A new dawn in Brazil

In the photograph “Oca” by Brazilian photographer German Lorca (1922–2021), the photographer's grandmother leads her grandson to an architectural icon of the future. Several layers of time overlap in this 1954 photograph—the past, as seen through the grandmother's eyes, intersects with the present of her grandson as they set off together on their way to the futuristic “Oca” building in Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo. Architect Oscar Niemeyer—known for his innovative buildings for the Brazilian capital Brasília—based the name and design of his building on traditional indigenous huts (“ocas”). A look at the country's own history is combined with the search for new forms of expression for the future. 

In addition to German Lorca, numerous other photographers actively participate in the activities of the São Paulo Photo Club. José Yalenti founded the club in 1939 together with Benedito Duarte and Eduardo Salvatore, the latter of whom shaped the association for many years as its president, combining pictorialist influences with modernist traits in his visual language. Thomaz Farkaz, Gaspar Gasparian, and Geraldo de Barros also became famous, but photographers such as Gertrudes Altschul, Barbara Mors, and Palmira Puig-Giró also organized exhibitions, published magazines, and actively sought exchanges with international photographic associations. 

The photo club members critiqued each other's work at weekly meetings and also participated in (inter)national competitions, where they sought public criticism. These processes of exchange can be seen on the backs of the photographs—each image was stamped after being submitted to a competition or magazine, so that the image's journey is recorded and can be relived again and again to this day.