Here, the anthropologist Kabengele Munanga explains the much-discussed concept of “Afro-Brazilian art.” In his opinion, this matter goes beyond strictly semantic parameters, since it involves the entire history of slavery in Brazil (only abolished in 1888). In addition, sociopolitical and economic conditions must be considered, along with the African world view and religion established in Latin American territory. Munanga observes that to the extent that this art becomes an expression of Brazilian identity, calling it just “Black art in Brazil” involves shameless biological determinism. This would exclude all artists who, independent of their ethnic origin, participate in art of this kind based on political convictions, ideology, religious beliefs, and even “aesthetics,” in the broadest sense possible. How “African” an artwork is depends on all these variables.

This document criticizes the improper use of the concept “Afro-Brazilian art,” based on an almost naturalistic perspective. The writer, the anthropologist Kabengele Munanga, clarifies that the understanding of the term requires a more broad-minded analysis in the fields of history and sociology. This text was included in the catalogue for the exhibition Arte afro-brasileira, which was one of a series of exhibitions in the city of São Paulo that were part of the five centuries covered in the Discovery of Brazil. The event itself spanned the period from precolonial times up through contemporary art. The catalogue that includes this text also offers texts by the Belgian curators François Neyt and Catherine Vanderhaeghe, while the national segments of the exhibition were curated by the anthropologists Kabengele Munanga and Marta Heloísa Leuba Salum. 

[As supplementary reading, see the following six texts by Raul Lody in the ICAA digital archive: “Coleção Arthur Ramos” (doc. no. 1110525), “Coleção culto afro-Brasileiro: um documento do candomblé na cidade do Salvador” (doc. no. 1110527), “Coleção culto afro-brasileiro: um testemunho do Xangô pernambucano” (doc. no. 1110526), “Dezoito esculturas antropomorfas de orixás” (doc. no. 1110529), “Símbolo do mando” (doc. no. 1110531) and “Yorubá: um estudo etno-tecnológico de 50 peças da coleção arte africana do Museu Nacional de Belas-Artes” (doc. no. 1110532). In addition, there are texts by Abelardo Duart: “Catálogo ilustrado da Coleção Perseverança” (doc. no. 1110522) and “Religiosidade africana no Brasil; Arte afro-brasilidade” (doc. no. 1110519); two by Maria Lúcia Montes, “Cosmologias e altares” (doc. no. 1110528) and “Geopolítica da mestiçagem” (doc. no. 1111371); one by the Museu Histórico Nacional, “Para nunca esquecer. Negras memórias. Memórias de negros” (doc. no. 1110530); and one by Jocélio Teles dos Santos, “Catálogo do Museu Afro Brasileiro” (doc. no. 1110521). There are also texts by Vagner Gonçalves da Silva: “Arte religiosa afro-brasileira. As múltiplas estéticas da devoção brasileira” (doc. no. 1110520); Oneyda Alvarenga, “Catálogo ilustrado do Museu Folclórico” (doc. no. 1110523); and Rita Amaral, “A coleção etnográfica de cultura religiosa afro-brasileira do Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo” (doc. no. 1110533)].