Preventive conservation of costumes from Cinematographic Company Vera Cruz (1949 - 1954): a detailed study for five costumes from the movie "Tico - Tico no Fubá"

• Grant number: 23/04898-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2023
• End date: July 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Theatre
• Principal Investigator: Fausto Roberto Poço Viana
• Grantee: Isabela Porto de Oliveira Peruzzi
• Host Institution: Escola de Comunicações e Artes (ECA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This is a scientific initiation project that addresses the preventive conservation of costumes from the Cinematographic Company Vera Cruz, an important milestone in Brazilian cinema, with emphasis between the years 1949 and 1954. Vera Cruz, as it became known, has a strong historical and cultural value for São Paulo and Brazilian society: it was a pioneer of national cinema, in its way of operating, and is part of the social and cultural scenario of the 1950s, and even after it, as its technicians, after the completion of the company's activities, took on important positions in cinema, television source, in advertisements and many other activities, including the creation and making of stage costumes, the reason for this project. Preserving this collection - and the project's proposal - and focusing on eight pieces, at the level of detail that can later be applied to the rest of the Vera Cruz collection, is of utmost importance for the memory of São Paulo, because the costumes offer important records for research: color, shape, volume, craftsmanship and confection, forms of construction and sewing. The collection, consisting of approximately 900 pieces, now belongs to the City Hall of São Bernardo do Campo, but is ceded for research at the School of Communications and Arts, under the care of the Department of Performing Arts at ECA USP and Prof. Doctor Fausto Viana. Preventive conservation is one of the first and most important steps in handling the collection, as it protects it and minimizes further deterioration or losses, ensuring access to this patrimony - an almost centenary document - for present and future generations.