Magic Episodes and Other Synchronicities: The Transhemispheric Correspondence of Scott Burton and Eduardo Costa, 1970–1980

After meeting in New York City in 1968, Scott Burton and Eduardo Costa developed a deep friendship over the shared pains and pleasures of living as artists. As Costa moved between Argentina, Brazil, and New York, the pair stayed in touch until Burton’s death from AIDS-related illness in 1989. Burton wrote to Costa as New York City was coming undone in the midst of a fiscal crisis; as a burgeoning performance art scene rose against the expanding gallery system; and as he himself was becoming a notable art critic and “sculptor” of furniture. Meanwhile, Costa told Burton about his continuing work to bridge art, fashion, and jewelry and encounters with censorship by the brutal military dictatorship in Argentina. Between planning new collaborations and gossiping about mutual friends and acquaintances, Burton and Costa articulated new ways of thinking about useful art, design, and performance. Readers will find in these collected letters an intimate glimpse into a queer artistic friendship, as well as new perspectives on the transnational struggle to establish conceptual artistic practices. As editors David Getsy and Patrick Greaney–the foremost scholars on Burton and Costa respectively–write in the Introduction, these letters represent the pair’s most significant co-created work.