vitor Marques, Vitória Fava.
Graphic art: Nicole Kouts.
Production: Verve Gallery (curated by Allann Seabra) and Santa Cia.

Verve Gallery (R. Lisboa, 285)
May 2nd, 2015

If in March there was no exhibition and the space stood empty,
by May, the space brimmed with provocations—
works from many artists intersecting and interacting,
all the provocations housed in the exhibition Odd Everyday.
We were steered toward reflecting on vices,
which once again plunged us into practice
and realization
for Thoughtful Saturday.