São Paulo – There are many good reasons for visiting Recife. One of the Brazilian Northeast’s most charming cities, the capital of the state of Pernambuco is captivating for its blue skies, warm-water sea, colonial buildings, and the bridges that adorn the Centre, connecting the banks of the Capibaribe River, one of the highlights of the landscape.
Conventional routes pay attention to these attractions, but forget a strong feature of the land of poet Manuel Bandeira: its vocation for arts, especially the fine arts, which catch the eyes even of tourists who stay away from museums.
How can that be? In addition to the panels and sculptures scattered throughout the squares and streets, a municipal act passed 1961 provides that all buildings with over 1,000 square metres of built area only obtain a building permit if their plant specifies the location in which a sculpture or panel will be placed. Thus, it suffices to pay attention to the buildings along your way to get a sample of art in Recife.
Along these lines, a good tour of the visual arts in the capital of Pernambuco may begin with a stop at the city’s Ground Zero, in the Centre. There, by the ocean rocks, is the Brennand Sculpture Park, a set of sculptures by Recife native Francisco Brennand, one of the leading names in the fine arts in the state and the country.
On the floor of the square in which the ground zero is located, a highlight is Rosa dos Ventos (the Compass Rose), by the equally respected Cícero Dias, a native of Escada, a city 50 kilometres away from Recife. Enjoy the breeze, rest your eyes and let time pass without hurry as you check out the artwork of the two.
Also along the lines of “bumping into art,” pay attention when you go to the Guararapes Airport to take your flight back. There, you will find work by another local master: Abelardo da Hora, who made sculptures such as that of Recife-born social scientist Gilberto Freyre, the author of Casa Grande e Senzala (The Masters and the Slaves).
Willing to visit some of the good museums in the city? Then write down three important references on your travel book: Pernambuco State Museum (with a 14,000 item-collection, located at a small palace in the Graças neighbourhood), Museum of the Northeastern Man (featuring items that explain the background, habits and diversity of Northeastern culture, in one of the noblest, most charming neighbourhoods of Recife: Casa Forte) and Ricardo Brennand Institute (which brings together items acquired by the collector after which the museum is named, ranging from armours to rare tapestry, also in Casa Forte).
Want more? The Aloísio Magalhães Modern Art Museum (Mamam), on Aurora Street, in the Centre, by the banks of the Capibaribe River, has some good surprises in its collection. “The Mamam has a very interesting collection of work by Brazilian artists Cildo Meireles, Nelson Leirner, João Câmara and Samico, among others,” explains fine artist and technical advisor to the Municipal Culture Secretariat of the City of Recife, Fernando Duarte.
Another essential stop along the route of arts in the land of poet and writer João Cabral de Melo Neto is the Popular Art Museum, at Pátio de São Pedro, in the São José neighbourhood, in the central area. Want to know why? The premises feature over 480 items by popular sculptors of the Brazilian Northeast, such as Zé Caboclo, Zé Rodrigues, Manuel Eudócio and the most famous of them all, Mestre Vitalino. “Visitors at the museum get a good overview of these artists’ work,” says Duarte.
Brennand Workshop
No time to explore everything? Have only one day left to dedicate to the arts in your tour of Recife and need to choose only one attraction? That’s okay, as long as you make a stop at the Brennand Workshop, in the Várzea neighbourhood. “This is a tour that everyone needs to take,” says Duarte. It is an open-air atelier/museum featuring artwork by Francisco Brennand (the author of the Ground Zero Sculpture Park), inaugurated in 1971, erected on the ruins of the old ceramics factory of São João da Várzea, owned by the artist’s family. A temple of the arts located in a calm, quiet place in a green area of the capital.
In 2009, the Workshop received over 32,000 visitors interested in taking a close look at the ceramic sculptures located in the facilities’ indoor and outdoor areas, the highlights being Templo do Ovo Primordial (Temple of the Primordial Egg) and the Grande Muralha Mãe Terra ( Mother Earth, the Great Wall). “There are over 2,000 items, including sculptures, panels and murals, not to mention over 300 drawings,” explains the librarian and coordinator of the Documentation Centre – Brennand Collection and Library, Marinez Teixeira da Silva.
Eggs and birds are recurrent elements in the artist’s oeuvre, and are symbols of immortality and fertility to him. “Visitors marvel and are surprised by the sculptures’ shapes, colours, and the beauty and mythical aura that the premises have,” says Marinez.
As if that was not enough, it isn’t hard to find Brennand at the premises, always working and, as a good Recife native, being gentle to all of those who approach him. It is a display of hospitality in the capital of Pernambuco, and of the surprises of the local art world.
Additional information
Cultural Route of the City of Recife:
www.recife.pe.gov.br/fccr/agenda/
Museum of the State of Pernambuco:
www.fundarpe.pe.gov.br/mepe
Museum of the Northeastern Man :
www.fundaj.gov.br/docs/indoc/muhne/muhne1.html
Ricardo Brennand Institute :
www.institutoricardobrennand.org.br/index2.html
Aloísio Magalhães Modern Art Museum:
www.mamam.art.br
Brennand Workshop:
www.brennand.com.br
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
