Curated by Christiane Erbolato-Ramsey, Fine Arts Librarian and
Rex Nielson, Assistant Professor of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies

This exhibition features a large group of staggered graffiti images representing a random sample of what you would encounter, if you drove through certain streets in São Paulo, Brazil. Six prominent artists were featured in the project, besides a large wall with images imitating the spontaneity and lack of explanation or description that a passerby would typically experience. They are works in a “Galeria de Céu Aberto” (open sky gallery) and illustrations of “Cultura de Rua” (street culture), without the confinement and arbitrary selection of an art gallery. Brazilian graffiti has its own place in the world. Grafiteiros don’t seek to validate their own name and existence, but work to freely articulate social, political, aesthetic, and cultural views in a dialogue with society. Selections of recent documentaries about graffiti artists were also projected on the wall, and displayed in a computer inside the gallery.

Exhibition Documentaries and Additional Resources Guide

Brazilian Graffiti: The People’s Art by Samuel Wright

BYU Humanities Article (February 25, 2015)