The home decoration of the elites: the material and symbolic production of the house\'s spaces

Author(s)

Denise Adell de Freitas Guimarães

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2010-11-09

Examining board members

Fernando Antonio Pinheiro Filho; Luiz Carlos Jackson; Rosemary Segurado

• Advisor: Fernando Antonio Pinheiro Filho

Abstract

This study compares and analyses domestic interior decoration within sectors of the elites from the city of São Paulo. The investigation of such practice is here understood as one revealing of its social functions, as its capacities in affirming social positions, expressing identities, power of consumption, and producing social distinctions in the physical space of the home. The examination of the material and symbolic dimension of those spaces is accomplished trough interviews with residents and the photographic recording of the visited interiors. Two other sources of information also contribute to this analysis: recent editions of Brazilian magazines specialized in home decoration, and qualitative interviews with professionals dedicated to interior decoration who works for the São Paulos elites. The investigation of the role of these medias in the process of production of contemporary domestic interiors and its receptions from the interviewed residents along with the analysis of the perceptions of these professionals regarding the requirements of their clients contribute to the comprehension of the diversity of aspects of the interior decoration. (AU)