Brazilian Woodcut Prints

BRAZILIAN WOODCUT PRINTS

The growing attention paid to Brazilian woodcuts, both within the country and abroad, is easily explained. These stark and often dramatic prints are a direct and effective means of communication. The simple images vividly capture contemporary issues and events of national concern, numerous aspects of the distinctive social and cultural life of the Brazilian North East, and fundamental human themes that transcend cultural and national boundaries.- This work, the first detailed study of Brazilian woodcut prints in the English language deals with the origins and development of the art form, its themes, the traditions and culture of the Brazilian North East, social and political issues, humour and satire, all lavishly illustrated. As this superb study shows, the Brazilian woodcut print has all the power, quickness and wit of a great popular art.

Mark Dinneen is a lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies at the University of Southampton. He is the author of Listening to the People's Voice: Erudite and Popular Literature in North East Brazil published by Kegan Paul.

BRAZILIAN WOODCUT PRINTS

MARK DINNEEN

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LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in 2001 by Kegan Paul Limited This edition first published in 2009 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint ofthe Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © Mark Dinneen 2001 Transferred to Digital Printing 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 10: 0-7103-0587-7 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-7103-0587-9 (hbk)

Publisher's Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. The publisher has made every effort to contact original copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the Museu de Folclore Edison Carneiro, in Rio de Janeiro, and to the Instituto Joaquim Nabuco in Recife, for the assistance they gave me in the preparation ofthis book.

Special thanks are due to the many woodcut artists who answered my questions, and to Gladys, my wife, whose computer skills and general help were invaluable.

CONTENTS

1 Introduction 1

2 Religious Themes 17

3 Adventure, Romance and the Fantastic 40

4 Life, Traditions and Culture of the Brazilian North East 57

5 News and Social and Political Issues 81

6 Humour and Satire 100

7 Bandits 125

INTRODUCTION

The North East of Brazil is renowned for its rich and vibrant popular culture. The region's festivals, music, poetry and popular religious rituals have attracted increasing interest from scholars from around the world in recent decades. The woodcuts that are the subject of this book are one more expression of that cultural dynamism. They have been a significant art form in Brazil since the 1940s, when they began to be produced in large quantities as illustrations for the covers of cheap pamphlets of poetry sold in streets and markets throughout the North East. In subsequent decades, however, the woodcuts assumed larger and more complex forms, and they are now regularly made as posters, prints for framing and wall hangings for sale to collectors and tourists. Today, alongside the stark, rustic woodcut prints on age-old themes, produced in the same way as they have been for decades, there are more polished and stylish versions, influenced by modem painting and sculpture. Some of the artists involved, most of whom come from the poorest sectors of North East society, and are invariably self-taught, now live entirely from the proceeds of their woodcuts, although usually precariously. At the same time as their work has received increasing recognition from a wider public, both within Brazil and beyond, it has also influenced a number of well-known erudite artists in Brazil, who have assimilated formal and thematic aspects of the popular woodcut into their own artistic production. Such growing attention is easily explained. These stark and often dramatic prints are a direct and effective means of communication. The simple images vividly capture contemporary issues and events of national concern, as well as numerous aspects of the distinctive social and cultural life of the Brazilian North East. Both traditional and modem themes are continually given original expression as they are reinterpreted by the woodcut artist according to the values and perceptions ofhis own community.

The origins and the development of the woodcut

The printing of an image from a carved relief has a long history. The earliest forms are generally traced to China, where it is believed that wooden stamps were used to print on calico long before the Christian era, though the precise date of the fITst woodcut is unknown. Evidence suggests that textile

1 printing flourished many centuries before paper, which was invented in China in 105 A.D., became widely available and dramatically expanded the possibilities for woodcut art. It was in China that the fITst woodcut prints on paper appeared. The earliest in Europe are believed to have been made in approximately 1400, though the fITst to include dates on them are a print of the Madonna made in Brussels in 1418, and one of St. Christopher, of German origin, of 1423. Religious themes predominated in the European woodcuts of the early 1400s, with images of saints, the Virgin Mary and episodes from the life of Christ. Many of these prints were used to illustrate prayer sheets. They were simple, stark and bold. As the century progressed, topics became more varied, as woodcut prints were increasingly used to illustrate books and the broadsides ofpoetry, news and proclamations that were sold in the streets. At the same time, form and style became more sophisticated, with more attention given to detail and to background. From the mid-fifteenth century, block books served as an important vehicle for the development of the woodcut. These were books whose text and illustrations were printed entirely from wooden blocks. Major centres for woodcut printing were quickly established in Germany, Italy, France and the Netherlands. The art form was slower to develop in England, but it grew in importance from the 1480s onwards, when woodcuts provided illustrations for books produced by William Caxton. The production techniques employed during the fITst century or so of woodcut printing in Europe were extremely simple. Two different individuals were generally involved in creating the woodcut. An artist drew the design, and a skilled woodworker then cut it on to the block of wood. The drawing was either executed directly on the wood, or produced fITst on paper and then transferred to the block. The background was then cut away, leaving the main subject of the design in relief, to be printed in black. The illustrations that resulted were often crude, but for some critics they have a vitality and a visual power which is lacking in most of the more elaborate and refmed prints produced during later centuries (Hayter, 1992, 8). As for the process of printing, the presses used became steadily more sophisticated, especially as book production expanded in the late-fIfteenth century following the introduction ofprinting from movable type. The woodcut did not merely serve as decoration for those early books. It was increasingly used to convey information. There were prints ofplants and herbs for books on botany, for example, and woodcut scenes of cities for works on foreign travel. In the early-sixteenth century, books on a whole range of scholarly subjects stimulated the production of woodcuts of increasing complexity and detail. At the same time, such celebrated artists as Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) and Hans Holbein (1497-1543) sought to perfect the technique of woodcutting, resulting in prints of unprecedented artistic refmement, far removed from the bold simplicity and spontaneity that characterized Europe's earliest woodcuts. The

2 period from 1470 to 1580 represented a golden age for woodcut art in Europe. It was the dominant form of illustration, its diverse subjects including portraits, political satire, mythological figures and scientific illustrations. It attained a level ofpopularity and diffusion that it would never equal again. Metal plate engraving, which could produce far more detailed prints, eventually undermined the dominant role of the woodcut throughout Europe. By the eighteenth century, only a few specialist books made use of woodcut illustrations, which were now most commonly employed in the cheap broadsides and chapbooks sold in the streets. Other forms of illustration were developed and enjoyed periods of popularity. One of the most notable was wood engraving, which was much used at the end of the eighteenth century. Whereas in woodcutting, the surface of the block used runs parallel to the grain, for wood engraving the block is cut against the grain. Before long however, industrialization ushered in a new period of mass production of illustrations, soon to be dominated by photography. The use of the traditional woodcut, now seen as antiquated and unfashionable, dwindled further. Its qualities, however, have continued to attract the attention of artists in Europe. The Norwegian, Edvard Munch, did much to revive its popularity as an art form in the early twentieth century, and the work of such major figures as Pablo Picasso, Paul Gaugin and Femand Leger includes notable examples of woodcut expression.

The origins ofwoodcut art in North East Brazil

The popular woodcuts of the Brazilian North East appear to have much in common with early European prints. There are similarities in their form and their uses" most notably in their role as illustrations for popular literature sold in streets and fairs. However, there is no evidence to show a clear link between European and Brazilian woodcuts. The origins of woodcut art in Brazil, known as xilogravura, are shrouded in mystery. One theory suggests that missionaries carried the tradition to Brazil, using woodcut prints to illustrate church notices and prayer sheets (Pontual, 1970, 58). What is clear, however, is that xilogravura did not develop into a significant popular art form in the North East until well into the twentieth century. Woodcuts were sometimes used as illustrations for some of the region's newspapers, but what transformed them into a major form of artistic expression was the steady expansion in production of pamphlets of popular narrative poetry. These became known as literatura de cordel - string literature because they were traditionally displayed hanging on a line of string when sold in markets and public squares. Used to provide eye-catching covers for these chapbooks, the woodcut began to acquire new prominence.

3 For many centuries, the popular poetic tradition of the North East, which has its roots in the epic poetry of Medieval Europe, existed only in oral form. Many popular poets achieved fame in the rural interior for their virtuosity in composing verses and their skill in reciting them. In the late-nineteenth century, some of those poets began to produce cheap pamphlets or folhetos of their poems on simple hand presses, similar in form to earlier European pamphlet poetry. Selling these folhetos in the fairs held regularly in towns throughout the North East was a valid alternative to working on the land, or in low-paid employment in the towns. Gradually, the process of production of the pamphlets became more sophisticated. Their increasing popularity not only generated more professional poets, but also led to the emergence of specialized publishers and travelling salesmen who could also earn their living from pamphlet poetry. In the 1940s and 1950s,folheto production was dynamic, with scores of printer's shops established throughout the North East, together with hundreds of resellers who ensured widespread distribution. Traditional themes which can be traced back to the Iberian romance have been reworked by many poets, right up until recent times. Ballads of religious content have the longest tradition of all, and numerous folhetos have been produced on the life of Christ and the saints, and on miracles that have transformed people's lives. There are also new versions of old chivalric romances, above all about the life of Charlemagne. Over the years, however, the folheto has incorporated an increasing array of contemporary themes, including national and international news, current social issues and local events that have caught the imagination. To ensure he sells his poetry, the poet has to refashion whatever material he uses to give it direct significance for his public, which traditionally has comprised the poorest sectors of North East society. He links his verses to their daily experience, and employs a language and system of symbols which they identify as theirs. It was also with a view to sales that poets sought striking covers for theirfolhetos, as a way of enticing customers. For many years, folheto covers were plain, with nothing more than the title of the poem, and the name of the poet and the publisher. To make them more attractive however, various forms of illustration were gradually introduced, including the lithograph, metal engraving and photographs. Woodcut prints were occasionally used in the early decades of the twentieth century, but it was in the 1940s that they came to dominate folheto covers. Woodcuts were cheap and easy to produce, and the result was a bold black design that stood out against the light coloured cover. Jose Bernardo da Silva (1901-1972), from the state of Alagoas, appears to have been the major pioneer. He was a prolific poet, but in the early 1940s he set up a printer's shop to produce not only his own folhetos but also those of other poets, and it was in the role of publisher that he would become best known in the North East. He began ordering significant numbers of woodcut prints

4 to decorate the folheto covers, and other publishers and poets, impressed with the results, soon began to follow suit. Frequently, the same woodcut would be used to illustrate different chapbooks dealing with similar themes. The fITst woodcut artist to achieve recognition for his folheto illustrations was Inocencio da Costa Nick, better known as Mestre Noza. He lived in the town of Juazeiro do Norte, the most famous centre of pilgrimage in the North East, where he worked as a wood carver, making sculptures of saints and popular religious leaders for visiting worshippers. It was at the request ofJose Bernardo da Silva, in the early 1940s, that he began producing woodcut prints for folheto covers. His fITst illustrations consisted of simple figures representing the main character of each poem. Many of those who bought folhetos during those years were illiterate rural workers, who would take the poetry home so that a literate member of the community could read it aloud to a group of listeners. For those unable to read, the bold cover illustrations served to highlight the subject of the poem. Walderedo Gon~alves was another major woodcut artist to emerge in the 1940s. Whilst working for a printer in his native town of Crato, in the state of Ceara, he was asked to produce woodcut illustrations for prayer sheets. Jose Bernardo da Silva saw the work and requested that Gon~alves also make some prints for folheto covers. It is arguable that no other popular woodcut artist in Brazil has equaled Gon~alves in terms of technical ability and level of detail. He was also the first to sign his illustrations. Until then, popular woodcuts rarely carried the name of the artist responsible for them, and there are many in museums and private collections that remain anonymous. In 1950, Silva took over the Sao Francisco printer's shop in Juazeiro do Norte and expanded the business until he became the largest publisher ofpamphlet poetry in the North East, producing at least 12,000 folhetos a day (Meyer, 1980, 91). As the demand for woodcut illustrations increased, a new generation of artists emerged, many of whom are represented in this book. Most learned the required skills by themselves, studying the work of other artists and then experimenting until they gradually developed their own style and technique. Some of them, such as Jose Costa Leite and Abraao Batista, are as well known as poets and as they are as woodcut artists. They began producing woodcuts for their own folhetos, but their illustrations were soon in demand from other poets and publishers. The work of these emerging artists thereby served a clearly defmed purpose, for each woodcut interpreted the theme of a particular narrative poem and sought to attract customers. That imposed certain constraints upon their imagination, though the themes they were asked to deal with multiplied steadily and there was still wide scope for individual expression. Later, xilogravura would break free from popular poetry and fmd new forms, but the world created byfolheto verse, with its bandits, revered preachers with supernatural powers, and stories about the daily struggle

5 faced by the poor, has remained the main source of inspiration for the North East's woodcut artists.

Method of production

Although the precise tools and techniques used to create these woodcut prints vary from one artist to another, depending on personal preference and the means at their disposal, the process of production is invariably rudimentary, frequently involving a high degree of improvisation. Few of the artists concerned can afford sophisticated equipment, and many striking woodcuts have been produced with nothing more than an old pocket knife and a piece of scrap wood. Refmement of technique has been very much a secondary consideration in the production of chapbook illustrations. It is the expression of the popular imagination within the prints, and their boldness and simplicity, that makes them so visually powerful and captivating. For many decades, soft woods such as that of the umburana tree, the hog plum, pine and cedar, were the usual material used by the woodcut artist, but as their price increased in the course of the 1980s and 1990s, cheaper alternatives were sought, most notably industrially manufactured wood. The basic process of woodcutting has changed little over time, however. The wood is cut into a small rectangular block and its surface smoothed with sandpaper. Artists generally draw the design in pencil on the block before cutting, but some occasionally dispense with the drawing and cut the image directly on the wood. A chisel or sharp penknife is used to cut the basic relief, and fmer instruments, such as stilettos, sharpened nails or struts from a broken umbrella serve to make the fme lines that give detail to the design. Ifthe woodcut has been ordered by a publisher or a poet, it is sometimes handed over by the artist directly upon completion, without a trial print being made beforehand. Most artists, however, do print out their woodcuts. Some invest in a small press. Those unable to afford one simply apply ink to the cut block with a brush, cloth or roller, place the paper on the surface and apply pressure with a wooden spoon or similar instrument. The print is carefully removed and left to dry. Hundreds of copies can normally be produced before the block begins to show any signs of wear. In the last decades of the twentieth century, as the artists became more professional and developed their work for purposes other thanfolheto illustration, new possibilities for innovation opened up. Dila, considered by many to be the most original woodcut artist in the North East, began to cut images on pieces of rubber, making use of the covering of old car batteries and rubber shoe soles. Marcelo Soares broke with the traditional black and white design by introducing coloured inks into some of his prints. Aesthetic considerations have become

6 increasingly important to artists seeking to sell their work to a public beyond the consumers of chapbook poetry. Many of the woodcuts produced today result from a fusion of traditional themes and methods dating back many decades and recently introduced techniques and materials.

The woodcut and literatura de cordel

The Brazilian popular woodcut cannot be understood in isolation. It is intimately linked to other forms of popular art in the North .East. The symbols, metaphors, themes and personalities that appear in the woodcut prints are also common in popular poetry, song, painting and ceramics. They all symbolically express the lived reality and values of the poorest sectors of the region's population. Different forms of artistic expression frequently merge. Today, singers with guitars still engage in poetic duels with one another in market places and squares, and these singers will sometimes be the writers of chapbook poetry and woodcut artists as well. The popular poet uses elements of theatrical performance to sell his pamphlets of verse to the public. He recites his poem, acting out some parts, and usually stops at a critical point in the narrative and encourages his audience to fmd out how the story ends by buying a copy. This serves as a reminder that it is a poetry that has grown out of oral tradition, and that it is essentially a communal art form. Although there are individual poets, singers and woodcut artists who develop particular skills, the cultural activities they engage in are shared by a community. The audience is often invited to participate in the process of recital by giving their opinion of the events in the story. As has already been mentioned, for many decades the reading of the folheto by the consumers was also a communal activity. The purchaser would take it home so it could be read aloud to a group comprising family and friends. Most of the woodcut artists represented in this book emerged from that world of popular poetry and song. There are numerous woodcut images of singers engaged in duels and poets reciting their verses. Family tradition has played a significant part in determining who becomes a creator of woodcuts. The brothers Marcelo and Jeronimo Soares are the sons of a famous poet, Jose Soares, nicknamed the 'reporter poet' because he made his living by rapidly producing folhetos on the latest news items. He used to claim that his public would hear a piece ofnews on the radio but would only believe it when they read it in one ofhis chapbooks. His sons learned the art of woodcutting by creating illustrations for his folhetos. Erivaldo Silva is also the son of a poet, and within the family of Jota Borges there are several members who produce woodcuts. Most of the artists began life as subsistence farmers or urban workers, but there are a few who come from more privileged backgrounds. Franklin Maxado trained and worked as a

7 lawyer before dedicating himself full time to poetry and woodcuts. Some of the other woodcut illustrators view such people as interlopers, and criticize them for appropriating a cultural tradition that does not belong to them. In general, however, the artists express admiration for one another's work, and learn from each other. Meetings between them are infrequent, for they are scattered throughout the North East, and some have moved to other parts of Brazil. A few towns have become well known as centres of popular printmaking because of the artists working there. The most notable is Juazeiro do Norte, in the state of Ceara, which, because of its association with the famed religious leader, Padre Cicero, attracts large numbers of pilgrims throughout the year. The tradition of woodcutting which was established there by Mestre Noza in the early 1940s is continued today by Abraao Batista and Stenio Diniz. The fact that the popular woodcut began as a utilitarian art form explains its simple and stark style. The print had to encapsulate the theme and atmosphere of the poem it was illustrating, and encourage people to buy a copy. Immediate communication is vital, and detail is usually minimal. Both artist and poet use a system of symbols which have set meanings for the North East poor. The dragon represents difficulties to be combated and overcome, and the Devil, one of the most popular figures in Brazilian woodcut prints, symbolizes the hostile social and natural forces that confront the most vulnerable sectors of the region's population. By using symbols that the folheto readers instantly recognize, and a language specific to them, virtually any topic, regardless of its precise origin, can be made relevant to their experience. Artists became particularly skilled in the use of metaphor and allegory during the 1960s and 1970s when censorship was imposed by the military government. Magical figures and demons were widely used to convey social criticism. Given that most artists share the same social and cultural background, and are motivated by similar aims, it is not surprising that the same images recur in the work of each of them. Virtually all have produced illustrations of the bandits who once roamed the North East interior, as well as popular religious figures, backland cowboys and familiar comic characters. There are, however, notable differences in individual style. Jota Borges, who has a small printing shop attached to his house, is noted for his naIve, rustic prints. His approach to his work is conservative, for he sees himself as the preserver of tradition and argues against innovation. Ciro Fernandes, however, has taken his art in another direction. He gives greater importance to the shape of his figures and the form of the overall composition, expressing new influences on his work. Over the years, new topics of concern to the fo/heto-buying public were constantly incorporated into chapbook verse. The capacity of cordelliterature to respond to the problems affecting the poet's community largely explains why it remained such a dynamic form of popular expression for so many decades.

8 Government corruption became a frequent theme, as did pollution and the destruction of the environment. Considerable ingenuity was required by the printmaker to create simple images expressing complex issues. The problem of AIDS in Brazil is conveyed in a number of woodcuts through grim skeleton figures, and poverty is often represented by images of empty cooking pans in sparsely furnished kitchens. The characters in the prints express their emotions through instantly recognizable gestures; arms held aloft representing fear, or a hand on the head to express dismay or bewilderment. The declining spending power of the poorest sectors of Brazilian society, which was often exacerbated by government policies in the late twentieth century, was the most common social issue covered in the fo/hetos during that period. The majority of poets and printmakers felt the consequences themselves. Most of the poems concerned dichotomise the world into 'them' (the rich) and 'us' (the poor and oppressed). This is captured in many woodcut images which contrast the figure of a ragged, bare-footed worker with that of a wealthy businessman, usually fatter, and dressed in a smart suit and smoking a cigar. Given the need for simplicity and immediate communication in his art, the printmaker also requires considerable powers of synthesis. Different elements have to be fused into one stark image·to express the idea. The many prints of retirantes, peasants forced to leave the backlands to avoid the effects of drought, serve as a good example. Burning sun, barren earth and hunched figures carrying their few possessions in bundles on their heads combine to vividly convey their suffering. In the 1970s and 1980s, new uses were found forfo/heto poetry. Migration was an important factor. To improve their living standards, significant numbers of poets left the North East and moved to the large, more prosperous cities of the south, most notably Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. They adapted their poetry to the new circumstances they encountered. Narratives about the problems of urban life became common, with frequent condemnation of crime, pollution and the high cost of living, and all these themes were tackled by the woodcut illustrator too. Viewed from a distance, the rural North East is often described with nostalgia and longing by these city based poets. The attempt to negotiate between these two different worlds, trying to hold on to the traditional whilst embracing the modem, is frequently conveyed in chapbook verse. Adjustment to urban life is difficult for most migrants. Humour is sometimes used to address the problem, with both poet and printmaker mocking modem fashions and fads. At other times, however, the poet presents the city as a trap, offering the illusion of liberty but ultimately failing to provide fulfillment. In the cities, the fo/heto, and the woodcut that accompanied it, began to fmd a new role as a means of urban communication. In Sao Paulo in the late 1970s, for example, fo/hetos criticizing government policies circulated among factory workers and trade unionists, many of whom were of Northeastern origin (Luyten, 1981, 100-101). In the same city, woodcuts by Jeronimo Soares

9 were used to illustrate a tolheto produced to be distributed among building workers, warning them of the dangers of accidents on construction sites. In the North East, however, the tradition of popular poetry gradually declined during the last decades of the twentieth century. It became increasingly difficult for poets to earn an adequate income fromJolheto sales. The expansion of the mass media and new shopping and entertainment facilities in the region had begun to change lifestyles and outlook, leading to a reduction in the demand for chapbook verse. Economic factors, such as the increasing cost of paper and printing, were also significant. The closure of the open air markets that once flourished in many towns and provided an important space for distributingJolhetos had an impact too. Many poets were too impoverished to put their poems into print, and some institutions such as universities and Government Departments took over the role of publisher. However, the most significant change in the process of production was the participation of a Sao Paulo publishing company, Luzeiro, which in the 1980s bought the rights to publish over two hundred of the most popular tolheto poems. It printed the verses in a larger booklet form, with colourful, comic-book covers. Most of the traditional tolheto readers - manual labourers for the most part - welcomed the new fonnat, regarding the cover illustrations as bright and modem, in contrast to which the more traditional woodcuts appeared technically crude and antiquated. According to some observers, the old style chapbook was heading towards extinction, and some of the poets and artists still producing tolhetos called on local government to provide support in order to keep the tradition alive. In fact, tolheto production has continued, albeit on a much reduced scale and under significantly different conditions. Sales have relied increasingly on consumers from the professional middle-class, for whom the chapbook represents a quaint and attractive folkloric expression. Inevitably, such a change has had a considerable impact on the content of the poetry, now written in accordance with new tastes and perceptions. Photographs have become more common as cover illustrations. Only rarely are woodcut artists now asked to provide a print for a tolheto. Some, like Jeronimo Soares, have abandoned woodcutting altogether and have sought alternative employment. Others, however, have developed new forms ofexpression for their skills as graphic artists.

New directions

Having lost its main function as an illustration for chapbook covers, the popular woodcut print began a new phase as an autonomous art form. In fact, even when Jolheto production was at its height in Brazil, the woodcut occasionally found an alternative form of expression, indicating the possibilities it had in the

10 future. In 1953, the City Council ofRecife, the North East's biggest city, published an album of popular woodcut prints, and two years later the frrst major international exhibition of them was organized by the Ethnographic Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Other exhibitions followed, and the growing interest overseas increased recognition for the art form in Brazil itself. It became particularly valued among middle-class consumers, for whom it offered attractive images of a world of stability and tradition, and provided a cheap alternative to more expensive forms of art. Most woodcut artists now rely on the sale of large-scale prints produced for decorative purposes in order to make a living from their art. These are printed on light cardboard to be framed, or on cloth as wall hangings. They take this work to be sold in handicraft shops and fairs in the large towns, usually earning for themselves about seventy percent of the sale price. Tourists comprise a significant proportion of the buyers, and the prints tend to focus on patterns of life and customs that are regarded as typical of the North East. Many of the subjects are drawn directly from tolheto tradition, but the increased scale permits more complex designs to be made, incorporating greater detail than was previously possible. Many such prints depict street scenes, or crowds participating in traditional festivals or shopping in the market place. Greater attention is given to the overall composition of the print, and coloured inks are frequently used, for the overriding aim is to produce images that are aesthetically pleasing. As the nature of their work has changed, artists have become more professional in their approach, as indicated by the fact that each individual print produced from a woodcut is nonnally numbered and signed. Most artists periodically publish albums of their work. They occasionally obtain additional income through requests to provide illustrations for magazines, books, C.D. covers and political pamphlets, but most still struggle to survive as full-time graphic artists. As a result, they have had to become more commercially minded, advertising their services whenever possible and energetically seeking new possibilities of work. Many of them sell not only prints but also the carved wooden blocks used to produce them, which are in demand from certain collectors. There are different opinions about the separation of the woodcut from the chapbook of popular poetry. For some observers, like Liedo Maranhao, it has signified the end of the woodcut as a genuine popular art, and the loss ofits unique characteristics (Maranhao, 1981, 76). For some artists, however, it has given them greater freedom, for they can now use their art to express matters of personal concern and interest. Whereas before they were constrained by the need to please the buyers of popular verse, they can now develop their style as they wish. The smooth, rounded shapes of the figures in some of Marcelo Soares's more recent prints are very different from the rough, hastily carved characters typical of most chapbook covers. Modem erudite art has clearly exercised increasing influence on

11 some of the printmakers, the most notable example being Ciro Fernandes. Elements of Picasso's paintings are evident in some of his woodcuts. The level of refmement and sophistication of Fernandes's work perhaps best illustrates the changes that the woodcut has undergone during the last few decades. Clearly, the growing professionalism of the woodcut artist to some extent weakens his links with the world of popular cultural expression. As has been mentioned however, most printmakers continue to recreate traditional Northeastern themes and motifs. The religious subjects that featured in woodcuts decades ago, for example, constantly reappear today, sometimes in a revised form. Versions of the via sacra - Christ's Passion depicted in a series ofprints - are still regularly produced in the form of albums, just as they were in the 1950s. Over the decades they have become a standard part ofthe repertoire ofmost woodcut artists, who often print them in limited editions for sale to collectors. Versions vary considerably according to individual style, but most reveal the origins of the artist. The setting for each episode of the Passion often echoes the rural interior of the Brazilian North East, and in some prints the figure of Christ bears a strong resemblance to a poor cowboy of the backlands. Customer demand partly explains the continual recreation of such forms and themes, but it also enables the artist to reaffmn his cultural roots and his position within a particular artistic tradition.

The popular woodcut and erudite art

Whilst the popular woodcut has assimilated certain elements from other art forms, it too has influenced the work of a number of erudite artists in Brazil with an interest in woodcut printing. In contrast to popular tradition, their prints are stylish and polished, characterized by precision and detail. They reveal the sophisticated techniques that have resulted from formal training. The pioneer of the erudite woodcut in Brazil was Oswaldo Goeldi, who began experimenting with the form in the early 1920s. Other artists followed, and in the 1960s and 1970s their work won international recognition in exhibitions around the world. At frrst, European models provided the main inspiration for the artists involved, and there was little attempt to express aspects of national reality or culture. Concerns with form were paramount, and constant experiment naturally led to the frrst abstract woodcuts. But the proliferation of woodcut illustrations ontolheto covers soon caught the attention of erudite artists, who were attracted by their visual impact and originality. Many saw within them echoes of Medieval European prints, for they appeared to share the same simplicity, spontaneity and naturalness of expression. Some erudite artists sought to capture those qualities in their own work, producing what was still high art, but in the popular idiom. The objective was to create

12 woodcuts and paintings that were aesthetically pleasing but which were linked to popular cultural expression through the themes and symbols selected. The desire to produce what they perceived to be a distinctly Brazilian fonn of expression provided much of the motivation for the artists concerned. Newton Cavalcanti and Gilvan Samico are the major examples. Cavalcanti is well known for his drawings, paintings and lithographs, as well as for his woodcuts, for which he uses rudimentary tools in order to make bold, rough cuts on the block, imitating the style of the popular woodcutter. He studied under Goeldi and settled in Rio de Janeiro, where he developed his career as a graphic artist. The popular woodcut has personal significance for him, as it is a way of restoring his links with the rural North East where he was born. Bandits, prophets, enchanted animals and many other subjects familiar to readers oftolheto poetry are recreated in his work. Samico retains a higher degree of technical refmement and precision, but he also draws upon the iconography common in chapbook illustrations. The traditional religious practices and beliefs of the North East, where he continues to live, have perhaps had the greatest influence on him. His interpretations of popular cultural manifestations won him a prize at the Venice Biennale. Aspects of his work have in tum influenced popular woodcut artists, highlighting the continual interaction between 'erudite' and 'popular' expression.

The appeal of the Brazilian popular woodcut

Recognition of the value of Brazil's woodcut prints has grown steadily. Exhibitions have been held in many parts of the world, and studies of the artists and their work have multiplied. There are large collections of woodcuts in a number of Brazilian museums, as well as in the Library of Congress in the United States. The decline of the folheto tradition and the related changes that have occurred in woodcut art have stimulated rather then undermined the ·interest of scholars. Many are alarmed by the threat of extinction that appears to confront such distinctly Brazilian forms of folkloric expression. But the term 'folklore' suggests an art fonn or cultural practice that belongs to the past, and tends to present all transfonnation that they undergo as nothing more than deterioration. It allows little possibility that creativity may also result from change. The Brazilian popular woodcut is constantly adapting to new circumstances, and the effects of that process are well represented by the variations of style and format evident in the prints included in this volume. The fact that they are so visually dramatic explains much of their appeal. The inventiveness they display is also important. Numerous aspects of life in the North East are represented in the popular print. Alongside images of suffering and deprivation are others where the world is

13 magically transformed, offering a glimpse of an alternative future. Perhaps the major significance of these- woodcuts is this fascinating insight that they give into the perceptions and aspirations ofthe printmaker and his community.

References

Alegre, Sylvia Porto, Maos de mestre: itinerarios de arte e da tradi~ao, Sao Paulo: Maltese, 1994 Araujo, Alceu Maynard, Cultura popular brasileira, Sao Paulo: Melhoramentos, 1973 Biggs, John R., The Craft ofWoodcuts, London: Blandford Press, 1963 Borges, Jose Francisco, Poesia e gravura de J. Borges, Recife: Ed. do Autor, 1993 Botelho, Adir et. Al., Gravura brasileira hoje: depoimentos, 3. Vols, Rio de Janeiro: Oficina de Gravura SESC Jijuca, 1966 Crespo, Angel and J. Cabral de Melo Neto, Grabadores populares del Nordeste del Brasil, Madrid: Brazilian Embassy, 1963 Hayter, Stanley. W., About Prints, London: OUP, 1992 Herskovits, Anico, Xilogravura, arte e tecnica, Porto Alegre: Tche!, 1986 Hind, Arthur M., An Introduction to the History ofthe Woodcut, vol.1, New York: Dover, 1963 Leite, Jose Roberto Teixeira, A gravura brasileira contemporanea, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Expressao e Cultura, 1966 Luyten, Jose, 'A xilogravura popular brasileira e suas evolu~oes' in Antologia do folclore brasileiro, ed. A. Pellegrini Filho, Sao Paulo: EDART, 1982, pp.255-268 ------A literatura de cordel em Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo: Edi~oes Loyola, 1981 ------'A ilustra~ao na literatura de cordel' in Revista Comunica~oes e Artes, (8):5-16, Sao Paulo:ECA/USP, 1979 Maranhao, Liedo, 0 iolheto popular: sua capa e seus ilustradores, Recife: Fuda~ao Joaquim Nabuco, 1981 ------Classifica~ao popular da literatura de cordel, Petr6polis: Vozes, 1976 Maxado, Franklin, Cordel, xilogravura e ilustra~oes, Rio de Janeiro: Editora Codecn, 1982 Meyer, Marlyse (ed), Autores de cordel, Sao Paulo: Abril Educa~ao, 1980 Pereira, Thelmo de Jesus, 'A expressao grafica da literatura de cordel nordestina' in Revista Metodos de Artes Graficas, no.15, Rio de Janeiro, 1965, pp.18 23 Passos, Claribalte, 'A arte da xilogravura na terra do a~ucar' in Brasil A~ucareiro, Rio de Janeiro: MIC-IAA, August 1973, pp.39-42

14 Pontual, Roberto, 'Notas sobre a xilogravura popular'e In Revista Vozes, vol. LXIV, no.8, Petropolis, October 1970, pp.53-58 Queiroz, Jeova Franklin de, 'A xilogravura nordestina' in Literatura de cordel: antologia, ed. Jose de Ribamar, Fortaleza: Banco do Nordeste do Brasil, 1982, pp.53-90 Reiner, Imre, Woodcut/Wood Engraving: A Contribution to the History ofthe Art, London: Publix, 1947 Rodrigues, Abelardo, Xilogravura, arte da gente, Rio de Janeiro: PUCRS/UFPe, 1978 Slater, Candace, Stories on a String: The Brazilian 'Literatura de cordel', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982 Souto Maior, Mario, 'A xilogravura popular na literatura de cordel' in Brasil A~ucareiro, Rio de Janeiro: MIC-IAA, August 1968, pp.85-87

15 16 References

1 1. Introduction

Pontual, Roberto, 'Notas sobre a xilogravura popular'e In Revista Vozes, vol. LXIV, no.8, Petropolis, October 1970, pp.53-58 Queiroz, Jeova Franklin de, 'A xilogravura nordestina' in Literatura de cordel: antologia, ed. Jose de Ribamar, Fortaleza: Banco do Nordeste do Brasil, 1982, pp.53-90

Reiner, Imre, Woodcut/Wood Engraving: A Contribution to the History of the Art, London: Publix, 1947

Rodrigues, Abelardo, Xilogravura, arte da gente, Rio de Janeiro: PUCRS/UFPe, 1978 Slater, Candace, Stories on a String: The Brazilian 'Literatura de cordel', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982 Souto Maior, Mario, 'A xilogravura popular na literatura de cordel' in Brasil A~ucareiro, Rio de Janeiro: MIC-IAA, August 1968, pp.85-87 15