Exhibition organized both by Instituto Tomie Ohtake and Museu de Arte de São Paulo, 2018
INTRODUCTION Curatorship ENTERFor this edition of the Sur Journal, the curators Lilia Schwarcz and Helio Menezes selected 16 works from the exhibition Afro-Atlantic Histories, held jointly by the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) and the Tomie Ohtake Institute. The exhibition, which was open until October 2018 in São Paulo (Brazil), brought together a selection of 450 works by 214 artists, from the 16th to the 21st century. It centered on the flows between different parts of the Black Atlantic, between Africa, the Americas, Caribbean, and also Europe. In December 2018, the New York Times selected Afro-Atlantic Histories as the best exhibition of 2018.
LILIA SCHWARCZ holds a PhD in social anthropology from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a professor at the same institution, as well as a global scholar at Princeton University. She is the author, among others, of “The spectacle of the races”, “The barbas of the emperor”, “Brazil: a biography”, “Lima Barreto, sad visionary”. She was curator of a series of exhibitions, among which: “A look at Brazil”, “Mestizo Stories”, and “Afro-Atlantic histories”.
HELIO MENEZES He holds a Master’s and Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of São Paulo (USP), where he is a researcher at the Center for the Study of Social Markers of Difference (NUMAS) and the Ethno-History nucleus. Currently, he works as an independent curator and has developed reflections on Afro-Brazilian art, racial relations, black youth, anthropology of image, museums, art and activism. He is also one of the curators of the exhibition Afro-Atlantic histories (MASP and Instituto Tomie Othake, 2018).
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The Atlantic, starting in the 16th century, became a preferential route for the circulation of people, philosophies, rites and images, always in tension. The tapestry The Two Bulls (1723-30), of the Gobelins Manufactory, in France, portrays Eurocentric representations of an exotic Brazil in its nature and its animals. In the center, the hierarchy is “naturalized” by showing black men carrying a white master, whose invisibility is synonymous with power. The work of the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, Hamida (2017), made from pieces of jute sackcloth used to transport cacao, alludes to the harsh trade in products and humans, today accelerated due to intense global transactions.
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The Atlantic, starting in the 16th century, became a preferential route for the circulation of people, philosophies, rites and images, always in tension. The tapestry The Two Bulls (1723-30), of the Gobelins Manufactory, in France, portrays Eurocentric representations of an exotic Brazil in its nature and its animals. In the center, the hierarchy is “naturalized” by showing black men carrying a white master, whose invisibility is synonymous with power. The work of the Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, Hamida (2017), made from pieces of jute sackcloth used to transport cacao, alludes to the harsh trade in products and humans, today accelerated due to intense global transactions.
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Market scenes were common in slave-based societies, as was the predominance of black men and women in these places. The visual convention shifted and eventually produced works that, despite describing specific realities, ended up losing their place of birth. This is the case with the paintings by Djanira da Motta e Silva (1914-1979) in Brazil and Castera Bazile (1923-1966) in Haiti. The colorful scenes, the prominence of women, the fabrics and baskets on their heads, the tropical products almost serve as a distraction, with the works losing their provenance and origin.
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Market scenes were common in slave-based societies, as was the predominance of black men and women in these places. The visual convention shifted and eventually produced works that, despite describing specific realities, ended up losing their place of birth. This is the case with the paintings by Djanira da Motta e Silva (1914-1979) in Brazil and Castera Bazile (1923-1966) in Haiti. The colorful scenes, the prominence of women, the fabrics and baskets on their heads, the tropical products almost serve as a distraction, with the works losing their provenance and origin.
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Since the 16th century, gods and goddesses have circulated throughout the Afro-Atlantic world. In the diaspora, Yemoja, the mother of fish and orisha of fertility, maternity and water, ended up becoming one with the Atlantic itself, which she made her home. Enthroned as a black queen, the Yemoja of Portocarrero (Cuba) appears composed of a range of blue and green shades that are evocative of the ocean itself. The prominent breasts reappear in the version of Maria Auxiliadora (Brazil), from the volumetric effects on the canvas that also highlight the lips and coarse hair of the deity, who is depicted dressed in rich and delicate ritual clothing of blue and white lace.
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Since the 16th century, gods and goddesses have circulated throughout the Afro-Atlantic world. In the diaspora, Yemoja, the mother of fish and orisha of fertility, maternity and water, ended up becoming one with the Atlantic itself, which she made her home. Enthroned as a black queen, the Yemoja of Portocarrero (Cuba) appears composed of a range of blue and green shades that are evocative of the ocean itself. The prominent breasts reappear in the version of Maria Auxiliadora (Brazil), from the volumetric effects on the canvas that also highlight the lips and coarse hair of the deity, who is depicted dressed in rich and delicate ritual clothing of blue and white lace.
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Danton Paula was commissioned especially to paint two portraits of black characters who fought for rights. João de Deus Nascimento (1761-1799) was the leader and one of the martyrs of the Revolt of the Tailors, which took place in Bahia in 1798. Zeferina (19th century), a black woman of Angolan origin, was a warrior and leader at the Quilombo of Urubu, located near Salvador. Creating a gallery of black characters, compiling images of African heroes who have been forgotten by historiography, means betting on a new imagery that includes the participation of Afro-Brazilians.
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Danton Paula was commissioned especially to paint two portraits of black characters who fought for rights. João de Deus Nascimento (1761-1799) was the leader and one of the martyrs of the Revolt of the Tailors, which took place in Bahia in 1798. Zeferina (19th century), a black woman of Angolan origin, was a warrior and leader at the Quilombo of Urubu, located near Salvador. Creating a gallery of black characters, compiling images of African heroes who have been forgotten by historiography, means betting on a new imagery that includes the participation of Afro-Brazilians.
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The circulation of people and things, the transit of symbols and migratory displacements appear in distinct but comparable ways in the works of the Brazilian artist Marepe and Cameroon’s Pascale Marthine Tayou. Wood is the predominant material of Moving, giving shape to a transport vehicle that carries a bit of everything inside. Bend Skin, by Tayou, follows a similar procedure of accumulation. The unstable balance evoked by the pile of cardboard boxes on top of one another alludes to the popular use of this vehicle as a means of transport of people and things in his country – which is shown in a video installed on the side of one of the boxes.
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The circulation of people and things, the transit of symbols and migratory displacements appear in distinct but comparable ways in the works of the Brazilian artist Marepe and Cameroon’s Pascale Marthine Tayou. Wood is the predominant material of Moving, giving shape to a transport vehicle that carries a bit of everything inside. Bend Skin, by Tayou, follows a similar procedure of accumulation. The unstable balance evoked by the pile of cardboard boxes on top of one another alludes to the popular use of this vehicle as a means of transport of people and things in his country – which is shown in a video installed on the side of one of the boxes.
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In modernist painting, white monochrome appears conventionally as a synthetic and free artistic expression, devoid of any figurative representations. Emblem, by the Brazilian artist Rubem Valentim, appears to subvert this model, instilling a dense Afro-Brazilian symbolism and causing to emerge, in a relief that projects from the canvass, the symbol of Oshe, the double-bladed axe of Shango, the orisha of justice, thunder and fire. The American Howardena Pindell, meanwhile, challenges the same convention on an asymmetrical canvas with a part intentionally cut off; although, from a distance, the white dominates the pictorial composition, up close, the profusion of colors and the relief of the paint gain prominence.
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In modernist painting, white monochrome appears conventionally as a synthetic and free artistic expression, devoid of any figurative representations. Emblem, by the Brazilian artist Rubem Valentim, appears to subvert this model, instilling a dense Afro-Brazilian symbolism and causing to emerge, in a relief that projects from the canvass, the symbol of Oshe, the double-bladed axe of Shango, the orisha of justice, thunder and fire. The American Howardena Pindell, meanwhile, challenges the same convention on an asymmetrical canvas with a part intentionally cut off; although, from a distance, the white dominates the pictorial composition, up close, the profusion of colors and the relief of the paint gain prominence.
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The daily life of slaves was also marked by all manner of resistance and by the constant desire to secure freedom. The French artist Arago (1790-1854) presents the “tin mask” that was designed to stop slaves from committing suicide by eating dirt. The Brazilian artist Paulino revisits the practice contemporarily with her work Embroidery Hoops. The artist stitches the mouth of the character, avoiding victimization and highlighting the agency. Escapes were quite frequent in times of slavery. The French artist Biard (1799-1882) and the German artist Kaufmann (1814-1896) painted the same scene some years apart. What changes is the meaning: Brazilian slaves seek refuge in the forests, while in the United States they head north.
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The daily life of slaves was also marked by all manner of resistance and by the constant desire to secure freedom. The French artist Arago (1790-1854) presents the “tin mask” that was designed to stop slaves from committing suicide by eating dirt. The Brazilian artist Paulino revisits the practice contemporarily with her work Embroidery Hoops. The artist stitches the mouth of the character, avoiding victimization and highlighting the agency. Escapes were quite frequent in times of slavery. The French artist Biard (1799-1882) and the German artist Kaufmann (1814-1896) painted the same scene some years apart. What changes is the meaning: Brazilian slaves seek refuge in the forests, while in the United States they head north.
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The daily life of slaves was also marked by all manner of resistance and by the constant desire to secure freedom. The French artist Arago (1790-1854) presents the “tin mask” that was designed to stop slaves from committing suicide by eating dirt. The Brazilian artist Paulino revisits the practice contemporarily with her work Embroidery Hoops. The artist stitches the mouth of the character, avoiding victimization and highlighting the agency. Escapes were quite frequent in times of slavery. The French artist Biard (1799-1882) and the German artist Kaufmann (1814-1896) painted the same scene some years apart. What changes is the meaning: Brazilian slaves seek refuge in the forests, while in the United States they head north.
Info
The daily life of slaves was also marked by all manner of resistance and by the constant desire to secure freedom. The French artist Arago (1790-1854) presents the “tin mask” that was designed to stop slaves from committing suicide by eating dirt. The Brazilian artist Paulino revisits the practice contemporarily with her work Embroidery Hoops. The artist stitches the mouth of the character, avoiding victimization and highlighting the agency. Escapes were quite frequent in times of slavery. The French artist Biard (1799-1882) and the German artist Kaufmann (1814-1896) painted the same scene some years apart. What changes is the meaning: Brazilian slaves seek refuge in the forests, while in the United States they head north.
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The topic of police violence and criminal selectivity against the young black population has appeared in the works of various black artists. In Black Mother and The Fury of Yansã, the Brazilian artist Sidney Amaral focuses on the topics of black maternity and institutional racism. Amaral portrays a black mother wearing a red skirt (the color of Yansã, the orisha of lightning and bravery) defending her son from a police officer. Penny Dreadful, by the American artist Nina Abney, addresses the topic in a U.S. context. The scene of the police stopping a black person, saturated with colors and references to the language of emojis and comic books, is observed by two other black youths with torches in their hands, while it also contains an explicit and direct criticism of the current U.S. president.
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The topic of police violence and criminal selectivity against the young black population has appeared in the works of various black artists. In Black Mother and The Fury of Yansã, the Brazilian artist Sidney Amaral focuses on the topics of black maternity and institutional racism. Amaral portrays a black mother wearing a red skirt (the color of Yansã, the orisha of lightning and bravery) defending her son from a police officer. Penny Dreadful, by the American artist Nina Abney, addresses the topic in a U.S. context. The scene of the police stopping a black person, saturated with colors and references to the language of emojis and comic books, is observed by two other black youths with torches in their hands, while it also contains an explicit and direct criticism of the current U.S. president.
