In order to emphasize the differences between the art life of the Brazilian printmakers Oswaldo Goeldi and that of Lívio Abramo, the writer focuses on Abramo. For Goeldi, time well spent took place on the beaches of South Rio (a tourist area) such as Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon. Meanwhile, Abramo wandered around north of Rio (a marginal area), with its sites where Macumba and Candomblé were practiced, specifically in the poor town of Caxias. Thus, the text by Geraldo Vieira praises Abramo’s prints and drawings for what he calls their “magical realism.” By this, he means the capture of the religious rites in the rhythm of Abramo’s prints, which do not require the accompaniment of a percussion instrument taken from these Afro-Brazilian religious practices. Moreover, the writer refers to the ecstasy that is part of the ritual in which “os orixás cavalgam as iaôs” [the Yoruba divinities even have intercourse with the priestesses], and of falling into an “artistic trance,” to which many of Abramo’s techniques are subordinated.

This is the small catalogue assembled for the individual exhibition of work by Lívio Abramo (1903–93) at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo in March 1955 (with 56 works, including drawings and prints). Here, the writer highlights Abramo’s nocturnal visits to the “terreiros” or sites where people practice Candomblé in the outskirts of the city of Rio de Janeiro (Baixada Fluminense). He also notes the sketches and notes made by the artist on site in that Afro-Brazilian ritual environment. Though this may not give rise to pleasant art, that nearness to the events portrayed is not even minimally achieved by Lasar Segall, who represents scenes of prostitution in his portfolio Mangue, another area where human trafficking takes place in the center of Rio.

[As supplementary reading, see the following texts on the work of Lívio Abramo in the ICAA digital archive: by Geraldo Ferraz, (untitled) [“Insere-se nossa primeira recordação de Livio Abramo num pequeno desenho…”] (doc. no. 1110574), (untitled) [“No Brasil, nos primeiros salões nacionais de belas artes…”] (doc. no. 1110610), and (untitled) [“Indiscutivelmente, em nossas artes do desenho…”] (doc. no. 1110611); and by José Neistein, in Portuguese, “Madeira, pedra e metal: os gravadores” (doc. no. 1110575), and in English, “Livio Abramo: Forty Years of Engraving and Drawings” (doc. no. 1110608)].