Darcy Ribeiro’s valuable gaze - Part 1: Introduction
Anthropologist and Museu do Índio founder Darcy Ribeiro and the Kadiwéu, Ofayé and Urubu-Ka'apor indigenous peoples
Darcy Ribeiro with Kadiwéu face paintMuseu do Índio
In celebration of the centenary of the birth of Darcy Ribeiro, the main creator of the Museu do Índio and its first director, we adapted the exhibition Darcy Ribeiro’s valuable gaze for the Google Arts and Culture digital platform.
Darcy Ribeiro and Kadiwéu IndiansMuseu do Índio
In all, three virtual exhibitions are available to the public: Kadiwéu, Ofayé and Urubu Ka’apor.
Anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro during his fieldwork with the KadiwéuMuseu do Índio
Curated by Milton Guran
Curated by Milton Guran, the physical exhibition was held in 2010 and brought together 50 photographs taken by Darcy during the period he lived with the three peoples. In addition to these images, the virtual version brings new content to the public, selected by the Museu do Índio team.
The photographs for the exhibition were selected by the curator from among the thousands of negatives that are part of the "Fundo SPI" — Indian Protection Service, a collection now held by the Museu do Índio, and were captured by Darcy Ribeiro during the period in which he worked at the agency. The existence of these records remained unknown until 2010, when Milton Guran, researching these archives, rediscovered more than 2,000 negatives authored by the anthropologist.
Darcy Ribeiro with a Ka'apor manMuseu do Índio
Darcy Ribeiro
Anthropologist, educator, novelist, essayist, politician, Darcy Ribeiro never intended to be a photographer. However, he bequeathed us precious images of the indigenous peoples with whom he lived most closely: the Kadiwéu, the Ofayé and the Urubu-Ka’apor.
As an anthropologist, Darcy was part of the Study Service of the Indian Protection Service (SPI) between 1947 and 1957, which later gave rise to the National Indian Foundation (Funai). During this period, he organized and was the first director of the Museu do Índio, and wrote the project for the Xingu Indigenous Park.
Darcy Ribeiro and the indigenist João Carvalho talk to the Ka'apor womenMuseu do Índio
In the institutional collections of the Museu do Índio, in addition to hundreds of ethnographic objects and documentary items collected or produced by Darcy, there are 62 works written by the anthropologist and publications by other authors about his life and work. Access the Museu do Índio Database here and check it out.
By recovering a little-known aspect of Darcy Ribeiro's work as an anthropologist, this selection of photographs reaffirms the universal and humanist character of his work.
Darcy Ribeiro with Kadiwéu face paintMuseu do Índio
Legacy
Darcy Ribeiro died in 1997, but his memory lives on in the Museu do Índio and in all the areas in which he worked. Check out the exhibits that make up the exhibition below and learn a little more about this great Brazilian and the indigenous peoples with whom he lived.
Kadiwéu graphics collected by Darcy Ribeiro by KadiwéuMuseu do Índio
This is Part 1 of 4.
Continue in Part 2: The Kadiwéu
Physical exhibition originally held between November 23 and December 30, 2010 at Caixa Cultural in Rio de Janeiro:
General coordination and curation
Milton Guran
Executive production
SAMI - Society of Friends of the Indian Museum
Expographic design and visual design of the exhibition
Jair de Souza Design
Visual production and programming
Melanie Guerra
Exhibition production and assembly
Joana Mazza and Paulo Duque Estrada
Exhibition assembly team
Paulo Duque Estrada and Kazuhiro Bedim
Cenotechnic
Dorival Queiroz
Image Treatment
Joana Mazza, Daniel Bokelmann and Branca Mattos
Texts
Milton Guran, Fabio Maciel (Indian Museum) e Juca Ferreira.
Research
Fabio Maciel and the Indian Museum team
Research Assistant
Katharina Essus
Virtual version adapted to the Google Arts & Culture platform
Graphic design
Ana Carolina Aleixo
Additional research
Team of the Documentary References Service of the Museu do Índio
Virtual exhibition assembly
Communication team of the Museum of the Indian
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