Hélio Oiticica and the notion of Creleisure

Hélio Oiticica’s final preparations for the Whitechapel exhibition in London 1969 took place in a whirlwind of sudden notoriety and controversy brought by the appropriation of the term Tropicália into the field of music, and consequently its wider association with 1960s’ counter-culture. While he was increasingly critical of the culture industry’s transformation of the concept into a consumable fad, the repercussions of Tropicália brought him into close contact with poets and musicians, leading to deep friendships, important collaborations and ultimately informing his ideas on what could be described as transmedia: the belief in the synaesthetic experience of art. This paper will discuss how the notion of Crelazer, or Creative leisure, developed from his reflection on the Whitechapel experience, was pivotal within this transition, ultimately informing his creative praxis throughout the 1970s.