April 12, 2022, Catlett Music Center.
The event began with a fascinating lecture by Professor Moreira, the Associate Professor of Portuguese at OU. In it, Professor Moreira expounded upon the history of Brazilian modernism and described how Brazilian Modern Art is deeply interwoven with the politics of Brazil. Throughout the lecture, he also shared paintings, read poems, and shared more resources for students who wanted to conduct their own extended research.
Additionally, the works of many artists that were featured in the Modern Art Week of Brazil were showcased. My personal favorites among them were the works of Anita Malfatti, who utilized unique perspective and blends of color to create beautiful, emotionally charged paintings.
The poetry shared was vivid, powerful, and vibrant. Each line was filled with purpose and reflected commentary on subjects ranging from racism to ideological oppression. One line that stood out to me was, “I want nothing more of the lyricism that is not liberation.”
In reflecting on the event, I am left feeling inspired and full of gratitude. I am thankful to be in a place where there are not only people with diverse perspectives and cultures, but overjoyed to inhabit a learning community where people are willing to share knowledge and teach others about non-American art and culture.
As student of theatre and poetry, I deeply appreciated the opportunity to be exposed to non-English, non-American based artistic works. The more I learn, the more I realize how much bigger, brighter, and beautiful the world is than I ever thought before.
One last shocking fact I learned: at one point, the acoustic guitar was considered a controversial instrument to play!
