Research as Resistance: in conversation with five artists
A necessary challenge for all researchers is not only to find ways of researching that are not exploitative or extractive, but that support the people who collaborate in the research.
In Olinda, Pernambuco, we engaged in a spoken and musical conversation with five artists: Leo Lima, Mestre Ulisses, Mestre Juarez, Negão do Coco and Mestre Emerson. The artists have a combined mastery of several art forms, including Samba de Coco, Bumba meu Boi, Capoeira and Cavalo Marinho. These are arts that originate, and in some cases are almost exclusively practised, in the Northeast of Brazil. The key enquiry is to ask artists what resistance and change-making the artists perceive in their practice. This starts from an observation that practitioners have maintained these cultural expressions despite material, political and economic struggles.
For many artists, resistance is keeping going – it is stamina – in the face of relentlessly difficult circumstances. Material viability is part of it, as popular art requires space to train or rehearse, costumes and materials, and because artists depend on their income. The economic is intricately entwined with the social – what the community wants to participate in or dance to. And the negotiation of the survival of art forms is real: rabecas (folk fiddles) fell out of favour for a couple of generations in the 20th century until Mestre Ambrosio re-established them in the early 1990s.
A number of themes came out of the conversation. One is the personal struggle as artists create a path for themselves, managing to better their lot and work in ways that are fulfilling for themselves and valued by the community. This personal journey is recounted in songs inspired by experience that frequently use humour and reflection to relay experiences.
The second theme was of supporting the community, and particularly children, through inclusive social projects. Art provides opportunities to learn and develop social and professional skills, create positive relationships, and relate to role models, including teachers. Simultaneously it removes the children from more dangerous environments, pastimes and networks.
Thirdly, there is resistance in preserving the arts themselves as the arts embody the perspective and experience of people from the region. Popular arts are not theorised in a standard or written canon, and what is passed forward is what it practised in public spaces. Naturally there are changes in art over time, and how those changes are managed and what is maintained as central is defined through the practice of the art itself.
Finally, within the arts there are stories of class and social struggles. These provide a context that has points of contact with artists’ lives and aspirations. They are narratives that expand and contract, that are re-negotiated in the telling, and that provide a hosts of references for those who are familiar with the characters, events and situations that are being recounted.
How do these forms of resistance map onto bigger threats? Brazil has its share of environmental catastrophes and political adventures. The artists’ work is local, primarily engaging the immediate community, but it takes seriously the place of art in providing a focus, a definition and a set of constructive narratives. The artists’ goal is to support and contribute to a community that derives coherence and shared understanding through appreciation of, and participation in, popular arts.
These definitions and areas of resistance are significant for designing further research activities. By opening the conversation for each of the artists to bring their own reflections, they were able to listen to, and respond to the observations made by others. This is contributive and substantive to the research process, as ideas and insights came from the interaction – including the musical interaction – as well as from the individual responses. In small ways the conversation galvanised ideas around practice and its impact.
