Assiduous readers of this blog have heard his name come up often, because our friend Paranaguá has become a very familiar face at the ICBIE. Now we all have an opportunity to get to know him better! For the last quarter century, this talented artist-photographer has combed the streets of Salvador, documenting secret Bahian cultural treasures hidden in the oddest places, and this search blossomed into a precocious passion for street art, a fascination that has grown over the years, following the the city’s own ascendency, as it became a world-class graffiti capital. Last February, his works were featured at our Ribeira das Artes festival, then in April and May, he followed Pietro and the Salvador grafita artists on their tour to France, Germany, Spain and Italy, snapping thousands of gorgeous pictures, not only of the artists and their works, but also capturing fascinating glimpses into European life, set amongst its monuments and in its museums. Since his return to Brazil, he has frequented ICBIE courses in English and Italian, and loves to find new opportunities to show off his art to an ever wider audience.
He has opened a well-stocked website, www.jfparanagua.com, where, after a delightful introductory flash video, you can access his galleries in both Portuguese and English. Don’t miss the great video that documents the 2nd Graffiti Meeting in Acarajé (described in this blog on August 12).
He has also announced an important exposition of his works, to be held at the big Lapa Shopping Center in Salvador from the 25th to the 30th of this month. The show represents a retrospective of Salvador Street Art since 1983 (which is more or less when most of the city’s present graffiti stars were born). Here is his official press release: practice your Portuguese!
Arte de Rua em exposição no Shopping
De 25 a 30 deste mês, a exposição fotográfica “A Arte na Rua” do fotógrafo e relações públicas, José Francisco Paranaguá Guimarães, volta a cartaz no Espaço de Eventos (1º Piso) – Shopping Center Lapa.
Paineis, textos e um acervo de aproximadamente 120 imagens vão contar a história da arte de rua, mostrando as variadas intervenções visuais em Salvador.
De forma cronológica, a mostra exibe os grafismos iniciais, com frases metafóricas e enigmáticas do período de 1983, até os tempos atuais, expondo os trabalhos de artistas plásticos, utilizando mosaicos com fragmentos de cerâmica e os belos grafites dos jovens integrantes do Projeto Salvador Grafita. Além disso, depoimentos de artistas plásticos, grafiteiros e pessoas ligadas a arte, sobre a importância desse documento e o novo encaminhamento de comunicação urbana.
Segundo o autor, a expo “A Arte na Rua” em sua quarta edição, mantém a proposta inicial de ser itinerante, de forma que a população e o público desses locais, estabeleçam um diálogo com as peças e conheçam um acervo do registro evolutivo da arte de rua em Salvador.
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So, to our dear friend Paranaguá: the ICBIE wishes you a heartfelt “in bocca lupo”!
