The extinction of the Federal District University (UDF/RJ): the end of the utopia of training modernist arts teachers (1935-1939)

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to comprehend the tensions that caused the extinction of the University of the Federal District (UDF/RJ) and that ended the innovative project for the formation of arts teachers that took place at the Institute of Arts of the aforementioned university in the 1930s. The theoretical framework that underpins the reflections of this research is based on the works of the following authors: Basbaum (1976), Fávero (2004), Lopes (2006, 2009), and Mendonça (2002). The methodology consisted of the document analysis of the following collections: Education and Society Studies and Documentation Program at UFRJ, Portinari Project at PUC-Rio, Casa de Rui Barbosa Foundation, and The Brazilian Digital Newspaper and Periodicals Library. The analysis of the sources made it possible to confirm that the innovative artistic practices that took place at the IA/UDF promoted the experimentation of new techniques and materials as well as contributed to the elaboration of works that broke with the standard of academic art. This resulted in the representation of the people in its various manifestations, causing great discomfort in conservative sectors, both in the artistic and the political spheres.

Keywords:
teacher training; modernism/communism; authoritarian context