Zara Arshad, Alessandro Rolandi & Bruno Porto_ photo by Caue Ferraz

At the opening of the poster exhibition “Discover the Brazilian Cinema” presented at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in Beijing, its co-curator Bruno Porto was joined by British designer Zara Arshad and Italian multimedia artist Alessandro Rolandi in an panel to address the relation between moving and still images: movies and its posters. The trio discussed aspects of contemporary marketing and promoting techniques – in which target audiences may only see a poster when they reach the theater, long after they’ve watched the trailer and read about it online – that subvert the original role of the poster, changes in technology that liberate the poster from paper, as well as its collectible aspects, and some of the “style formulas” specific genres use.

The debate and the exhibition were some of the parallel events of the 2nd Brazilian Film Fest in China, that took place at the Broadway Cinematheque MOMA in Beijing from November 17-22. It also featured a concert by musician, actor and soundtrack composer André Abujamra and a Q&A session with André Klotzel, director of Reflections of a Blender, the movie that won the festival Judge’s Choice Award. The international jury was composed by directors Xie Fei, Liu Jiayin, Sam Voutas and Vicky Mohieddeen & movie critic Raymond Zhou.

Descubra o Cinema Brasileiro poster exhibition_

Curated by graphic designers Billy Bacon and Bruno Porto, “Discover the Brazilian Cinema” features works by 30 graphic artists from diverse backgrounds, generations and parts of Brazil that encourage – through curiosity, beauty and witty visual solutions – the Chinese audience to enjoy Brazilian films. The show had been presented before at the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival in 2007 and the Pernambuco Design Salon in 2008. It was also selected for the 9th Brazilian Graphic Design Biennial, that traveled to Mexico and China in 2009.

Broadway Cinematheque MOMA_ Beijing

Posters by André Stolarski, Batman Zavareze, Billy Bacon, Bruno Porto, Claudio Reston ‘Haroldinho’, Daniel Bueno, Eduardo Denne, Felipe Muanis, Manifesto (Guto Lins / Adriana Lins / Fernando Arruda), Itamar Medeiros, Kako, José Bessa ‘Elesbão’, Leonardo Buggy, Leonardo Eyer, Lilian Granado, Marcello Rosauro, Marcelo Martinez, Marck Al, Mariana Ochs, Orlando Pedroso, Rafael Ferreira, Rafo Castro, Renato Faccini, Ricardo Cunha Lima, Ruth Klotzel, Walter Vasconcelos, Yomar Augusto and Ziraldo.

Broadway Cinematheque MOMA_

Read Also:

• Discover the Brazilian Cinema
• Felipe Taborda’s “Kabum! Mix” poster exhibition in Warsaw featured on Wallpaper.com
• Brazilian illustration festival in China
• Brazilian posters win 1st prize in Bolivia
• Brazilian posters for the Green Movement in Iran

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Composite of "Where is My Vote?" posters by Rico Lins and Yomar Augusto

Brazilian graphic designers Rico Lins and Yomar Augusto are among the 140 graphic artists that take part in “Where is my vote?”, a poster exhibition for the Green Movement in Iran presented in New York, at the Visual Arts Gallery (601 West 26th Street, 15th floor), from August 30th – September 25th, 2010.

Based on a curatorial concept by Green Bird and organized by Steven Heller, Anita Kunz, Woody Pirtle and Francis Di Tommaso in collaboration with Andrea Rauch, the exhibition features works of renowned international designers such as Milton Glaser, Isidro Ferrer, Seymour Chwast, Alain Le Quernec, Michael Vanderbill, Ralph Steadman, Massimo Vignelli and Ivan Chermayeff.

Posters can be seen at http://public.sva.edu/eblast/0099/web.html

Read Also:

• International panel debates still and moving images at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in China
• Discover the Brazilian Cinema
• Felipe Taborda’s “Kabum! Mix” poster exhibition in Warsaw featured on Wallpaper.com
• The launching of Guarana Jesus new can wins the Gold Medal from IDSA IDEA 2010 Awards
• Brazilian design featured on Computer Arts Magazine’s “Viva Brasil” article

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Computer Arts Desktop Wallpaper: Adhemas Batista

Brazil’s creative output is currently under the international spotlight. Books are being written, exciting work is being commissioned and reputations are being made. So what’s going on? Has Brazil just been ‘discovered’, or are Brazilian designers doing something different to the rest of the world?

Brazil is South America’s largest economy. It has borders with every other state on the continent bar Chile and Ecuador, its rainforest still harbours tribes of the last indigenous Indians, and back in 2002 it elected Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – one-time shoe-shine boy – as its president.

Brazil is an amazing place, yet we still know it best as the home of football, bikinis and Samba – it must seem a bit unfair to the locals. “Well, we do have a lot of football, girls in bikinis and Samba!” says Danilo Oliveira of graphics co-op Base-V.

Oliveira is from São Paulo, so would the answer be different further inland? Hop north-east to Belo Horizonte and you’ll find designer, typographer and illustrator Eduardo Recife. “People see Brazil as a jungle filled with naked girls,” he says, “but we have a very rich culture.” And when the rest of the world wakes up and smells the coffee, Brazilian design will take centre stage.

Nando Costa, the man behind Die Gestalten Verlag’s Brasil Inspired, spent five years working in the US, which has given him perspective. “As long as people recognise that the country has a lot more to offer, it doesn’t really bother us.”

The world is waking up to Brazilian design. “Lately, with all the hype around Brazilian culture, more and more designers have been working as freelancers, both for the local and the overseas markets,” says Costa.

This is healthy, but it’s leading to the creative equivalent of a brain drain. “More and more professionals are leaving the country, which is really sad,” says Costa. But there is a silver lining: “It’s always really great to have the experience and then later, if they want, they can go back to their home town and help take the market a bit further.”

There are many designers doing just that. Base-V recently completed a giant wall installation in São Paulo, Eduardo Recife has just finished a series of stills for HBO’s ‘Assume the position’; and since last December Nando Costa has been busy working on a series of 30 packaging illustrations for software giant Microsoft.

The rise of street art and graffiti is nowhere more prominent than on the streets of Brazil’s cities. “The influence is big – from fashion to animation,” agrees Oliveira. And even the official art market is beginning to open up: “Spaces and galleries with a specific interest in ‘street language’ are opening, particularly in São Paulo.”

“Brazil is a place of high contrast, and that’s very inspiring for an artist,” says Costa. “Chaos has always been inspiring, but it also instigates more thoughts about what one can do to change poverty, violence and other issues.” Art can make a difference, but as Oliveira points out, “It’s a very hard struggle because artists here have to fight for their space in the market.”

Eight Brazilian design talents you should be keeping your eyes on:
Mariana Bukvic
Based in São Paulo, interactive art director Mariana Bukvic is an example of Brazil’s outward facing designers. She has worked for many prestigious clients such as Nike, Coke and Nestlé, and has been honoured with numerous awards from the Cannes Cyber Lions to the D&AD.

Buraco de Bala
This studio has come a long way since its launch back in 1999 – always striving to develop the best solution within its powers, no matter what technique the team uses in order to accomplish its goals. Buraco de Bala works are mostly fuelled, “by craftsmanship and a special taste for the classic techniques and references.”

reismagos
Reismagos is a graphic design studio created by Alline Luz and Daniel Gizo. Since 2004 the pair have worked on commercial and experimental projects for national and international clients. Although this piece is about the 2006 World Cup, “Now we’re into designer toys – something quite unknown in Brazil,” says Gizo.

Flávio de Almeida Hobo
“My approach is analogical plus digital,” says Flávio de Almeida Hobo. Humans are “analogical beings” using digital tools. “The lack of money spent on projects here makes creativity essential. Less business, respect for nature and do the work with sincerity. Design can save the world.”

Yomar Augusto
Graphic artist Yomar Augusto has been published around the globe. From Brazil to China, The Netherlands to Russia, his work is highly respected. In 2004, Yomar was involved in two Rojo Magazine ArtStorm projects, where 18 artists from all over the world brainstormed a huge project based in Barcelona and Berlin.

Rogério Lionzo
Brazilian designer and illustrator Rogério Lionzo is making the world a better place with the gift of colour and form. The young artist is chuffed with his progress so far: “I am lucky enough to have great experiences and opportunities so far in my career.”

Nitrocorpz
The four founders of Nitrocorpz have been working together since graduating in 1998. “We do interactive media, illustration, print and motion work. Most of our work is done through email/IM.” Other projects include www.mixtape.nitrocorpz.com and www.neuralbrand.org.

Andre Matarazzo
Born in São Paulo, Andre Matarazzo travelled extensively throughout the world for 12 years, got upset with the state of online design in Brazil and decided to move back and launch gringo.nu. He is focused on online branding solutions.

via Computer Arts – Viva Brasil.

Read Also:

• International panel debates still and moving images at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in China
• Discover the Brazilian Cinema
• Chinese design magazines will publish over 200 pages of Brazilian graphic arts in 2010
• Roots: Wollner, Alexandre (1928)
• Brazilian posters for the Green Movement in Iran

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Website of "Discover the Brazilian Cinema"

The Discover the Brazilian Cinema poster exhibition was presented in Art Scene Gallery in Shanghai from June 15-27, 2007 featuring original posters by 30 Brazilian visual artists and 10 Chinese visual communication students.

The exhibition was curated by Billy Bacon and Bruno Porto on the occasion of the 10th Shanghai International Film Festival, which honored Brazil with a special film selection named Mostra Foco Brasil.

Artists:
André Stolarski
Batman Zavareze
Billy Bacon
Bruno Porto
Claudio Reston ‘Haroldinho’
Daniel Bueno
Eduardo Denne
Felipe Muanis
Manifesto (Guto Lins / Adriana Lins / Fernando Arruda)
Itamar Medeiros
Kako
José Bessa ‘Elesbão’
Leonardo Buggy
Leonardo Eyer
Lilian Granado
Marcello Rosauro
Marcelo Martinez
Marck Al
Mariana Ochs
Orlando Pedroso
Rafael Ferreira
Rafo Castro
Renato Faccini
Ricardo Cunha Lima
Ruth Klotzel
Walter Vasconcelos
Yomar Augusto
Ziraldo

Students (Raffles Design Institute – Shanghai)
‘Allen’ / ‘Gavin’ / ‘Joe’
Irene Kuswardi
‘Jimmy’
‘Sam’
‘Sanal’
Stephen Tedjakusuma
‘Terry’
‘Zoe’

This exhibition, accompanying the Focus on Brazil (the Brazilian film exhibition taking place within this week’s tenth Shanghai International Film Festival) is a true visual carnival. The idea was to take forty designers, artists, illustrators, and photographers spanning all generations and regions of Brazil, and ask them to create an original collection of posters for famous Brazilian films. The collection in turn aims to introduce China, a country with an equally distinctive cultural flavor, to the richness and beauty that Brazilian cinema has to offer.

Ziraldo's poster for "Discover Brazilian Cinema" exhibition

Naturally green and yellow, the colors of the Brazilian flag, are widely incorporated in the designs, which includes interpretations of a projection room light by Shanghai based Itamar Medeiros and São Paulo visual designer André Stolarski. In others, symbols such as classic 1950s 3D effect glasses, tourist sights, film, draft beer glasses, folkloric or movie characters, cameras, and a dragon are all juxtaposed to create a series of reflections on what defines Brazilian film. One of the most arresting design comes from national legend Ziraldo, who has worked as an illustrator, graphic designer, children’s book author, playwright, and talk show host for over 50 years. His poster presents a face with a Mona Lisa smirk and an open eye appearing as the Brazilian flag.

If the sum of all the parts seems to be cobbled together in a rather haphazard fashion, that’s the beauty of it. It’s exactly the mix and clash of colors, ideas, traditions, and artists that makes this collection so striking.

(SH Magazine, June 2007)

Read Also:

• International panel debates still and moving images at the 2nd Brazil Film Festival in China
• Brazilian illustration festival in China
• Luiz Carlos Barreto lifetime achievements highlighted in the New York Times
• Cannes Lions 2011 Design category to be presided by Brazilian brand specialist
• London Design Festival’s “Brazil Illustrated”, featuring Bruno Kurru, Wagner Pinto and Eduardo Recife

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