Reverse narratives: Brazil's history in contemporary women art

Abstract

This research aims at the visual poetics of Brazilian women artists in contemporary society, examining how their artwork deconstruct traditional representations of Brazil's history, especially through cultural criticism of misogynistic practices, the violence of slavery and colonialism in Brazil. We focus on Adriana Varejão's work, an artist who was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1964, on Ana Miguel's work, who was also born in Rio in 1962, and on Rosana Paulino's, a black artist who was born in São Paulo in 1967. In addition to that, we observe the relationship between feminist studies, art and history and discuss their political and ethical meanings. Women were artists silenced by dominant historical currents, and it is taking it into account that this research also responds to the impact of the feminist art in history which confronts the subordination of women in Western culture. The methodology of this work was based on the Feminist studies and on the Difference theory, especially by Michel Foucault and Gilles Deleuze, and on postcolonial studies that search new perspectives in Brazil's history and deconstruct the patriarchal imagery of female bodies - sphere in which artistic practices act in a surprising and revealing way. (AU)