My Cart
Gift Certificates

ARTBOOK BLOG

RECENT POSTS

DATE 7/4/2026

Declarations of Independence: America at 250

DATE 6/2/2026

Gregory R. Miller & Co., Greene Naftali Gallery and Cora Cohen Trust announce the launch of 'Cora Cohen'

DATE 6/1/2026

Pride Month Staff Picks 2026

DATE 6/1/2026

New from Primary Information: ‘Paul Mpagi Sepuya: SHOOT’

DATE 5/30/2026

Artbook @ Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles Bookstore presents the LA launch of Laurenz Brunner's 'Dictionary of the Illegible'

DATE 5/28/2026

One master paying homage to another in the new, expanded edition of ‘Joel Meyerowitz: Morandi’s Objects’

DATE 5/24/2026

Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore presents the launch of Laurenz Brunner's 'Dictionary of the Illegible'

DATE 5/22/2026

Memory and optimism in Robert Adams’ ‘The Plains, Remembered Again’

DATE 5/21/2026

Join Artbook | D.A.P. & DelMonico Books at MSA Forward 2026

DATE 5/20/2026

Cat personality beaming out in 'Walter Chandoha: Family Cats'

DATE 5/19/2026

High power, low tech activism from lesbian collective fierce pussy

DATE 5/19/2026

Rizzoli Bookstore presents Pieter Henket and Justin Gaspar in conversation for the launch of 'Birds of Mexico City'

DATE 5/17/2026

Artbook @ MoMA PS1 Bookstore presents the launch of Ben Thorp Brown's 'Cura's Garden'


EVENTS

CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 2/11/2014

Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer

In Favelization, Adriana Kertzer sets out to understand the ways in which specific producers of contemporary Brazilian culture capitalized on misappropriations of the favela (informal squatter settlements that grow along the hillsides and lowlands of many Brazilian cities) in order to brand luxury items as "Brazilian." Kertzer analyzes the the works of artists and designers citing instances of engagement with primitivism and stereotype to make their goods more desirable to a non-Brazilian audience. The author further argues that the processes of interpretation, aestheticization, transcendence, and domination are part of the favelization phenomenon. Originally written by Kertzer as a thesis for Parsons The New School for Design's Masters program in the History of Decorative Arts and Design, Favelization locates design as part of a broader constellation of representations that includes a variety of forms, from printed media to film.

Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer

In English and Portuguese. Available for iPad, Kindle and Nook!

CONTENTS
Introduction
Favelization in Film
Favelization in Fashion
Favelization in Design
Conclusion

APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Films Showing Favelas Released Between 1934 and 2012
Appendix 2: Transcript of "The World of Carlos Miele" Vogue TV Video
Appendix 3: Press Coverage for Neorustica
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Publisher

To see more books on topics and trends in design published by the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, visit the DesignFile page on our site.
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer
Now Available from the Cooper-Hewitt’s DesignFile eBook Series: 'Favelization' by Adriana Kertzer

Favelization eBook

Favelization eBook

DesignFile
Available for iPad, Nook and Kindle