1971 » Uruguay » Stage design and costumes

URUGUAY

At times as the development of plastic and graphic arts was being characterized by a stage that we could designate as renaissance, the scenic designers of Uruguay passed through a period of stagnation and were, at best, under the influence of expressionism and artificial stylization. This backwardness was in a direct connection with the backwardness of the whole Uruguayan theatre. They had to wait for the facility of assimilating to the new forms and methods — that made themselves felt already within almost the total scope of the theatrical profession — until the moment as the waves of recent experiences touched the stagy activities of the country. Only then these impulses commenced to become reflected in the field of stage and costume design, too. The generation of originators rendering to the stage its veritable function was still little in number the level of its talent, however, guaranteed a certain progress. In that sense the group of Jorge Carrozzino and Carmen Prieto exercised the most considerable influence on the Uruguayan theatre. Carrozzino-Prietro worked very intensively: in the course of one single season they have brought into effect half a dozen of very important productions. For the polemic play by the national author Hiber Conteris — The Assassination of Ivíalcolm X, having been performed at the theatre I. T. El Galpón, they set up on t(he stage truncated cubes moving forward with their edges towards the auditorium, thus being suggestive of a ship's prow; for a new audacious version of Hamlet they constructed a system of slightly sagged white panels on which they had the shadow-play of slide projections become effective; bascule-surfaces having been composed in the manner of neo-plasticism contributed to a new fashion of rhytmization as for the music of the Black Opera; the scene of double-gangers in The Maids by Jean Genet was surrounded by a metallic demicircle having the effect of a deforming mirror; into the scene of the Beggars Opera they put some large rolling platforms in order to get moving the changeable face of the satire and its songs. Apart from the new very ingenious visual attractions which, it appears, support their work, these two artists, Carrozzino-Prietro, have yet deserved well of another feature: they penetrate profoundly into the sense of ideas of each play, in the context of which the scene reflects the dramatic tension.

Exhibiting artists / ateliers

• Jorge Carrozzino

* 1931, Montevideo
Additional information: Painter, graphic artist, industrid designer, architect, stage designer. He studied at the Architecture Faculty in Montevideo and at the Instituto d´Arte in Florence. In the years 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960 he obtained prizes from the National Salon and the Municipal Salon in Montevideo for his paintings, in 1961 the first and second prize in a competition of murals, organised by the Ministry of Public Works, in 1964 the J.M. Blanes Prize for posters and drawings. He represented Uruguay at the Sao Paulo, Biennale in Brasil and at an exhibition of Latin American paintings /Codex/ in Buenos Aires. He also participated in collective exhibitions of contemporary art in Uruguay and abroad. His work is in the collections of museums in the United States,Italy,Switzerland,France,Tunisia and Uruguay. 1965 marks the beginnings of his collaborations with Carmen Prieto in the fields of stage design. Jorge Carrozzino and Carmen Prieto were nominated for the Association of Theatre Critics' Award in 1968, 1969, 1971. They obtained the Florencio Prize /from the Assicuación Crítica Teatral/ in 1970 and 1972 for stage and costume designs.They participated in the PQ 1971, where they received Honorable Mention; in 1972 they were invited by the French government to continue in their experimental work at the Centre Universitaire International de Formation Dramatique, at Nancy; in 1973 they participated in the IXthe World Theatre Festival, held at Nancy in France, with The Voice of the Vanquished.They participated in the PQ 75. Info from another catalogue: In 1957, 1958, 1959 and 1960 he was awarded the Prize of the National Saloon and the Municipal Saloon in Montevideo for his painting works; for his textile designs he was awarded the First Prize in 1958; in 1961 he was the winner of the first and the second prize in the competition of mural painting the entries of which having been invited by the Ministry of Public Works; in 1964 he was awarded the J. M. Blanes Prize for Designs and Paintings. He has participated in collective exhibitions of the contemporary plastic and graphic arts in Uruguay and abroad: the 4th Biennial in Sao Paulo, Nueva Pintura (I. G.E., Montevideo), Pintura Latinoamericana (Codex, Buenos Aires). His works are located in private collections as well as in museums in the United States, Switzerland, Italy, France, Tunisia and in Uruguay. At present he is director of the graphic section of the Publication Departement of the Uruguayan Council for Basic Education. His scenographic activities date back to 1965 when he together with Carmen Prieto originated a creative group. They have brought into effect stage designs for the Institución Teatral El Galpón — a group to which they themselves belong, for the Municipal Theatre in Montevideo (T. C. M.J, for the Teatro Uno, for the Teatro Italiano en America Latina (T. I. A. L.). In 1968 and 1969 Jorge Carrozzino and Carmen Prieto have been singled out from among the candidates of the Annual Prize of the Association of Theatre Critics (Asociación de la Critica Teatral). For the sets to The Maids by Jean Genêt the couple Carrozzino — Prieto have just been awarded the Prize of the Association of Theatre Critics for the best stage design in 1970.

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• Carmen Prieto

Additional information: Architect, teacher of graphic arts and the history of art at secondary school and teachers' training college and stage designer. She was born in the Cerro Largo district, Uruguay, studied painting at the studio of Torres-Garcia in 1956-1957; collaborated with the D. Quintela ceramics studio 1962-1965; between 1961 and 1964 she worked as an assistant professor at the department of the theory of architecture and in the years 1965-1966 as technical asslstant at the Institute of Drawing. She made her debute as a stage and costume designer in the Orchestra by Jean Anouilh, produced by the EL Galpón theatre.Since 1965 Miss Prieto has been collaborating with Jorge Carrozzino, working for the EL Galpón theatre, for the Municipal Theatre of Montevideo /T.C.M./, for the Theater Uno, the Theatre Club, for the Italian Theatre of Latin America /T.I.A.L./ and for the French Society Theatre. Carrozzino and Prieto have been nominated for the Association of Theatre Critics' Award, for the best stage designs for the plays of Lope de Vega, P. Weiss, B. Brecht, J. Genêt, A. Albee, M. Gorkl and W. Shakespeare. Their experimental activities in. the field of scenic space and new audio- -visual techniques have led to their 73 Days. In 1973 both came to France on a grant from the World Theatre Festival in Nancy, where they have a studio for stage designing. At the occasion of the IXthe World Theatre Festival in Nancy, in 1973, they presented The Voice of the Vanquished. They participated in the PQ 75. PQ 75.