WALL
BIENAL
In 1951, Peter Scheier photographed the mounting and opening of the 1st Bienal de São Paulo, organized at the time by the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM-SP). In a temporary pavilion on the Trianon Terrace on Paulista Avenue, in the area now occupied by MASP, the exhibition brought together a group of modern international works, in numbers never before seen in Brazil.
Scheier’s photographs are a valuable record of the museological culture of the time, as well as the works displayed, and the people involved in the event. To today’s eyes, used to the strict rules of contemporary art conservation, some of the scenes are curious, such as those where artists and museum directors are seen smoking next to works of art or touching them with their bare hands. Scheier registered the interactions between international personalities with Brazilian artists, some of whom were already established while others were at the beginning of their careers and helping with the mounting of the exhibition, such as Marcelo Grassmann, Aldemir Martins and Carmelo Cruz.
Scheier applied the rhetorical strategies commonly used in the photojournalism of O Cruzeiro to his photographs of the 1st Bienal. His photos contrast the manual labor of those mounting the exhibition with the sophistication of the works of art themselves, establishing a contrast between an archaic Brazil and one that was in the throes of modernization. From a formal point of view, he overlapped focal planes, establishing relationships between distinct elements.
1
The Pavillion of the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
PRINTED IN 2019
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
2
Workers carrying works during the mounting of the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951
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3
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. In the background, a container with works from Belgium. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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4
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. The artist Carmélio Cross carries sculptures by Bruno Giorgi. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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5
The artists Aldemir Martins and Marcelo Grassmann at the mounting of the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
6
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. From left to right: unidentified man; the artists Oswaldo Goeldi, Carmélio Cruz and Aldemir Martins; in the foreground, from left to right, the sculptures O oitavo véu [The Eighth Veil] (1948), A mulher que perdeu sua sombra [The Woman Who Lost Her Shadow] (1947) and O impossível [The Impossible] (1940) by Maria Martins. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
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7
The 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Special room of the works of the sculptor Maria Martins. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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8
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. The artist Marcelo Grassmann contemplates the sculpture Mulher e sua sombra [Woman and Her Shadow] (undated) by Maria Martins. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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9
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. In the rear, the Swiss delegation, to the right, the Belgian room. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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10
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Special room of the works of the sculptor Maria Martins: on the left, sculpture A mulher que perdeu sua sombra [The Woman Who Lost Her Shadow] (1947); in the mid-ground, O oitavo véu [The Eighth Veil] (1948); in the rear, on the right, O impossível [The Impossible] (1940). Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
11
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Men cleaning the Swiss room, with paintings by Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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12
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. From left to right: Oscar García Kingdom, Commissioner for Uruguay; René d’Harnoncourt, Director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York; and the painter Samson Flexor. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
13
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. In the background, the painting Divisibility Undefined (1942) by Yves Tanguy; on the right, upside down, The Transparent (1951) by Yves Tanguy; above, the mobile Ogunquit (1946) by Alexander Calder. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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14
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. In the background, A primeira missa no Brasil [The First Mass in Brazil] (1948) by Candido Portinari; on the left, the sculpture Figura [Figure] (1951) by Bruno Giorgi. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
15
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. René d’Harnoncourt, Director of MoMA, between two unidentified people; to the left, paintings by Yves Tanguy: Divisibilidade indefinida [Undefined Divisibility] (1942), Os transparentes [The Transparents] (1951) and Lentamente para o norte [Slowly to the North] (1951); to the right, the mobile Ogunquit (1946) by Alexander Calder. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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16
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. On the right, Criança morta [Dead Child] (1944) by Candido Portinari; from left to right: unidentified man, Aldo Bonadei, Bruno Giorgi, Sérgio Milliet, unidentified woman and Victor Brecheret. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
17
The 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. From left to right: Abraham Palatnik, Waldemar Cordeiro, Kazmer Féjer and Tomás Maldonado, next to the sculpture Tripartite Unity (1948-1949) by Max Bill. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
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18
Mounting the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo. Georges Duhamel, writer and art critic, member of the French delegation. Trianon Terrace, Paulista Avenue, 1951.
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
MASP
Peter Scheier worked with the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) from 1947 to 1955, photographing the many and diverse educational activities offered by the museum, which included ballet lessons for children and adults, art classes for young children, as well as photography and film classes. He also registered the activities of the Contemporary Art Institute, the first design school in Brazil, which operated from 1951 to 1953. Scheier also photographed works from the museum’s collection, exhibitions, fashion shows, musical performances and lectures. Until 1968, the museum shared a building on Sete de Abril street in the center of São Paulo with the offices of the Diários Associados [Associated Dailies], a media group owned and managed by the journalist Assis Chateaubriand, the founder of the museum. Scheier`s photographs were published in the newspapers produced by Diários Associados, the weekly O Cruzeiro, and Habitat, a magazine covering arts and culture published by MASP and initially edited by the architect Lina Bo Bardi.
Along with his photographs of the 1st Bienal of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, Scheier`s images of MASP are important historical records of the first years of modern museums in Brazil.
19
General view of the MASP collection, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street. To the left, Móbile (1944), by Alexander Calder; to the right, The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer (1880), by Edgar Degas, São Paulo, 1962.
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. PRINTED IN 2021.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
NICHE WALL
C1
Fashion Model Course, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1952
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
C2
Christian Dior dress in Fashion Show at MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1951
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
C3
“Four Centuries of Fashion”. O Cruzeiro, Year XXIII, no. 27, 4.21.1951, pp. 114-119.
Photos by Henri Ballot and Peter Scheier, text by Margarida Izar.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
D1
Fashion show, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo 1951
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. PRINTED IN 2019.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
D2
Dressing Room for a Fashion show, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1951
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. PRINTED IN 2019.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
D3
Performance by the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1953
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
D4
Habitat, no. 22, May 1955
Photos by Peter Scheier
PAULO MAURO M. DE AQUINO COLLECTION
E1
The Showcase of Forms, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1958
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
TEXT 5
The Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) opened in 1947 with an impressive collection of pieces dating from the Renaissance to European Modernism, selected by Pietro Maria Bardi, the museum’s first Director. The museum was also committed to contemporary art and to educating the Brazilian public to appreciate modern art in a broad sense, including architecture and design.
In 1950, the architect Lina Bo Bardi planned and oversaw alterations to the museum’s first home, in a building on Sete de Abril Street in the center of São Paulo. One of the novelties she introduced was a large display case, which was baptized the “Showcase of Forms.” The case separated the gallery, which displayed ancient worksold masters in the permanent collection, from the area where the temporary exhibitions were shown, such as the solo exhibitions of Le Corbusier (1950) and Max Bill (1951), both of which were photographed by Scheier. The display case had an educational purpose: it was used to show archaeological objects next to industrial objects, such as an Olivetti typewriter and a Vogorelli sewing machine, as well as organic forms, sculptures, ethnographic objects and domestic utensils. The display was made of glass, and offered the visitor a simultaneous view of the objects it contained and the works in the exhibition, encouraging comparisons between forms from very different eras.
E2
The Showcase of Forms at MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1958
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. PRINTED IN 2019.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
E3
“The Museum in an Album”. Habitat, no. 13, Oct.-Dec. 1953, pp. 78-79.
Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Flávio Motta
PAULO MAURO M. DE AQUINO COLLECTION
F1
The Showcase of Forms at MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1958
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. PRINTED IN 2019.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
F2
Detail of The Virgin of the Blue Veil (1827), Jean-Auguste Dominique Ingres, MASP collection, at its former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1958
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
G1
Retrospective Exhibition of the works of Max Bill, masp’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1951
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
H1
Mounting the exhibition 30 anos de visão e multivisão [30 Years of Vision and Multivision], by Peter Scheier, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Paulista Avenue, São Paulo, 1970
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. VINTAGE PRINT.
INSTITUTO PETER SCHEIER COLLECTION
TEXT 6
In 1965, Scheier started investing in audiovisual works, consisting of color slides projected to the accompaniment of a soundtrack and voiceover. Three years later, he started experimenting with multi-image devices, a new technology that allowed various slides to be projected simultaneously. Little by little, the Foto Studio Peter Scheier’s main activity became the production of institutional audiovisual presentations for trade fairs and corporate events. In 1968, the Ministry for External Affairs commissioned the studio to produce a multi-image work to present Brazil at the International Food Fair in Paris. In 1970, the Ministry contracted Scheier’s studio to produce a presentation involving the simultaneous projection of large-scale images in the Brazil Pavilion at the Expo ‘70 world fair in Osaka, Japan.
H2
“What Mr Scheier Is up to”.
Novidades Fotoptica: Revista de Fotografia, Som, Cinema, Óptica e Recursos Audiovisuais, Year 14, no. 42, Sept. 1970
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INSTITUTO PETER SCHEIER COLLECTION
H3
Mounting the Exhibition 30 anos de visão e multivisão, by Peter Scheier, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Paulista Avenue, São Paulo, 1970
PHOTOGRAPH ON PAPER, GELATIN AND SILVER. VINTAGE PRINT.
INSTITUTO PETER SCHEIER COLLECTION
H4
Poster for the Exhibition 30 anos de visão e multivisão, by Peter Scheier, 1970
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
I1
Multi-image projection equipment, undated
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
I2
The Exhibition 30 anos de visão e multivisão, by Peter Scheier, Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand, Paulista Avenue, São Paulo, 1970
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INSTITUTO PETER SCHEIER COLLECTION
TEXT 7
MASP presented the exhibition 30 anos de visão e multivisão [30 Years of Vision and Multivision], from August 7 to 28, 1970, the only retrospective of Scheier`s work during his lifetime. It consisted of an audiovisual work of about 2,000 images, which were projected onto a three by ten meter screen, accompanied by a voiceover and musical soundtrack. 26 computer-synchronized slide projectors behind the screen projected 12 to 15 images simultaneously.
The presentation was divided into two sections. The first section lasted 35 minutes and consisted of Scheier showing the highlights of his career as a professional photographer, with an emphasis on his work for the press, starting with his first works for the photographic supplement of the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, at the end of the 1930s. The photographs were shown alongside the pages where they appeared in the newspaper, in order to draw attention to the layouts and photo montages common at the time. The exhibition also included his photographs from the period of almost a decade that he worked for the magazine O Cruzeiro, which were also displayed alongside the pages of the magazine. Scheier also included his work for MASP in the 1940s and 50s in this section, as well as the photographs of TV Record`s artists and shows which he took during the 1960s. Also included were photographs from his visit to Israel in 1959 and the series of reports on the visit published in the newspaper Diário de S. Paulo. In this overview of his career, Scheier included family albums and photographs of children.
The second section of the exhibition lasted 25 minutes and consisted of two multi-image audiovisual shows of color slides commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be shown at events abroad.
When speaking of his career, Scheier did not distinguish between his private and commissioned works. He gave special importance to showing how the images had been published in the press, displaying the pages of the magazines as an essential example of the visual culture prevalent during each period of his career.
I3
“30 anos de visão e multivisão: Peter Scheier”. Foto Notícias Kodak, Aug.-Sept. 1970, no. 35.
INSTITUTO PETER SCHEIER COLLECTION
J1
Suzana Rodrigues Children’s Art Club, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1948
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
J2
Training course for drawning teachers, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1953
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
J3
“Monitors at the ‘Museum of Art’”. O Cruzeiro, Year XIX, no. 48, 9.20.1947, pp. 54-58.
Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
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LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
K1
Suzana Rodrigues Children’s Art Club, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1948
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
K2
Landscaping Course, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1950
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
K3
Practical filming class, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1951
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
K4
Life-drawing class for the Sculpture Course at MASP, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, undated
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
SHOWCASE
L1
“What is a Museum?”. Habitat, no. 9, Oct.-Dec. 1952, pp. 52-57.
Photos by Peter Scheier, unattributed text.
PAULO MAURO M. DE AQUINO COLLECTION
L2
Visitor to the MASP art gallery, in front of Bathers on the Seine Academy (1874-1876), Édouard Manet, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1953
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L3
Students at the MASP art gallery; in the foreground, Sleeping Bacchante (1833) by Valério Villareale, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1953
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L4
View of the MASP picture gallery; to the left, statue of the goddess Hygieia (undated), unattributed; to the rear Sleeping Bacchante (1833) by Valério Villareale. MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1950
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
L5
Mounting the Le Corbusier Exhibition, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1950
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INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
L6
“Museu de Arte de S. Paulo: ‘Citadel of Civilization’”.
O Cruzeiro, Year XXII, no. 42, 8.5.1950, pp. 94-103.
Photos by Peter Scheier, and Roberto Maia, text by Jorge Ferreira.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION
L7
MASP Art Gallery, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1947
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L8
Visitor to the MASP Art Gallery, in the background, Portrait of a Florentine Nobleman (undated) from the studio of Alessandro Allori, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, 1953
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L9
The Diários Associados Building, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, undated
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L10
General view of Educational Exhibition on the History of Art, MASP’s former headquarters on Sete de Abril Street, São Paulo, c. 1947
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MASP RESEARCH CENTER COLLECTION
L11
“Art for the Millions”. O Cruzeiro, Year XX, no. 2, 11.1.1947, pp. 54-60.
Photos by Peter Scheier, text by Arlindo Silva.
INSTITUTO MOREIRA SALLES COLLECTION