Genevieve Naylor, a Good Neighbor Photographer in Brazil (1941-42)

Ana Maria Mauad

doi:10.19177/rcc.v12e22017181-208

Abstract

This article analyses historically the photographs taken by Genevieve Naylor, an American photographer commissioned by US State Department during the Second World War, when she travelled throughout Brazil, as a good neighbour photographer. In this sense, it is considered the elements of the form of expression and the content of the photographic message, emphasizing the three aspects of visual cultural strategies: firstly, the way in whichthe human subjects are depicted, understanding the representations of the body as support for social relationships. The body represented in Naylor’s photographs is the sign through which social relationships are revealed; secondly, how the places where Naylor travelled were depicted in the creation of a sensitive geography seeking to overcome the official protocols to show a multiple Brazil; fallowed by an evaluation of how her images were publicized throughout cross country exhibitions.

Highlights

In 1940, the photographer Genevieve Naylor and her companion Misha Reznikoff, an artist, were sent to South America by Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA), the wartime agency organized to cultivate Latin American support for the allies
I shall consider the elements of the form of expression and the content of the photographic message, emphasizing the two most striking aspects of the visual narrative and evaluate how her images were publicized throughout cross country exhibitions: Firstly, the way in which the human subjects are depicted, understanding the representations of the body as support for social relationships
The body represented in Naylor’s photographs is the sign through which social relationships are revealed; secondly, how the places where Naylor travelled were depicted in the creation of a sensitive geography seeking to overcome the official protocols to show a multiple Brazil

Summary

Introduction

In 1940, the photographer Genevieve Naylor and her companion Misha Reznikoff, an artist, were sent to South America by Nelson Rockefeller’s Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA), the wartime agency organized to cultivate Latin American support for the allies. The body represented in Naylor’s photographs is the sign through which social relationships are revealed; secondly, how the places where Naylor travelled were depicted in the creation of a sensitive geography seeking to overcome the official protocols to show a multiple Brazil.

Results

Conclusion