Modern and contemporary art in newspaper columns: Jayme Maurício and the Correio da Manhã

• Grant number: 24/07530-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Arts - Art Fundamentals and Criticism
• Principal Investigator: Maria de Fátima Morethy Couto
• Grantee: Adriely Correia da Silva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Artes (IA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/12333-3 - Institutional geopolitics: art in dispute in international circulating exhibitions in Brazil (1948-1978), AP.TEM

Abstract

In the time frame of our project (1948-1978), cultural journalism occupied a large space in Brazilian periodicals, not only disseminating information about artistic-cultural agendas, but also fostering debates and forming new audiences for modern and contemporary art. Most of the country's newspapers published art columns almost daily and employed at least one specialized critic responsible for their writing, who often took part in salon juries, museum commissions, curated exhibitions in galleries and museums, or even organized artistic delegations from Brazil at international events. This research will specifically deal with articles on visual arts published in the newspaper Correio de Manhã, which was active until 1974, despite suffering persecution from censorship. This newspaper has special importance for our research because it was owned by the couple Paulo Bittencourt and Niomar Muniz Sodré, who were directly involved in the activities of MAM Rio. Art critic Jayme Maurício had a prominent role in the periodical, with his column Itinerário das Artes Plásticas, and contributed several articles on art biennials and international exhibitions. It should be noted that he was the commissioner of the Brazilian representation of the 1968 Venice Biennale.