Lygia Clark: The Abandonment of Art, 1948–1988

31 / 38

Lygia Clark. _Caminhando (Walking)_. 1963

Lygia Clark. Caminhando (Walking). 1963

Paper, glue, scissors
Variable dimensions
Courtesy Associação Cultural “O Mundo de Lygia Clark”

Glenn Lowry: These photographs show Lygia Clark making one of her most important works, Caminhando, from 1963. Curator Connie Butler:

Connie Butler: : Caminhando, or The Walking, is actually a Möbius strip cut out of paper, that is meant to be cut over and over again by each participant.

Glenn Lowry: A Möbius strip is a loop of material containing a half-twist – giving it only one, continuous surface. Clark described Caminhando like this:

Lygia Clark (read by voice actor): As the strip is cut, it gets finer and is unfolded in intertwinings. In the end, the path is so narrow that it can no longer be cut.

Connie Butler: : What's very beautiful about this work is one can think of it as a kind of walking, or activated, line.

Glenn Lowry: With Caminhando, Clark began to think of her work in terms of its engagement with the viewer, who becomes an active participant.

Lygia Clark (read by voice actor): The act is what produces the Caminhando. Nothing exists before it and nothing after.

Glenn Lowry: You can try making your own Caminhando nearby.