Kimberly L. Cleveland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813044767
- eISBN:
- 9780813046457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813044767.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Black Art in Brazil explores the work of five artists from different regions of Brazil—Abdias do Nascimento, Ronaldo Rego, Eustáquio Neves, Ayrson Heráclito, and Rosana Paulino—against the wider ...
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Black Art in Brazil explores the work of five artists from different regions of Brazil—Abdias do Nascimento, Ronaldo Rego, Eustáquio Neves, Ayrson Heráclito, and Rosana Paulino—against the wider backdrop of socio—historical and political developments taking place at the national and popular levels in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The book traces the history of national and international interest in black art in Brazil, changes in the related terminology, and development of the discourse. Excerpts from interviews with artists and curators illustrate how different individuals understand and relate to the increasingly popular label “Afro—Brazilian art.” The publication also expands upon current scholarship by introducing its readers to a variety of paintings, prints, photographs, installations, sculptures, and performance pieces produced outside the Afro—Brazilian religious communities for secular audiences. The book’s in-depth analysis of different works demonstrates how some Brazilian art conveys “blackness” through visual vocabulary and how the markers of black art and culture have continued to diversify. In comparing modern (post-1920) and contemporary (post-1985) production, the book reveals that as the discourse on race, ethnicity, and black art began to change in the 1970s, so too did artists shift the creative focus from exploring their African cultural heritage to producing work that confronts current race—related social challenges in Brazil.Less
Black Art in Brazil explores the work of five artists from different regions of Brazil—Abdias do Nascimento, Ronaldo Rego, Eustáquio Neves, Ayrson Heráclito, and Rosana Paulino—against the wider backdrop of socio—historical and political developments taking place at the national and popular levels in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The book traces the history of national and international interest in black art in Brazil, changes in the related terminology, and development of the discourse. Excerpts from interviews with artists and curators illustrate how different individuals understand and relate to the increasingly popular label “Afro—Brazilian art.” The publication also expands upon current scholarship by introducing its readers to a variety of paintings, prints, photographs, installations, sculptures, and performance pieces produced outside the Afro—Brazilian religious communities for secular audiences. The book’s in-depth analysis of different works demonstrates how some Brazilian art conveys “blackness” through visual vocabulary and how the markers of black art and culture have continued to diversify. In comparing modern (post-1920) and contemporary (post-1985) production, the book reveals that as the discourse on race, ethnicity, and black art began to change in the 1970s, so too did artists shift the creative focus from exploring their African cultural heritage to producing work that confronts current race—related social challenges in Brazil.
