AN ART OF RESILIENCE. Questo articolo non è disponibile.AN ART OF RESILIENCE

Masterpieces of Brazilian folk art depicting spotted animals, traditional characters and modern society

Brazil’s folk artists have long been admired for their detailed handicrafts. In a time of roaring art prices and increasing critique on what is worth collecting, folk art offers a fresh and uninhibited artistic exploration of life and humanity. An Art of Resilience showcases the R.F. Collection of Brazilian folk art: human or animal figures made from carved wood or sculpted clay, painted with vibrant colors and with playful attitudes. Most of the pieces come from Pernambuco, the Jequitinhonha Valley and Niteroí, and include works by the well-known ceramicist Mestre Vitalino (1909–63). This guide divides the collection thematically: from animals, work, exploitation and solidarity to learning, playing and relaxing and the figurines made specifically for Bumba Meu Boi, or the “Ox Play”: a Brazilian annual interactive play where the lower classes mock the upper classes.

This new publication documents Rolf Fehlbaum`s collection of popular art from Brazil. They are on display in the "Wunderkammer", a gallery of special objects from the world of popular culture, located on the Vitra Campus. Rather than representing the full scope of Brazilian popular art this collection is based on specific personal choices that were formed by the first pieces, which were by Mestre Vitalino, Zé Caboclo, Adolton and Ulisses.

While most of the objects deal individually with different aspects of life, there are three groups of objects that are treated separately: the Bumba Meu Boi spectacle, the Maracatu carnival procession, and the cruel raids of the cangaceiros around Lampião and Maria Bonita. The groups are accompanied by essays written by the Brazilian anthropologists Ricardo Lima and Guacira Waldeck.