No Martins at Mariane Ibrahim

No Martins, "Por Onde Chegamos" and “Day Off’, 2023

A beautiful show of what appears to be wall size poster art for travel agencies — i.e. images of the ideal vacation at the beach. The color is exciting, the design is appealing. There’s a sense of fun and anticipation.  Nothing ominous is lurking beneath the surface.  Life is good. Afro-Brazilian life is good - much like the positive vibe of mid- twentieth century African American artists like Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence.

And yet —- the show is titled "Encontros Politicos Part 2".  So what gives?  Is showing dark skinned people enjoying themselves  at a sunny beach some kind of political encounter ?  It certainly is according to text posted on the gallery website:

"By affirming Black Brazilians’ right to pleasure and rest, Martins disturbs the notion of racial democracy, and affirms that a country who believes in order as key to progress, and in the name of order and progress, suppresses liberation, can not and will not support and uplift Black Brazilian humanity. Only by inverting the promise of the nation state - and making freedom the desired outcome (rather than progress) - will Black Brazilians have the possibility to claim, occupy, and negotiate their humanity."

One may also note that not a single White Brazilian can be seen, so apparently these paintings also assert the right of Black Brazilians to have their own segregated beaches all to themselves.  Or maybe not. That’s no less far fetched than associating these paintings with a political philosophy, articulated above, that privileges freedom over order and progress.  Isn’t that the current ideology of America’s ultra-right wing?

Searching online for photos of Brazil’s public beaches,  it was hard to find dark skinned bodies on them.  I’m guessing that the target audience for commercial photography wants young, attractive, white women in bikinis.  But photojournalism, like the above image taken from a Covid news story, is probably closer to a typical scene at a crowded popular beach and unlike Martins’ views, a variety of skin tones is represented.

Renoir, Children on the Beach at Guernsey, 1883, 36" x 26"

Martins, ‘Em Familia, 90 x 78

Kerry Marshall, Past Times, 1997,  114 x 156

Martins (b 1978, Sao Paolo) is much closer to Marshall than to Renoir when it comes to this subject matter. The beach goers almost disappear in  Renoir’s ecstatic vision.  Renoir is all about the viewer’s aesthetic experience, while the other two present figurative narratives.  Marshall’s piece is rather complex.  It has the flat pictorial space and standard recreational activities of a promotional brochure for a resort. But there may be some tension in the family.  Mom and children stare blankly back at the viewer, while dad, if not absent, is tooling around in a speedboat not far from a sleek, athletic, scantily clad young woman on water skis. A banner of puzzling text stretches across the sky, while empty text boxes float in the air.

Martin’s piece is a straightforward depiction of a healthy, happy family playing and relating to each other in an idyllic setting.  The only anxiety here is presented by the title.  Back in America’s WPA era, it would have been commissioned as pro-family public art in a recreational facility.

All of Martin’s paintings present the good life - but a few do point in other directions as well.  A red danger flag is planted in the beach in "Vendedores" , separating a group of young male snack vendors from the ample bottoms of  young women walking into the surf. And a copy of the ghetto diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus  (1914-1977) shares a beach umbrella with three young, vibrant conversationalists in "Talking about Carolina". Just as with this entire exhibit, social justice is their topic - but mostly they’re just having fun.

Martins, Talk about Carolina

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New City has published has published its typical echo-chamber review of social grievance art. It articulates and applauds the complaint allegedly being made and ignores painterly qualities and effects.  No comparisons are made to any art past or present - even regarding ideology.  Helpfully, however, it does point out that the motto on the flag in "Continuidade" differs from that on the flag of Brazil - making that point about freedom that I discussed above. 

It’s a stretch to conclude that "Martins’ work boldly confronts the entrenched racism and classism permeating society".  It’s the associated text that boldly confronts these issues - not the paintings.