Maria Olímpia Vassão interviews the artist Alex Vallauri and, in her introductory remarks, comments on the graffiti that have flooded the city of São Paulo since the late 1970s. Vassão notes the anonymous nature of these works, the interference of images and text in the urban environment, the information they provide, and their ephemeral quality. She interprets Vallauri’s graffiti as an exploration of the visual art system, as well as an ironic form of intervention that makes observations about the city. She also mentions the identifiable nature of the artist’s images (created by their unity and repetition), and discusses some of his themes: allegorical references, logos, sentimental iconography, cartoons, and quotes from other sources. During the interview, Vallauri explains that he began his career as a printmaker, but began to produce “anonymous graffiti” out of a need to interact with the urban public. He is interested in using recognizable images, in the way passers-by doodle on graffiti and, basically, in how to recycle his work using other supports. He believes that the “figure” is a highly versatile form whose creative application is more important than the words used in graffiti.   

Alex Villauri (1949?87) was born in Asmara, Eritrea (Africa) and moved to Brazil in 1965, where he trained as an artist in the cities of Santos and São Paulo. In 1978 he started creating urban interventions in the form of graffiti, and was a pioneer in this sort of graphic art. He studied the art of engraving in 1982 and 1983 at the Pratt Institute in New York, and went on to take part in some important exhibitions, including the XVIII Bienal de São Paulo (1985). His career was abruptly cut short when he died from AIDS.  

Maria Olímpia Vassão was associated with IDART (Arquivo Multimeios do Centro Cultural São Paulo), and conducted some pioneering research on the subject of contemporary art.

The magazine Arte em São Paulo sought to position itself as an independent voice in the São Paulo art world. The artist Luiz Paulo Baravelli was the magazine’s first editor-in-chief; he was subsequently replaced by the journalist Lisette Lagnado. Arte em São Paulo published a total of 37 issues and closed in 1987.