1 - What does Visual Poetry mean to you?
The word is a powerful means of communication, and to be able to construct an image with words has become a permanent creative challenge for me. I have always deliberately used the same word to compose what I refer to as my visual poetry.
2 - Who were and/or are your sources of inspiration, your models (either poets or artistic movements) in this artistic medium?
The first artist to influence me in my use of words was Julius Bissier, back in the sixties. When I first saw his work, I realized how precisely he inserted letters into paintings. Later, I continued to be influenced by artists, and not only poets, as would be expected. Artists became my models. These days, I look for words found on sidewalks: urban inscriptions, words eroded by time, lost words, words that compose an anonymous poetry. And by this I do not mean graffiti.
3 - Why did you choose to create, or why do you enjoy creating, Visual Poetry as one of your artistic expressions?
I used these visual poems as a means of deep reflection in my work, in moments of great artistic doubt or in moments of existential crisis. When I create these works, the word takes me to opposite sides: the visceral and the lucid. As poetry and drawing come together, the culminating point of essence, and celebration, is reached.
4 - When did you first adopt Visual Poetry as a mode of expression?
Since the beginning of the sixties I have used words as a poetic and realistic reinforcement in the conception of my work. In the nineties, as I intensified my work with written words, I used different supports: paper, glass, cotton and graphic objects. Later on, words were projected onto public spaces such as the Arco da Lapa (an old aqueduct in the city of Rio de Janeiro) and the Estádio do Pacaembu (the main soccer stadium in São Paulo).