Traditional Brazilian Art Form example essay topic

Brazilian Na " if Sculpture According to any artist's dictionary ceramics is simply "the art of making objects such as pottery out of clay" (4). However, when the na " if sculpture movement began in Brazil in the early 1940's artists took this simple definition to an entirely new level of expression. The small, unglazed clay statues that were created had the ability to portray complete scenes daily life, showcasing not only activity but moments of happiness, sadness, difficulty and strife. For anthropologists, na " if art is merely an aesthetical record which shows the progressions and failures of a group of people. For the people themselves, however, na " if art allows them to discern the inherent contents of life. "The primitive art manifests the sensibility of its practitioners.

It is lively as the life, every one mirrors in it, everyone understands each other. It is not restricted to the transposition of urban or rural popular myths and archetypes". This quote by Jo~ao Spinelli, expresses how this art form exists so that all people can see themselves within it. He feels that what matters most for primitive art is "not to tell a story, but to be a history". Na " if Brazilian sculpture began in the town on Caruaru, which was the principle center for folklorist's arts in the early 1940's. It was from this town that famous folk potters such as Ze Cabo clo and Mestre Vitalino originated their craft.

Mestre Vitalino, whose first name seems to translate into 'master', is considered to be the pioneer of this art form. Many would argue however, that were a great many folk potters before Mestre Vitalino and that the only thing he pioneered was the sense to sign his works! Since most of the Na " if art sculpture which existed before this time is unsigned, the majority of the credit goes to those whose names we actually know. The statues themselves are made of an air-drying clay known as adobe.

Once dried, the statues could be painted; many however were left in the original brown shading of the clay. These small figurines existed to "depict every aspect of daily life: hunting, fishing, shopping, going to work, school and church". Many of the more famous works even "come to life, blinking, singing and playing musical instruments" (MacKinnon). It is thought that as each sculpture "plastically inscribes human life, pain and pleasure, many times it gets closer to the universal art" (Spinelli). Brazil's largest collection of folk and na " if arts is held in the Museu Casa do Postal. It is said that the museum has over 5,000 pieces of na " if art, and that it may be the largest collection in the entire world.

This private collection belongs to a French expatriate named Jacques Van De Beuque. He had been collecting these "Brazilian treasures" since he arrived in the country in 1946, and obviously accumulated a vast collection. The charm of his collection lies in the "beauty of its portrayal of traditional rural Brazilian life" (3). On the whole, na " if art "documents new ways of apprehending and expressing the impenetrable mysteries of life with rare vitality, spontaneity and beauty" (Spinelli). They are artistic creations and a form of Brazilian "popular art" which are meant to tell 'everything about the country: politics, history, religion, sociology and demographic al movements". They are a comparison between the "popular and the official versions of Brazil" (Spinelli).

For my project, I wanted to translate this traditional Brazilian art form into something American. For me, when I think of an American artist who was able to translate every nuance of American culture onto a canvas, Norman Rockwell immediately comes to mind. He is the embodiment of our culture and had the ability to turn typical moments in the life of an average middle class American, into front page covers for The Saturday Evening Post. Much like the Brazilian na " if statues, Rockwell's work holds the same meaning in American society. All of his paintings represent moments in the life of a middle class American.

His paintings showcased first loves, First Amendments and helped to illustrate our country's goals as we entered the Second World War. His painted vignettes were able to depict people in moments of intense joy, melancholy sadness and extreme controversy. Much like the work of Brazilian na " if artisans, Rockwell created portraits of American life that all viewers were able to relate to.