Artist and Professor Robert Fraher Reflects on His Work in Brazil

By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Robert Fraher, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Stout, is spending his sabbatical exploring Brazil.

Through two separate artist residencies at Despina in Rio de Janeiro and the International Brazilian Opera Company in Brasília, he is hoping to bring together material for a body of work that reflects his interest in urban Brazilian culture. The work is intended to investigate similarities and differences between the historical and the contemporary.

“The focus of my time in Rio, as well as next month in Brasilia, has been to acquire photos, video, and audio I can work with over the next several months,” he comments.

As to why he picked Brazil for his sabbatical, Fraher adds: “I’ve been interested in Brazilian culture for 25 years, ever since I was first exposed to bossa nova. When I started considering residency destinations for my sabbatical, Brazil was at the top of the list.”

He continues: “Given the richness of the history, it’s hard to argue against coming to Brazil. And given the current struggles of marginalized communities, such as the LGBT community and non-white Brazilians, the country is also on the front-lines of a global civil rights war, and therefore an important place for the practice of art.”

During his time in Rio spent as artist-in-residence at Despina, Fraher has been working on three different projects in collaboration with local artists and NGOs.

The first is a re-imagining of the classic bossa nova song, Girl from Ipanema. “This project was conceived as a gender-inclusive, body-positive piece that celebrates femininity through diversity. I shared a very simple early prototype of the piece at our final exhibition at Despina,” he comments.

He continues: “I and a friend, Gil Lima, who is a samba and choro guitarist in Rio, played the harmony and melody along with the projected animation. To be clear, this music was not bossa nova! I intend to rework the original song to move away from its beach-side ballad origin and instead become more of a march or parade soundtrack, something very celebratory.”

The second project that Fraher has been working on came through reading an article about the NGO Samba 360 in The Rio Times. Fraher then helped out the NGO by bringing some football (soccer) equipment across from the U.S. to Brazil.

Once here, he was able to connect with the children and get their help for his next project, “an artwork that addresses Brazilians’ relationship to football and the importance of big dreams of any kind,” he comments.

Fraher continues: “Ricardo Calçado, from a partner NGO, Onda Solidária, helped me recruit some of the kids in his program for a video of various shots on goal. Some of the players are quite good and I am very excited to see what I can make of this footage.”

The third project Fraher has been developing is in collaboration with Brazilian artist Thelma Vilas Boas and bar owner Kriss Coiffeur.

Vilas Boas and Coiffeur are partners on a community outreach and art project in Rio’s Pequena África called Lanchonete Lanchonete. “The goals of the project relate to using the practice of art as a framework for connecting with the community,” Fraher comments.

“This connection takes many forms, including community discussions, film screenings, and cooking and art classes for kids. Thelma, Kriss, and I are working on a set of videos to communicate the activities, purpose, and underlying philosophy of the project,” he adds.

While now back in the U.S. after finishing his second residency at the International Brazilian Opera Company, Fraher believes that the influence of such a visit will be with him for a long time to come. “My time in Brazil promises to be a defining influence in my creative work for the foreseeable future,” he comments.

Fraher adds, “The impact of the sights and sounds, smells and flavors has already been incredible. But I think it will be my memories of the Brazilian people I have met along the way that will stay with me the most.”

“I don’t think a person can spend the amount of time in Brazil that I have and not walk away with a profound feeling of connection. Mine has been an overwhelming sense that we’re all in this together… and hence, a sense of responsibility that we better act like it,” he concludes.