A origem da obra de arte (2002) is a seminal installation in the oeuvre of Marilá Dardot. Originally presented at her first solo show, at Museu de Arte da Pampulha, in Belo Horizonte, the work invites the interaction of the spectator, who is enticed to compose words and sentences and to distribute them through the field. Each letter has the shape of an earthenware plant pot (or is it the contrary?) and there are planting tools, soil and seeds available for the spectator’s use. To house the work and to serve as a basis for the creation of the text, a small shed was built, which resembles a greenhouse or gardening studio. The 1,500 plant-pot/letters were produced by the ceramic workshop that operates at Inhotim, in a process that took several months and involved the participation of dozens of women from the surrounding communities.

The work’s title refers to a classic in aesthetics, the celebrated conference of the same name given in 1936 by German philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), in which the thinker approximates the concept of art with that of “truth” and “being,” suggesting that we begin to understand art by way of the artwork. The piece by Dardot marks a starting point for the artist’s interest in written language as a raw material, and is associated to her research on the practices of writing and reading. What is at play here is the concept of the artwork as a possibility for realization. The image of the “worksite” is borrowed to create a field of experimental possibilities for the artwork’s occurrence and construction. The work proposes that we plant words, and sow ideas. The context of Inhotim, where nature and art are engaged in a rich dialogue, makes this proposition more possible.