Muralism in America

• Grant number: 14/08064-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2014
• End date: February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Sidney Coli Junior
• Grantee: Patrícia Martins Santos Freitas
• Supervisor: Barry Bergdoll
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Columbia University in the City of New York, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/14806-4 - Muralism in São Paulo: convergence of the arts between 1950 and 1960, BP.DR

Abstract

This project aims to present a six-month research proposal, in which the candidate should remain as a visiting student in the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University in New York. The internship abroad is part of the activities related to the PhD thesis "Muralism in São Paulo: convergence of the arts between 1950's and 1960's", developed by the researcher in the Graduate Program in Art History at UNICAMP (Campinas, SP, Brazil), under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Jorge Coli Jr, and financing by FAPESP.During the last two years, the research revealed 35 panels in São Paulo, which are still in good conditions. Their techniques vary from decorative tiles, painting with wax and oil (mostly on wood), and glass mosaic - a material that was the major innovation in the field of coatings and had been widely used in decorative panels. They are spread among central neighborhoods, which have had the earliest modern skyscrapers in the city. In general, they were ordered in the creation of the buildings' projects, by the architect in charge, following an international idea of synthesis of arts. They are also divided into public and private orderings, and have a complex relation with the representation of these two groups.We propose a research internship in which we will establish the dialogue between São Paulo's panels and the intense and important muralist production occurred in the United States and Mexico since the early decades of the twentieth century. It is estimated that the internship will provide access to a vast literature, sources such as newspapers and photographs of the period and also some panels, that allow investigating possible points of similarity and/or distance between the Brazilian and American works. Finally, it is expected that the study of America´s muralism will contribute to the analysis of São Paulo´s panel production between the 1950's and 1960's. (AU)