Modern Art Week of 22 completes 100 years, but what was the event?

Modernism was an artistic and cultural movement of great importance to Brazil. In 1922, between February 13th and 17th, at the famous Municipal Theater of São Paulo , intellectuals and artists linked to the coffee-growing elite of São Paulo gathered to present an art that aimed to break with the artistic standards prevailing until then – the event became known as " Modern Art Week ".

What was Modern Art Week of 22?

At that time, São Paulo was experiencing strong industrialization , which prevented the city from becoming a cultural hub in Brazil – that title belonged to Rio de Janeiro. Greatly inspired by the European avant-garde, the artists gathered at the Municipal Theater to present a new artistic concept , which would later influence several trends, such as Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil's Tropicalism. Modern Art Week took place between February 13 and 18, 1922. Music, poetry, painting, dance, among others, were presented during the period. Despite European inspirations, the proposal was to explore Brazilianness and value the national territory as a cradle of cultural inspiration . During the event, there was a collective agitation (some positive and some not so much), as the meeting of artists intended to create a rupture in the way of making and consuming art – which, at the time, was something more elitist and aimed at a select audience.

Who participated in the Modern Art Week of 22?

Big names of Brazilian artists stood out at the event. Among them we can mention some:

• Oswald de Andrade;
• Anita Malfatti;
• Mario de Andrade;
• Manuel Bandeira;
• Heitor Villa-Lobos;
• By Cavalcanti;
• Grace Spider;
• Sergio Milliet;
• Guimar Novaes.

In addition to these, some names in modern architecture were also present, such as Antonio Garcia Moya and Georg Przyrembel.

What was happening in the world?

The year 1922 was quite symbolic: it was the first centenary of Brazil's independence, and the country was going through a series of social, political and economic changes – especially after the end of the First World War. The predominant artistic movement was Parnassianism (characterized by a very formal way of thinking, more concerned with form than with the message). And SAM emerged as an intervention to this model. The artists of the Modern Art Week were, for the most part, descendants of coffee-growing families from São Paulo , at a time when the "Coffee with Milk" policy predominated and therefore had great influence on the city's social affairs. Many of the artists had also studied in Europe and brought from there some artistic trends such as futurism, cubism, dadaism, surrealism, expressionism; and incorporated techniques and a more Brazilian side to create their own works.

What were the consequences of Modern Art Week?

The event was heavily criticized at the time, receiving adjectives such as "not very modern", but the truth is that it served as a watershed in the way of making (and consuming) art at the time, as it made very severe criticisms of the Parnassian model. After this event, some works of great importance appeared in the country, such as Abaporu , in 1928, by Tarsila do Amaral, considered today the Brazilian work of art that marks the gateway to the country – which was even shown in an exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Semana de Arte Moderna. Poetry, which was previously only written, began to be recited as well; and the Tropicália movement also emerged in Brazilian music. In general, there was a great revolution in artistic language and a rupture in the erudite art that had predominated until then.