_ Imprinted Lines_ VISIT curatorial art magazine_Jornal de Toronto presents
arrative in B razilian N
woodcutting
Airton Laurindo AndrĂŠ de Miranda Marcelo Monteiro Maria Iza Campos and Literatura de Cordel
__
Nov. 8th -30th 2018
Brazil has a long tradition of woodcutting – probably because it is an easy way to carve images and print by hand. For this reason, the Northeast region of the country found the best way to express its culture through wood engravings, combining the thick lines of the drawings with the poetic lines of Literatura de Cordel [String Literature]. Printmaking allowed men to reproduce their narratives; their stories, songs, and tales, through the press, could circulate around the world. This exhibition showcases artists not just from the Northeast of Brazil, but also from the South and Southeast of the country. Here we bring some examples of how the lines created on wood can narrate traditional and contemporary stories, with the simplicity and sophistication that woodcuts offer us. curated by
Presented by
Alexandre Dias Ramos
Supported by
The technique of woodcut (or xylography – in Greek xylo means wood) results from a direct manual incision into the wood, utilizing tools like gouges, knives, and chisels. Each implement corresponds to a type of furrow left in the wood. It is a technique that allows for surprises – unlike painting, which materializes little by little. In engraving, one only knows what has been made at the end of the process.
“Symbolism has always permeated my practice, most recently during my fascination with ‘violinists.’ ‘Listening’ to the image acts as the shifter to the narrative constructed by the viewer. Combining two or more senses is key to exploring the image and interacting with the artwork. Our senses – sight, hearing, touch – unify the body and the mind, giving us a sense of wholeness, of present presence. This experience defines an aesthetic of contemplation to achieve a meditative state of the truth as perception.”
Maria Iza Campos
top.
Sonata #15, 2016, by Maria Iza Campos, linocut, 3/3, 15x15”.
left.
Quartet, 2015-2016 , by Maria Iza Campos, linocuts collage, 1/1, 27x 27”.
Prints made of woodcuts and linocuts are very similar. They are images carved in reverse of the final artwork we see. Both apply the same tools to carve the support (wood or linoleum board). The action of carving the lines has a gestural nature. By carving, cutting the image out of a hard support enables the production of expressive lines, a distinctive characteristic of this particular artistic style.
André de Miranda “I don’t carve with force; I excavate with fury. The art of xylography is fury. Unlike painting, which is made using a brush that slides across the canvas, xylography is a naturally violent technique that is executed through subtraction – tree bark ripped from the matrix originates the negative tracery that will be the impression on the paper. Each original xylograph carries the vestiges of this violence, which cannot be hidden. This is where the tool employed is seen, scars that appear in my work.”
previous page left.
Odisseia [Odyssey], 2012, by André de Miranda, woodcut, 10x7.5”.
A Divina Comédia [Divine Comedy], 2012, by André de Miranda, woodcut, 10x7.5”.
previous page right.
left.
Decamerão [The Decameron], 2012, by André de Miranda, woodcut, 10x7.5”.
“My interest in engraving comes from illustrations in classical literature books and urban posters. I have chosen woodcut and lithography as techniques because of the proximity between the drawing and the use of paper, allowing me to diffuse my images in an accessible way. I am currently interested in the use of engraving in urban interventions, and in the research of subversion in technical and chemical processes.”
Marcelo Monteiro
A Hunger Artist “A small obstacle, at any rate, a constantly diminishing obstacle. People got used to the strange notion that in these times they would want to pay attention to a hunger artist, and with this habitual awareness the judgment on him was pronounced. He might fast as well as he could – and he did – but nothing could save him any more. People went straight past him. Try to explain the art of fasting to anyone! If someone doesn’t feel it, then he cannot be made to understand it. The beautiful signs became dirty and illegible. People tore them down, and no one thought of replacing them. The small table with the number of days the fasting had lasted, which early on had been carefully renewed every day, remained unchanged for a long time, for after the first weeks the staff grew tired of even this
small task. And so the hunger artist kept fasting on and on, as he once had dreamed about in earlier times, and he had no difficulty succeeding in achieving what he had predicted back then, but no one was counting the days – no one, not even the hunger artist himself, knew how great his achievement was by this point, and his heart grew heavy. And when once in
a while a person strolling past stood there making fun of the old number and talking of a swindle, that was in a sense the stupidest lie which indifference and innate maliciousness could invent, for the hunger artist was not being deceptive – he was working honestly – but the world was cheating him of his reward.” by Franz Kafka
Letter to a young lady in Paris “When I feel that I’m going to bring up a rabbit, I put two fingers in my mouth like an open pincer, and I wait to feel the lukewarm fluff rise in my throat like the effervescence in sal hepatica. It’s all swift and clean, passes in the briefest instant.” by Júlio Cortazar
top. Installation with Cirque du Tibet & Circo de Cuba posters, 2006, from Cartazes Imaginรกrios [Imaginary Posters] series, by Marcelo Monteiro, woodcut, 37.8x26" (each).
Airton Laurindo
was born in Juazeiro do Norte, in the Northeast of Brazil. He began his engraving career in 1996. He has made important series, such as Lamentos de um Sertanejo [Lamentations of a Backcountry Man], Lapinha, and especially the series called A Ladeira do Horto [Garden’s Slope], which we are presenting in full in this exhibition. Airton has also produced cordel pamphlet covers through the SesCordel Project and has worked as a printer in the Lira Nordestina Press.
André de Miranda
was born and lives in the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast of Brazil. He considers himself a selftaught artist, despite having studied with great masters of Brazilian art. In his 40 years dedicated to woodcut, he has held more than 300 national and international exhibitions. He also teaches workshops and lectures in various Brazilian cities. His work is found in important collections in Brazil and around the world.
Marcelo Monteiro
is from Porto Alegre, in the South of Brazil, and has been working with woodcut, lithography, chalcography, drawing, photography, and video since 2000. He teaches courses, workshops, and lectures on engraving, drawing, and video. He also works with the production of art videos, dance videos, documentaries, and music videos. Marcelo has been the co-owner and Art Director of the creative space Estúdio Hybrido since 2011.
Maria Iza Campos is a Brazilian-
Canadian artist who began her practice as an apprentice painter in Sao Paulo at the age of eight. Her experience includes international exhibitions and residencies in the Czech Republic, U.S.A., Brazil, U.K., and Canary Islands, in Spain. Today, Maria Iza concentrates her practice working from her Lotus & Spice Studio, located in Kensington Market, in Toronto, and as a member of Open Studio, a collective centre dedicated to printmaking.
top left.
Madame Bovary, 2012, by André de Miranda, woodcut, 10x7.5”.
top right. O Vermelho e o Negro [The Red and the Black], 2012, by André de Miranda, woodcut, 10x7.5”.
Airton Laurindo
top.
A Ladeira do Horto [Garden’s Slope] series, n.d., by Airton Laurindo, woodcut, A.P., 8x11.5�.
Literatura de Cordel
Do sertão, vem inspiração! Perguntaram ao poeta Donde vem inspiração Para escrever poesia Fazer a declamação Ele com o olhar maneiro Respondeu muito ligeiro “Vem do meu grande sertão”. Vem dos sonhos bem sonhados Da lua cheia bonita Da moça interiorana Com um vestido de chita Que acorda logo cedo Pra colher folha de bredo E dá chá para a visita.
Cordel (string literature) are stories written in rhymes about everyday life illustrated with woodcuts. The name has its origin on the way the work is displayed to potential clients: hanging on strings. The black and white pamphlets, usually in 4x6" format, are produced and sold in markets and on the streets, mostly in the Northeast region of Brazil. They form one of the leastaltered continuations of Western traditions of popular literature, such as chapbooks and popular prints.
Vem da seca do sertão Onde o chão fica rachado Ou vem da grande chuva Que deixa o solo molhado Enquanto o homem com pranto Reza e agradece ao santo Bastante emocionado.
Das boas carnes de sol Penduradas no varal Das noites de poesia Que tem o fenomenal Desafios do repente Que usa a força da mente Tocando na área rural.
Do velho pote de barro Do grande rádio de pilha Do novo pinto de granja E da pequena novilha De um destemido galo E de um belo cavalo Sem nenhum pingo de milha.
Vem do fogão de lenha Onde prepara o feijão E na tarde dum domingo Se come com um pirão E a família com alegria Demonstra muita harmonia Respeito e animação.
Da bodega pequenina Onde se compra fiado Todo quartinho vendido No caderno está anotado Mas quando na grana pega Se dana lá pra bodega Paga e diz muito obrigado.
Das curas misteriosas Pelas mão da benzedeira Meninos lá no terreiro Brincando de baladeira Que vai subindo em jumento E quando cai no cimento Se dana na choradeira.
Do fole de uma sanfona Da música de Gonzagão Do triângulo e da zabumba Tocando muito baião Das belas festas de cunho Quando todo mês de junho Tem a festa de São João.
Vem das grandes passeadas Do calango no lajedo Das criancinhas pequenas Que ainda chupando dedo Perderam sua infância Caminha grande distância E vão pra roça bem cedo.
Das festas de vaquejada De padre Ciço Romão Das flor de mandacaru Do macho véi Lampião Da fêmea Maria Bonita Mãe de dona Expedita É donde vem inspiração.
Quem escreve poesia E faz a declamação Com certeza é bem feliz Por ter como inspiração Esse véi cabra da peste Um pedaço do Nordeste É o nosso lindo sertão.
String Literature: Engravings by Dila (Caruaru, PE), Rick Marinho (Lajedo, PE), Abdias Campos (Recife, PE), and J. Borges (Bezerros, PE) / Poems by Jefferson Moisés, Maria Betânia, Olegário Filho, Terlebibi, Maria Bonita, Arroz Doce (Caruaru, PE); Abdias Campos (Recife, PE); Rick Marinho (Lajedo, PE); and Francisco Sales de Arêda (Bezerros, PE). Presented by
Many thanks to
Supported by
1214 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, Canada
Bianca Bold, Carolina Soares, Chris Mitchell, Emma Sheppard, Lee Petrie & Leila Sandra Farah