O jogo do palhaço: a estética do Grupo Trampulim

Abstract

The aim of this study is to illustrate all clown art theatrical characteristics that can help individuals to overcome their passive attitudes when facing social inequalities generated by capitalism. For this, we elected the Trampulim Groups artistic and organizational actions in front of the artistic market as the object of our study. Before analyzing the Groups actions, we made a historical review concerning social, economical and cultural aspects that shape the contemporary clown. This review approached the contemporary, modern, and medieval periods of this comic. In each historical moment, we tried to approach all cultural tensions that led to the clowns emergence. In doing so, laughter, popular culture and social and economical aspects helped to configure the esthetic looks around those humoristic types. This way, we created a base for discussion of the clowns essential characteristics, connected to his grotesque body and laughter, in face of Trampulim Group artistic work. In order to obtain an esthetic conception about Trampulim, we created approximation and experimentation strategies as well as ways of insertion in the group. For this, we used an anthropological approach, allied to the interviews of the actors. Before our field observations, as well as the interviews with the actors, we obtained an outlook of their actions concerning the Groups financial survival and its artistic practices. In those aspects, we observed that all strategies used by the Group before capitalism hostilities against art allow the Groups existence. Those actors develop a kind of art that can, minimally, fit the original and subversive clown art characteristics; however, in some presentations, their artistic freedom and creation processes suffer interferences due to market necessities. Despite of these Capital interferences, the Trampulim Group also can develop interaction process with the spectators in the sense of overcome the passivity imposed by the capitalist system.