Cannibal Angels
"A cultural history and interpretation of Brazilian modernism in arts and letters demands a transatlantic point of view. Artists, writers, musicians, and architects from both sides of the Atlantic interact to create a modern style for Brazil that shapes national expression and self-definition for the twentieth century. The presence of Brazilians in Europe and of Europeans in Brazil and the intense interrelationships among them energize modernism from the century's first decades until the end of the 1920s. For the Brazilians, a main goal is to transform the historical transatlantic dynamic into international recognition for a Brazilian aesthetic in the arts, sharing the appeal of folk and musical traditions, indigenous cultures and societies, and the ideal of national modernization Many travelled to Europe to find their place in the world, with nothing to offer except their talent, their belief in themselves, and their desire to modernize their country. The 1928 Revista de Antropofagia (Cannibal Magazine), the theme of cannibalism codified in Oswald de Andrade's "Manifesto Antropófago" (Cannibal Manifesto), and the iconic image of the painting O Abaporu by Tarsila do Amaral are the works that orient a cultural history of the avant-garde. Through creative genius they shape the nature and definition of modernity for Brazil in the 20th century"--