Subject Area

Art History/Criticism/Conservation

Abstract

This dissertation inquires into how art contested the ‘conquest of the Amazon’ during the years of the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1985): how did artists critically respond to the expansion of agribusiness, mining, infrastructure development, and industrialization in the Brazilian Amazon, supported by the military regime’s propaganda of the Rainforest as a 'green desert' undergoing occupation? My line of investigation was to understand how artists in Brazil, by working through aesthetic issues, articulated the existential question of the destruction of the planet's largest tropical forest, a process inherent to the implementation of aggressive developmentalist policies in Brazil from the mid-1960s. This dissertation centers on artists whose work is tied to firsthand experiences of environmental destruction caused by highways, corporations, the military, and industrialization. Thus, it connects perceptions of environmental change with aesthetics.

The dissertation comprises five case studies, unfolding across a variety of artistic languages and supports, reflecting the pervasiveness of the Amazon as a vector of fundamental ecoaestheticpolitical questions. Across the chapters, I point out reassessments of the theme of the ‘conquest of the jungle’ through technology and highways, which was widespread in propaganda of the time, and the hegemonic discourse of the ‘green desert,’ ending with a critique of global industrial culture and its socioenvironmental impacts in the Amazonian region. This study further indicates that artworks redefined the Amazon as a site of sensorial immersion, social interactions, subjective creative processes, deep historicity, sophisticated mechanisms of ecological co-adaptation, and cultural practices that offer other parameters for social organization in more sustainable ways with the environment. Chapter 1 analyzes a painting by Benedicto Mello (1968); Chapter 2, George Love's aerial photographs and projection in the exhibition space (1971-1973); Chapter 3, the exhibition Hiléia Amazônica at the Museum of Art of São Paulo (1972-1973), and Claudia Andujar's photo projection (1972-1973); Chapter 4, floodplain paintings by Moacir Andrade (1974-1980s); Chapter 5, an object, environments (what we now call ‘installation’), and a film by Roberto Evangelista (1976-1978).

This dissertation offers an examination of art's engagements with the Amazon within the formation of the global contemporary world, and a method that engages art history, cultural history, political history, environmental history, ecocriticism, historical ecology, and ecological anthropology in readings of artworks. It also shifts attention to a history of art and ecology that privileges another stream of artists in the late 1960s and 1970s, situated in Latin America, with approaches to the relationship between humans and the environment that differ from those of artists in the Northern Hemisphere.

Degree Date

Spring 5-16-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Department

Art History

Advisor

Roberto Conduru

Second Advisor

Adam Herring

Third Advisor

Anna Lovatt

Fourth Advisor

Claudia Mattos Avolese

Acknowledgements

I wish to express my gratitude to those who played a vital role in my academic journey and the writing of this dissertation. First, I want to thank my advisor, Dr. Roberto Conduru. Your mentorship has been invaluable, and it has been a true pleasure to work alongside you. I am also deeply grateful to the other members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Adam Herring, Dr. Anna Lovatt, and Dr. Claudia Mattos Avolese. Thank you all for your guidance, critical insights, and generosity of spirit. I want to extend my appreciation to the Art History Faculty of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU. Every reflection I made during Art History courses has built the foundation of this dissertation. I am particularly thankful to Dr. Randall Griffin, who taught me to navigate the complexities of photography, and to Dr. Anna Lovatt for imparting the sensibility to perceive the intensity in the smallest gestures left in art—lessons I continue to carry with me. I also owe gratitude to Dr. Adam Herring for encouraging me to dive deep into theoretical discussions, find delight in the behavior of materiality, and explore the nexus between creativity and environment. Finally, to Dr. Conduru once more, thank you for teaching me to refine perception and find the extraordinary in what is often overlooked. Your balance of academic rigor and passion for our field of study has greatly inspired me. I would like to thank the graduate students of the Art History department at the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU for their friendship and support throughout my journey. I am profoundly grateful to Ana Maria Evangelista and Sâmara Evangelista for welcoming me into their home and sharing their knowledge about Roberto Evangelista. To Dr. Otoni Mesquita from the University of Manaus and to José de Boni, thank you both for your generosity in sharing your extensive archives. I would like to posthumously acknowledge Márcio Souza for the invaluable conversation at the early stage of my research. It was an honor to learn from you, through your writings and in-person conversation. Your monumental literary work and sharp mind inspire all who are committed to comprehending the Amazon. I also thank the Museum of Art of São Paulo, the São Paulo Biennial archives, the Guita and José Mindlin Brasiliana Library, the Instituto Bardi, and the Museu Amazônico for their collaboration and assistance. Lastly, I am grateful for the financial support from The Alessandra Comini International Fellowship for Art History Studies Fund, the Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Art History Fund, and the Provost's Doctoral Candidacy Fellowship, which made my research possible. To all, thank you for your invaluable contributions to my academic journey.

Number of Pages

468

Format

.pdf

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Download

Available for download on Monday, April 29, 2030

Share

COinS