U+MAG: an independent Brazilian digital magazine
"In some religions, one must be baptized in water for a new, sinless person to emerge. Maybe that can unfold, in different ways, for a magazine like U+MAG, which is created from scratch every three months, sinless and clean - as I've said in past issues. And in life, it's sometimes crucial to be born again, everyday. But there is a baptism inside this edition, and it happened through images by Lucas Bori and Fernando Mazza. They are responsible (together with Cassia Tabatini, Daniel Malva, Tiago Chediak and Hugo Toni) for the pictures that act as breathers within this issue, which marks a transition to a new phase for the magazine. It is now divided between online (exclusive stories regularly posted on our website), mobile (iPad, iPhone and Android) and print (print on demand is the future!). This issue of U+MAG is special for another reason: it's our anniversary edition (but without golden, celebratory caps) and also because it celebrates in an unconventional way and running from stereotypes what an emerging nation can show the world. In this issue's opening pages, Bruno Munari's quote is the perfect translation for what we want to convey. Things that make our lives interesting. It's not as if the magazine has a message such as 'Yes, we have Bananas, and they are the world's best'. It's much more than that: we present Brazilian imagery outside of the tourist package that's usually spread around, specially when the country concerned is about to host a World Cup and the Olympics. But we treat it all ironically (e.g. the story shot by Vitor Pickersgill, inspired by the carioca piriguetes, a term for local, shamelessly clad girls) and poetically (such as the Iemanja 2.0, beautifully impersonated by Thais Custodio). If we focused the whole issue on Brazil, however, we would be closing ourselves to the world. And it goes against our principles. That's why the stories shot by our foreign collaborators are indispensable for U+MAG's universe. They are essential for our formula to work out. Our exaggerated, bold and visually ever changing spirit will remain intact. The covers, on the other hand, will suffer a redesign in 2013. A preview of that process is the cover of our special collector's issue – all to value photography and imagery. Besides, fresh air is always appreciated. A special thanks for all who were part of U+MAG's history so far, and hello for all newcomers, who believe in our work and our philosophy."
(U+MAG, 2012)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Uncontacted tribe found deep in Amazon rainforest
"Brazilian authorities say they have pinpointed the location of a community of ancient and uncontacted tribespeople in one of the remotest corners of the Amazon rainforest.
Fabricio Amorim, a regional co-ordinator for Brazil's indigenous foundation, Funai, said the indigenous community had been found after three small forest clearings were detected on satellite images. Flyovers were carried out in April, confirming the community's existence.
Four straw-roofed huts, flanked by banana trees and encircled by thick jungle, can be seen in photographs taken during the flyover.
The community is likely to be home to about 200 people, probably from the Pano linguistic group which straddles the border between Brazil, Peru and Bolivia, according to Funai.
Amorim said the region - known as the Vale do Javari - contained 'the greatest concentration of isolated groups in the Amazon and the world' but warned of growing threats to their survival."
(Tom Phillips, 22 June 2011, The Guardian, UK)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Animated décollage technique used to produce 'Capitu' title sequence
"Capitu is a Brazilian TV mini-series adaptation of 19th-century novelist Machado de Assis’ work, Dom Casmurro. The story centres on an ageing man looking back on his life in an attempt to discover whether his best friend is the true father of his son, who he has raised with his wife, Capitu. De Assis’ novel is now considered one of Brazil’s most important Modernist texts and, in order to convey its radicalism, motion graphics studio Lobo looked to the Dadaist movement as inspiration for the TV show’s opening titles and interstitials. The team referenced what several avant-garde artists called ‘décollage’, a process where – rather than building up an image through layering – cutting and tearing instead reveals layers of buried images."
(Patrick Burgoyne, 28 April 2009)
Fig.1 'Capitu' title sequence.
Fig.2 The making of 'Capitu' title sequence.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
DAP-Lab: cross-media performance lab
"DAP-Lab is a cross-media lab exploring convergences between performance, telematics, textile/fashion design and movement, clothing and choreography, visual expression, film/photography, and interactive design.
Founded in 2004, the Lab is now housed at Brunel University and continues research partnerships with multiple sites in the USA, Japan, and Brasil which have formed the ADaPT network on performance telematics since 2000. DAP-Lab also connects ongoing research investigations and productions in dance (Digital Cultures) with performance/science collaborations (TransNet), and brings these partnerships into knowledge transfer with performance, multimedia and electronics engineering research at Brunel University's School of Arts and School of Engineering and Design."
(Johannes Birringer)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The University of the Third Age (U3A)
"The University of the Third Age (U3A) is a highly successful adult education movement providing opportunities for older adults to enjoy a range of activities associated with well-being in later life. Two substantially different approaches, the original French approach, and the British approach which evolved a few years later, have become the dominant U3A models adopted by different countries. Within many countries communications between the individual U3A groups is limited; between countries there is even less communication. Thus, very little, that is readily accessible, has been written about U3A developments internationally. This article provides an overview of U3A in many countries. Data were obtained by contacting colleagues in a number of countries for up-to-date information about U3As in their region.
U3A underwent a substantial change when it reached Cambridge in 1981. Rather than relying on university good will the founders of the British model adopted an approach in which there was to be no distinction between the teachers and the taught (Laslett, 1989). Members would be the teachers as well as the learners and, where possible, members should engage in research activities. The "self-help" ideal was based on the knowledge that experts of every kind retire, thus, there should be no need for older learners to have to rely on paid or unpaid Second Age teachers. Laslett provides a substantial rationale for this approach. The self-help approach has been highly successful in Britain as well as in other countries such as Australia and New Zealand. Some of the strengths of the approach include: minimal membership fees; accessible classes run in community halls, libraries, private homes, schools, and so forth; flexible timetables and negotiable curriculum and teaching styles; wide course variety ranging from the highly academic to arts, crafts and physical activity; no academic constraints such as entrance requirements or examinations; and, the opportunity to mix with alert like-minded people who enjoy doing new things. Each U3A is independent and is run by a democratically elected management committee of members."
1). Wokingham U3A Open Day, UK
2). Peter Laslett (1989). A fresh map of life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
