Documents of Latin American and Latino Art

In this text, poet and diplomat Murilo Mendes discusses Almir Mavignier’s poster designs. He comments on the painter and graphic designer’s training as an early student at the Hochschule für Gestaltung, where his teachers included Max Bill and [...]

Swiss artist Max Bill analyzes the connections between form, beauty and function in the creation of utilitarian objects on an industrial scale. He defends the idea that everyday objects should combine functional and aesthetic qualities. In his [...]

In this article, written in 1964, Humberto Tomeo, an educator and visual artist, underscores the importance of industrial design in the modern world, and its impact on pedagogical aspects of art instruction in secondary education. The author refers [...]

In this interview, architect Flavio de Aquino explains the model for the Escola Superior de Desenho Industrial (ESDI) in Rio de Janeiro. In his view, it was initially based on “American patterns” and then reoriented in keeping with the pedagogy [...]

This is a promotional pamphlet for the course on Industrial Design at the IAC (Instituto de Arte Contemporânea) at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. It offers information on the first and second years of study, optional courses, and the professors [...]

In this article in HABITAT magazine, the architect Jacob Ruchti introduces the industrial design course at the recently opened IAC (Instituto de Arte Contemporânea) at the MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo). The article discusses the professional [...]

In this essay, Rogério Duarte defines “industrial design” as the concept of  form in its serial reproduction. As he references the origins of Renaissance-style typography, he weighs in and deliberates about various theories on the subject, as [...]

Frederico Morais calls for the rapid development of industry and industrial products, and stresses the need for a type of industrial design that reflects Brazilian reality. In this article, the critic discusses some of the ideas expressed in his book [...]

This document is a statement issued by the Montevideo-based GRUPO 8. Although diverse, all of the group members produced “abstract art”; in the late fifties, it was a sort of avant-garde functional to local industry insofar as the group connected [...]

This is an article about the Escola de Desenho Industrial at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP). Though still in its infancy, the field of industrial design in Brazil in the 1950s offered an excellent opportunity to those who wanted to fuse the [...]