Exhibition dates: 6th May – 26th July 2015
Curators: Antonio Pinto Ribeiro, Ludger Derenthal and Samuel Titan Jr.
Another exhibition on an unusual subject that this website likes supporting: this time Brazilian photography, of which I know very little.
The feeling I get from the photographs in this posting is of an overwhelming interest in avant-garde, urban photography and humanist photography. The standout is the work of José Medeiros (1921-1990), especially the two photographs of an initiation ritual in Salvador. Their force majeure, their irresistible compulsion (presence, ritual), composition and complexity stand them head and shoulders above any of the other works in the posting.
Marcus
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Many thankx to the Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian for allowing me to publish the photographs in the posting. Please click on the photographs for a larger version of the image.
Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011)
Monumental steps of the gallery Prestes Maia, São Paulo
Escalier monumental de la Galerie Prestes Maia, São Paulo
1946
Gelatin Silver photograph
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011)
Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro
Plage de Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro
1947
Gelatin Silver photograph
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011)
Tiles, São Paulo
Tuiles, São Paulo
1945
Gelatin Silver photograph
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011)
Interior façade of the building São Borja, Rio de Janeiro
Façade intérieure du bâtiment São Borja, Rio de Janeiro
c. 1945
Gelatin Silver photograph
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Thomaz Farkas (1924-2011)
Construction Site, Brasília
Chantier de construction, Brasília
c. 1958
Gelatin Silver photograph
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Hans Gunter Flieg (1923 -)
Construction engines in Villares plant, São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo
Construction de moteurs à l’usine Villares, São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo
1960
Contemporary digital print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Hans Gunter Flieg (1923 -)
Brown Boveri Electric Industry S / A Osasco, São Paulo
Industrie Electrique Brown Boveri S/A Osasco, São Paulo
c. 1960
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Hans Gunter Flieg (1923 -)
Mercedes Benz booth at the International Exhibition of Industry and Commerce São Cristóvão (project Henri Maluf), Rio de Janeiro
Stand de Mercedes Benz lors de l’Exposition internationale d’industrie et de commerce de São Cristovão (projet de Henri Maluf), Rio de Janeiro
1960
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Hans Gunter Flieg (1923 -)
Eletroradiobras Store (architectural project Majer Botkowski), São Paulo
Magasin Eletroradiobras (projet architectural de Majer Botkowski), São Paulo
c. 1956
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
“History has taught us that cosmopolitism, people’s mobility and globalised artistic movements are not necessarily recent phenomenons. The exhibition titled Modernités. Photographie brésilienne (1940-1964) aims to demonstrate how contemporaneity does not emerge from a void but is built via continuities and ruptures. At the beginning of the 1940s, during the Second World War, Brazil was a destination of choice for thousands of emigrants. The country went through a unique modernisation process affecting all sectors of Brazilian society.
The exhibition explores this extraordinary transformation through the eyes of four photographers with very different styles and sensibilities. Marcel Gautherot (1910-1996) was a Parisian from a working class background who greatly admired Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe’s work; he had access to Brasília as early as 1958, thanks to his friendship with Oscar Niemeyer. Hans Gunter Flieg (1923) fled nazism as a German Jew and came to Brazil in 1939 where he specialised in photographing industries. Thomas Farkas (1924-2011), a Hungarian who emigrated to Brazil, is probably the most well-known of these four photographers, and the most avant-garde of this group since he was interested in photography as a work of art from a very young age. Finally, José Medeiros (1921-1990), a photojournalist who was born in a poor State with very little cultural tradition, had learnt photography by working with the Carioca newspapers. He was attentive to the changes and ruptures in all the social classes.
This exhibition allows the perception of a moment in history: the untouched Amazonia, the beaches and daily life in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the carnival, football, African religions and their initiation rituals, river ports and the Northern fishermen, industries and factories, baroque churches, Indian tribes, mechanical machinery, popular festivals, modernist buildings and Brasília, the new capital. These wideranging themes sketch a portrait of Brazil during a particular era that ended with the beginning of the military dictatorship in 1964. Through the lens of these four artists whose practices and origins were so diverse, we can also anticipate notions of alterity and cosmopolitism that define our world today.”
Press release from the Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian website
Modernités. Photographie brésilienne (1940-1964)
Marcel Gautherot (1910-1996)
Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
Stade du Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
c. 1967
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Marcel Gautherot (1910-1996)
Palace of the National Congress, Brasília
Palais du Congrès National, Brasília
1960
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Marcel Gautherot (1910-1996)
Palace of the National Congress, Brasília
Palais du Congrès National, Brasília
1960
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Marcel Gautherot (1910-1996)
Jangadeiro, Aquiraz Ceará
Jangadeiro, Aquiraz Etat du Ceará
1950
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Man sitting in a cafe, probably in Northeast Brazil
Homme assis dans un café, probablement dans le Nordeste
Nd
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Carnival in the nightclub Au Bon Gourmet, Rio de Janeiro
Carnaval dans la boîte Au Bon Gourmet, Rio de Janeiro
1952
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Novice during the initiation ritual of the holy daughters, Salvador
Novice pendant le rituel d’initiation des filles-de-saint, Salvador
1951
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Oscar Niemeyer, Vinicius de Moraes, his wife Lila and Tom Jobim Bôscoli (background), behind the scenes of the first performance of Orfeu da Conceição, Rio de Janeiro
Oscar Niemeyer, Vinicius de Moraes, son épouse Lila Bôscoli et Tom Jobim (au fond), dans les coulisses de la première représentation de Orfeu da Conceição , Rio de Janeiro
1956
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Novice painted with white dots that allude to Oxalá, the god of creation, and with red feathers (ekodidé), the initiation ritual, Salvador
Novice peinte de points blancs qui font référence à Oxalá, dieu de la création, elle porte la plume rouge (ekodidé) du rituel d’initiation, Salavador
1951
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Pedra da Gávea, Morro dos Dois Irmãos and the beaches of Ipanema and of Leblon, Rio de Janeiro
c. 1955
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
José Medeiros (1921-1990)
Woman on a bicycle crossing the railroad tracks, Rio de Janeiro
Femme à vélo traversant les rails du tramway, Rio de Janeiro
1942
Contemporary silver gelatin print
Courtesy of the artist and the Instituto Moreira Salles
Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian – Délégation en France
39 bd de la Tour Maubourg 75007 Paris
Opening hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am – 6pm
Saturday and Sunday from 11am – 6pm
Closed Tuesday
Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian website
Filed under: black and white photography, documentary photography, exhibition, existence, gallery website, landscape, light, memory, photographic series, photography, portrait, psychological, quotation, reality, space, time, video, works on paper Tagged: Amazonia, avant-garde photography, Brasília, Brazil, Brazilian art, Brazilian artists, Brazilian photographer, Brazilian photography, Brazilian photography (1940-1964), Brown Boveri Electric Industry, Carnaval dans la boîte Au Bon Gourmet, Carnival in the nightclub Au Bon Gourmet, Chantier de construction Brasília, Construction de moteurs à l'usine Villares, Construction engines in Villares plant, Construction Site Brasília, Copacabana Beach, ekodidé, Eletroradiobras Store, Escalier monumental de la Galerie Prestes Maia, Façade intérieure du bâtiment São Borja, Femme à vélo traversant les rails du tramway, Fondation Calouste Gulbenkian, Hans Gunter Flieg, Hans Gunter Flieg Brown Boveri Electric Industry, Hans Gunter Flieg Construction de moteurs à l'usine Villares, Hans Gunter Flieg Construction engines in Villares plant, Hans Gunter Flieg Eletroradiobras Store, Hans Gunter Flieg Industrie Electrique Brown Boveri, Hans Gunter Flieg Mercedes Benz booth at the International Exhibition, Hans Gunter Flieg Mercedes Benz booth at the International Exhibition of Industry and Commerce São Cristóvão, Homme assis dans un café, Industrie Electrique Brown Boveri, Interior façade of the building São Borja, José Medeiros, José Medeiros Carnaval dans la boîte Au Bon Gourmet, José Medeiros Carnival in the nightclub Au Bon Gourmet, José Medeiros Femme à vélo traversant les rails du tramway, José Medeiros Homme assis dans un café, José Medeiros Man sitting in a cafe, José Medeiros Novice during the initiation ritual of the holy daughters, José Medeiros Novice painted with white dots, José Medeiros Novice painted with white dots that allude to Oxalá, José Medeiros Novice pendant le rituel d'initiation des filles-de-saint, José Medeiros Oscar Niemeyer Vinicius de Moraes, José Medeiros Pedra da Gávea, José Medeiros Woman on a bicycle crossing the railroad tracks, Majer Botkowski, Maracanã Stadium, Marcel Gautherot, Marcel Gautherot Jangadeiro, Marcel Gautherot Maracanã Stadium, Marcel Gautherot Palace of the National Congress, Marcel Gautherot Palais du Congrès National, Marcel Gautherot Stade du Maracanã, Mercedes Benz booth at the International Exhibition of Industry and Commerce São Cristóvão, Mercedes-Benz, Modernités. Photographie brésilienne, Modernity Brazilian photography (1940-1964), Monumental steps of the gallery Prestes Maia, Novice during the initiation ritual of the holy daughters, Novice painted with white dots that allude to Oxalá, Novice pendant le rituel d'initiation des filles-de-saint, Orfeu da Conceição, Oscar Niemeyer, Oxalá, Palace of the National Congress, Palais du Congrès National, Paris, Pedra da Gávea Morro dos Dois Irmãos, Pedra da Gávea Morro dos Dois Irmãos and the beaches of Ipanema and of Leblon, Photographie brésilienne (1940-1964), Plage de Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, São Paulo, Stade du Maracanã, Thomas Farkas, Thomaz Farkas Construction Site Brasília, Thomaz Farkas Copacabana Beach, Thomaz Farkas Escadaria da Galeria Prestes Maia, Thomaz Farkas Escalier monumental de la Galerie Prestes Maia, Thomaz Farkas Façade intérieure du bâtiment São Borja, Thomaz Farkas Interior façade of the building São Borja, Thomaz Farkas Monumental steps of the gallery Prestes Maia, Thomaz Farkas Plage de Copacabana, Thomaz Farkas Tiles, Tom Jobim Bôscoli, Vinicius de Moraes, Woman on a bicycle crossing the railroad tracks
