WALL
BRASÍLIA
In 1958, Peter Scheier traveled to Brasilia to photograph the first-ever marriage in the new city. He took advantage of the visit to photograph the new capital city under construction, focusing on the architecture and the construction workers. Two years later he drove to Brasilia with his family in a VW Kombi (Microbus) to photograph the inauguration of the new capital and the everyday life of the city. The resulting work was distributed internationally by the US agency Pix Incorporated and a selection was published, along with some of his photographs from the 1958 trip, in the book Brasília vive! [Brasilia Lives!]. Published by Livraria Kosmos Editora, the book was intended to show that the new capital was no longer an inhospitable place in the heart of Brazil.
From the 1940s on, Scheier photographed the work of modern architects based in São Paulo, such as Lina Bo Bardi, Gregori Warchavchik, Rino Levi and Oswaldo Bratke. His photographs of Brasilia’s public buildings on the ‘monumental axis’ focus on the extensive glass facades of Oscar Niemeyer’s buildings, exploring Niemeyer’s integration of the interior with the public space. In his photographs of the residential areas, the `residential axis`, the human element is the protagonist. Scheier`s photographs show children going to school in the middle of buildings under construction, people in the supermarkets and strolling through the shopping districts. In line with the developmental discourse of the time, Scheier`s Brasilia represents the promise of modernity and of better times for the country.
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City bus, Brasília, 1960
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Brasília airport, 1960
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President Juscelino Kubitschek at lunch at the Brasília Palace Hotel, 1958
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Wedding guests arrive in Brasília, 1958
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5/6/7/8
Núcleo Bandeirante neighborhood, Brasília, 1958
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Street Photographer, Brasília, 1960
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View of the Esplanade of Ministries under Construction, Brasília, 1960
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Asa Sul, Brasília, 1960
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View of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Nossa Senhora Aparecida under construction, Brasília, 1960
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The Planalto Palace, Brasília, 1960
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The National Congress administrative tower block, Brasília, 1960
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Inside the National Congress, Brasília, 1960
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The Federal Supreme Court, in the background the National Congress, to the left, and the Planalto Palace, on the right, Brasília, 1960
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The National Congress and Esplanade of Ministries seen from the Planalto Palace, Brasília, 1960
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The Ministry of Defense, Brasília, 1960
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Brasília, 1960
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Veranda of a semi-detached house on the Asa Sul, Brasília, 1960
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Children playing in a city block in the Asa Sul of Brasília, 1960
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Brasília, 1960
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School in Brasília, 1960
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Street traders in a city block in the Asa Sul, Brasília, 1960
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Shopping area on W3 Avenue, Brasília, 1960
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Central Bus Station, Brasília, 1960
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Street photographer, Brasília, 1958
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City block in the Asa Sul, Brasília, 1960
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Brasília Palace Hotel, 1960
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Outside a school on a city block, Brasília, 1960
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W3 Avenue, Brasília, 1960
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SHOWCASE
O1
Restaurant of the Ipiranga Cinema and Hotel Excelsior, design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1941
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O2
Ipiranga Cinema, design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1941
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O3
Entrance to Ipiranga Cinema and Hotel Excelsior, design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1941
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TEXT 8
Peter Scheier started taking architectural photographs in the mid-1940s, working with modern architects based in São Paulo, such as Rino Levi, Lina Bo Bardi, Oswaldo Bratke, Bernard Rudofsky, Lucjan Korngold, Álvaro Vital Brazil, Jacques Pilon and Gregori Warchavchik, and with specialized magazines such as Acrópole and Habitat.
His images followed the standards established for architectural photography, correcting the perspective, as well as focusing on the materials chosen and their impact on the luminosity of the spaces. They were published in important publications on modern Brazilian architecture, such as the catalog for the exhibition Brazil Builds at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1943 and the book Modern Architecture in Brazil by the architect Henrique Mindlin, published in 1956.
O4
“Modern Homes”. Brasil Moderno, Rio de Janeiro, v. II, 1952.
Photos by Peter Scheier.
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O5
Prudência building, design by Rino Levi, Higienópolis Avenue, São Paulo, 1944
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O6
Side facade of the Banco Paulista do Comércio S.A. building, design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1947
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O7
Instituto Superior de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras “sedes sapientiae” [Higher Institute of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters “sedes sapientiae”], design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1941
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O8
Home of Milton Gupir, design by Rino Levi, São Paulo, 1951
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O9
“Brasilia: Eine Hauptstadt wächst aus dem Nichts empor” [Brasília: A Capital City Grows from Nothing]. Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung, 8.25.1958, pp. 5-7.
Photos by Peter Scheier.
LUCAS LENCI COLLECTION
TEXT 9
The book Brasília vive! [Brasilia Lives!], published in 1961 by Livraria Kosmos Editora includes photos taken by Scheier during his visits to the city in 1958 and in 1960, when he photographed the inauguration of the new capital. As well as highlighting the formal aspects of Oscar Niemeyer’s architecture, the book aimed to convince the public that it would be possible to live in a city built from scratch, far from Brazil’s other cities. In the political debates of the time, one of the arguments against Brasilia was that federal public servants would not move to a ‘ghost city’. Scheier’s photos contradict this view, focusing on the city’s inhabitants in the busy commercial areas, public servants working in the new buildings, and children going to school. The monumental architecture of the civic center is seen through reflections, the glass-covered frontages and shutters, framed in multiple layers, giving a kaleidoscopic face to the new capital.
O10
Peter Scheier. Brasília vive!. Rio de Janeiro/São Paulo/Porto Alegre: Livraria Kosmos Editora, 1960.
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P1
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) under construction, design by Lina Bo Bardi, Paulista Avenue, São Paulo, 1966
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P2
Bardi’s bowl at the Brasília Palace Hotel, Brasilia, 1958
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P3
Prato de Ouro restaurant, design by Lina Bo Bardi, São Paulo, undated
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P4
Home of Valéria Piacentini Cirell, design by Lina Bo Bardi, Morumbi, São Paulo, undated
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Text 10
Between the 1940s and 60s, Peter Scheier photographed a number of the buildings designed by the architect Lina Bo Bardi. His work includes these emblematic photographs of two of the architect’s most important works: the Casa de Vidro [Glass House] in São Paulo’s Morumbi district, where she lived, and the new MASP building on Paulista Avenue, while still under construction.
Scheier’s relationship with Lina Bo Bardi and her husband, the Italian gallerist and art critic Pietro Maria Bardi, then Director of MASP, began in the 1940s, when Scheier started photographing the events organized by the museum. During the same period, he also photographed works by the Studio de Arte Palma, a design studio, and Móveis Pau Brasil Ltda., a furniture manufacturer, both of which were established in 1948 by the Bardis, in partnership with the Italian architect Giancarlo Palanti.
P5
Casa de Vidro [The Glass House], design by Lina Bo Bardi, Morumbi, São Paulo, undated
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P6
Henrique E. Mindlin. Modern Architecture in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro/Amsterdam: Colibris Editora, 1956.
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P7
Home of Maria Luisa and Oscar Americano, design by Oswaldo Bratke, Morumbi, São Paulo, undated
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P8
Home of Antônio da Silva Prado Neto, design by Gregori Warchavchik, São Paulo, undated
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P9
Home of Maria Luisa and Oscar Americano, design by Oswaldo Bratke, Morumbi, São Paulo, undated
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P10
Philip Lippincott Goodwin. Brazil Builds: Architecture New and Old, 1652-1942. New York: Museum of Modern Art of New York, 1943.
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