The decorative fantasy of modernity of the uneducated, uncouth and deviant

Abstract

Decorative art, assumed to create objects of ornamental fantasy, has usually been shirked from the debates on modernisms in Brazil, despite its significant participation in the modernity processes. Given its polysemic nature, many popular manifestations can be included under this moniker, produced by actors excluded from the canonical art historiography for being considered uneducated, uncouth, and deviant. By understanding Carnival floats and costumes as decorative attitudes, referenced by Fléxia Ribeiro, one can develop new perspectives about decorative actions of modernity and their protagonists, sometimes little known and mostly anonymous.

Keywords:
Decorative art; Modernisms; Fantasy; Carnival; Absences