The Fotoformas of Geraldo de Barros: Photographic Experimentalism and the Abstract Art Debate in Brazil

Geraldo de Barros produced a series called Fotoformas, consisting of photographic experiments that pioneered abstractionism in Brazil. Since the mid-1990s, this series has been presented in various retrospective exhibitions and publications. The predominant critical interpretation of the work has linked it with Concrete Art, downplaying Barros's participation in the Bandeirante Photography and Cinema Club (FCCB), an amateur association. This article rethinks his engagement in both circuits, demonstrating that the artist created the Fotoformas in dialogue with this photo-club. The author also analyzes Barros's experimental approach, which was based on the inscription of indexical marks on the images to deny the constraints of the camera, with the emphasis instead on process and interdisciplinary artistic practice. Thus, he created an alternative to Brazilian abstractionism, which focused mostly on formal aspects.