DESIGNFILEAvailable for iPad, Nook and KindleFavelization eBookAdriana 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. | FROM THE ARTBOOK BLOG CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 3/14/2014 This week in the Huffington Post, Maria Gabriela Brito reviews Favelization, the Cooper-Hewitt's newest ebook in the DesignFile series. Brito interviews author Adriana Kertzer about the practice and ethics of "marketing luxury goods and exotic experiences based on the idea of life in the favelas." Kertzer responds, "A discussion about favelization (which I define as the use of references to Brazilian slums to brand luxury items as "Brazilian") requires that we address the difference between the meanings attached to favelas in Brazil and those employed by companies and individuals using references to favelas in the marketing of high-end products. Favelization also raises questions about the myths of racial democracy and intersocial class cordiality common in mainstream discourse about Brazil. Discrimination based on race, socioeconomic background, and place of residence are a reality in Brazil, as well as government inaction, mismanagement and corruption.
continue to blogFROM THE ARTBOOK BLOG CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 2/11/2014 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.
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