ExhibitionJune 12, 2021
Brazilian Modernist Photography at MOMA
Moma recently inaugurated Fotoclubismo: Brazilian Modernist Photogaraphy , 1946-1964” an exhibition that explores the creative achievements of São Paulo’s Foto-Cine Clube Bandeirante (FCCB), a group of amateur photographers whose ambitious and innovative works embodied the abundant originality of postwar Brazilian culture, essentially unknown to European and North American audiences. This is the first museum exhibition to present this moment in photography’s history to audiences outside of Brazil.
Photography was a hobby for most FCCB members: on weekdays, group members—many of whom were women—went to their jobs as businessmen, accountants, journalists, engineers, biologists, and bankers. On weekends, they often traveled to photograph together. They were nonetheless quite serious about their artistic ambition, not unlike millions of people on Instagram today. Their pictures assumed many forms—from inventive experiments to distillations from everyday life—and their attentiveness to abstraction evolved in dialogue with leading critical thinkers and peers in design, painting, and film.
More than 60 photographs, drawn almost exclusively from MoMA’s collection, demonstrate the group’s extraordinary range. Although their work was heralded around the world in the 1950s, it subsequently faded from view. Their absence from international histories of the medium provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the biases that led to these exclusions, and invite viewers to reflect on the status of the amateur today.
Organized by Sarah Hermanson Meister, Curator, with Dana Ostrander, Curatorial Assistant, Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography at MoMa. On view through September 26th, 2021.
For more information visit: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5245
Photography was a hobby for most FCCB members: on weekdays, group members—many of whom were women—went to their jobs as businessmen, accountants, journalists, engineers, biologists, and bankers. On weekends, they often traveled to photograph together. They were nonetheless quite serious about their artistic ambition, not unlike millions of people on Instagram today. Their pictures assumed many forms—from inventive experiments to distillations from everyday life—and their attentiveness to abstraction evolved in dialogue with leading critical thinkers and peers in design, painting, and film.
More than 60 photographs, drawn almost exclusively from MoMA’s collection, demonstrate the group’s extraordinary range. Although their work was heralded around the world in the 1950s, it subsequently faded from view. Their absence from international histories of the medium provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the biases that led to these exclusions, and invite viewers to reflect on the status of the amateur today.
Organized by Sarah Hermanson Meister, Curator, with Dana Ostrander, Curatorial Assistant, Robert B. Menschel Department of Photography at MoMa. On view through September 26th, 2021.
For more information visit: https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5245
