BackHome
Refresh: OffView Personal Schedule

XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

Session Submission Summary

Women artists in Brazil - Oscillating between democracy and dictatorship?

Fri, April 5, 4:00 to 5:45pm, Aztec Student Union, Union 3 – State Suite

Session Submission Type: Complete Panel

Abstract

This panel addresses women artists and scientists in the Brazilian art scene from the mid-twentieth century to today. The panelists examine how Brazilian women creatively responded to state repression, censorship, and gender inequalities through art.
The year 1945 marked the end of Estado Novo and the beginning of a strengthened democratic order. In this period, Nise da Silveira revolutionized psychiatric methods with the establishment of an occupational therapy department in Rio de Janeiro. The painting studio and the works produced there not only stand for a more human treatment of psychiatric patients, but it also provided a fundamental expansion of the understanding of art.
In parallel to the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship (1964-85) emerged a vibrant counter-cultural movement in which artists denounced political and social inequalities through art. In this scenario, Gretta Sarfaty pioneered art which criticized women's position as second-class, using her body as a tool of self-expression. She also took on performances to explore mystic and spiritual experiences as a tool of self-knowledge during the 1978 happening "Mitos Vadios" alongside Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Pape.
Finally, the panel sheds light on questions like how these artists and scientists contributed to cultural multiplicity and helped to create a new identity for women in Brazil across periods of censorship and gendered imbalances. These issues persist in Brazil's political arena now. So, how can the revolutionary relationship between art and politics continue to challenge power?

Hybrid session. Link: https://sdsu.zoom.us/s/81195446807

Sub Unit

Individual Presentations

Chair

Moderator

Session Organizer