Cláudia Andujar

Claudia Andujar (Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1931- ). Photographer. She lived in Hungary and then in the United States, before moving to São Paulo in 1957. Devoted herself to photography and worked for national and international publications such as the magazines Realidade, Claudia and Life. She also lectured in photography on various courses, including the one at the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand - Masp [São Paulo Assis
Chateaubriand - Masp [São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand Museum of Art]. During the 1970s, she was a member of the photographic team of Realidade and carried out a wide-ranging reportage on Amazonia. During this period, she received a scholarship from the US institution, the Guggenheim Foundation, and subsequently another from the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp) to study the Yanomami Indians, with their traditions and way of life, forming the central theme of her work since then. From 1978 to 1992, she worked for the Committee for the Creation of the Yanomami Reserve and coordinates the campaign for the demarcation of indigenous lands. From 1993 to 1998, she worked for the Institutional Programme of the Pro-Yanomami Commission. In partnership with George Love, she published the books Amazônia (publisher Editora Praxis) in 1978; Mitopoemas Yanomami, (publisher Olivetti do Brasil) in 1979; Missa da Terra sem Males [Mass of the Land without Evil (publisher Tempo e Presença), in 1982; and Yanomani: A Casa, a Floresta, o Invisível [Yanomami: the House, the Forest, the Invisible] (publisher DBA) in 1998, among others. In 2005, her book A Vulnerabilidade do Ser [The Vulnerability of Being] was published by Editora Cosac & Naify.

Critical Commentary

During the 1970s, Claudia Andujar received a scholarship from the Guggenheim Foundation in the United States and subsequently another from the Fundação de Auxílio à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo [São Paulo Research Support Foundation] (Fapesp) to study the Yanomami Indians, living among them for five years. Her observation of the way of life and traditions of the Yanomami has been the theme of her activity as a photographer since then.

In works shown at the 24th São Paulo International Bienal, in 1998, she presented images in sepia with major interventions of the light, attracting the attention of the spectator principally to the gazes and gestures of the Indians. Her portraits are generally taken against a neutral background, with the light striking on them as a golden graining. In other works, she includes in her photos the images produced by the Yanomami themselves, such as rock paintings. She has published books and made a documentary on her research.

From 1978 to 1992, the photographer took part in the Comissão pela Criação do Parque Yanomami [Commission for the Creation of the Yanomami Reserve], coordinating the campaign for the demarcation of indigenous lands and fighting for their rights. From 1993 to 1998, she was also active in the Programa Institucional da Comissão Pró-Yanomami [Institutional Programme of the Pro-Yanomami Commission].

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