a language, the craft of these true Amazonian artists.

Connectarch brings another report on Brazilian crafts. This time, the highlight is the craft of letter openers, artists who created a tradition in the northern region of the country by registering their brands on boats, walls and facades. Knowing Brazilian culture is not the easiest task, given the diversity and dimensions of this nation, but is, Certainly, enriching and fascinating to discover its origins, your people, your geography. hear stories and, even if only for a few minutes, enter the memories of these people who have a lot of stories to tell, it's a privilege. Embark on this story with us!

Attribute of the Amazon region, the craftsmanship of letter openers is a craft of few artists who, mostly, passes knowledge from father to son. So are known those who paint names, sayings and words on boats, walls and facades of that region. It's about creating lyrics., today very colorful, full of refinements and ornaments, developed by specific professionals on boats, at first, e, now, on storefronts and even in homes.

Object of study of the São Paulo designer Fernanda Martins who, when traveling to Bethlehem, in 2004 – moved there in the same year –, comes across the painting of boats. The art of letter openers gave rise to the project letters that float, which has among the objectives, since 2013, map the Amazon letter openers and, in the words of Fernanda, “give visibility to painters and enhance their craft through different actions, such as documentaries, painting workshops and lectures. We also seek to enter public notices to enable them to have more job opportunities”, says Fernanda when she says that it all started when, when moving to the city, spotted the first letter right on arrival. “Ali, I noticed something unique and started a personal research that became a specialization monograph and later the Letras que Flutuam project.”

Photo by Fernanda Martins

Perfecting…

The beginning of this art is not known for sure., as Fernanda tells. “We know that in the mid-1990s, 1930 the obligation to identify the boats by the Captaincy of Ports began. The testimonies of older painters indicate that in the beginning simple letters were painted in black. After, the colors started to appear. Many of them cite correspondence courses from the Instituto Universal Brasileiro, of Publicity and Propaganda, where they had contact with catalogs of typefaces, that contain print templates. There they came into contact with decorative forms and began to copy. After, every painter who saw a boat with a colorful decorated letter wanted to make a prettier one in his next job. Thus, what we call the Amazonian Decorative Letter was developed.”

Photo by Fernanda Martins

The art is well known in the regions of Belém, barcarena, abaetetuba, Igarapé-Miri, icoaraci, sour, Salvaterra, Sao Sebastiao da Boa Vista, Corralinho, Ponta de Pedras e Breves. Yet, It is worth mentioning that the letters developed by the professional letter openers bring specific marks and colors that can identify the regions of the artists who created them., Fernanda explains. “There are characteristics that belong to each municipality. We can identify by the colors they use or by the font style. Soure has a very specific font format and Igarapé-Miri always uses orange, for example."

Mostly developed by men – “there are reports of women, but few”, explains Fernanda – opening letters is a craft that makes artisan Mario Luiz Leão Gaia very proud, better known as marino, a letter opener from the Barcarena region, no stop. “To be a letter opener is to be a great professional, a great artist. It's turning a simple letter into a decoration item”, celebrates. the artist of 44 years says that “it is very nice to be recognized and praised” for the work that is done. letter opener from 1997, he, who out of curiosity learned the trade, believes he received the divine gift of this art. “I have always admired other artists and lived a lot with some of them.. I wanted to visit them., thus, it would be easier to learn. I started working as a helper, with a friend from the region, Mr Manuel, or Manduca, and then I went to work, to be a professional in the field”, marine account.

On the other hand, Waldemir Caravelas Furtado, 54 years, account that he was encouraged by his family to enter the art of opening letters. “Since I was little, I was encouraged by my parents., mainly by my mother. She saw some traces in drawings in schoolwork, and started to buy crayons, and from there I also dedicated myself”, explains Waldemir that, just like marino, credit your ability to a gift. “I never studied, I had no teachers to become a lyricist, so I believe I had a gift and I just honed it.” With 44 years of profession, “I started at 10 years old and I still remember the first painting I did, what I consider official, because it was already a paid job. It was on a vessel and I still remember the writing: 'Riso do Mar' ", remembers Waldemir. Known as an advertising artist in the region where he lives, also in barcarena, today he signs his art in residences, churches, applying specific techniques that each one of them requires.

Manoel Messias Cravo, another letter opener, says that the first contact with the craft happened with her father, who was a painter, and it was from whom he learned, when he was approximately 17 years. “My father was my teacher. He was a very competent professional and, At that time, we didn't have many boats, but the ones that appeared, people painted.” Today, to 68 years, away from the art of opening letters on boats, Manoel continues with the profession, leaving their traces on other fronts like signs and banners, but, for him, It's an honor to have learned the profession from my father and to be able to live from his art until today.

Samia Batista's photo

letters that float

The role of the Letras que Flutuam project goes beyond promoting and preserving the culture of this art. The project connected artists from these different and distant areas, transforming knowledge into something collective, says Fernanda. “Painters didn’t even know each other outside their fields.. It is important to remember that municipalities, mostly, communicate only by boat. From Belém to Breves it takes six hours by boat. communication is difficult, complicated, time-consuming. Letras que Flutuam visits the municipalities, looks for letter openers and interviews them. In this way, participate in the project's actions. No moment, three of them will go to Belém to paint a room about their works in an exhibition. Today we have a WhatsApp group that allows the exchange of information between them. We seek to sensitize the local public authorities so that the secretaries of culture, of Education, also know and value this knowledge and encourage its continuity”, finishes Fernanda.

Connectarch was in the Amazon, in the last month of may, together with a group of invited architects and interior designers. A transformative experience that you can check out a little of what happened there in the first episode of Connectarch Cast com Marko Brajovic: