SELF PORTRAIT OF BRAZIL
Portraits and statements of 50 personages 1981-1983 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000GRETTA'S BEHIND THE SCENES

During the late 1970's Gretta began to shuttle between Europe and Brazil, showing in group and one woman exhibitions in most of the important European art capitals. The work was intended to be an objective and representative image of the country without any political connotations. She quickly came to the realization that few people knew anything about her country.
This discovery combined with her belief that Brazilians do not value their own culture highly enough, lead her on a single-minded effort to capture the spirit of Brazil in a series of portraits depicting the 50 most prominent and legendary people of Brazil, at that time.

click here to see exhibition project

Some of the essays published for the book published on the occasion of Gretta's exhibition at the MUSEU DE ARTE DE SÃO PAULO (MASP) and the MUSEU NACIONAL DE BELAS ARTES DO RIO DE JANEIRO (MNBA), exhibitions sponsored by the Brazilian goverment, Sao Paulo, Brazil:

"An actor's profession lies in his ability to open his heart and show the deepest part of his personality thorough the characters he plays. Gretta Sarfaty seems to go beyond this, when she portrays us. She reveals a whole complex of all these personalities, but she also accomplishes something unheard of. That's me, here, but this unknown me reveals more of myself than any other experience of photography, cinema or television." - essay written by Tonia Carrero, published in 1982 for the book SELF PORTAIT OF BRAZIL, São Paulo - Brazil. Tonia Carrero was born in São Paulo, is a brilliant actress. In the theatre and TV Tonia encountered the best way to show her talent. "

"Capturing in a single picture the whole personality of a 2000 - year - old actress is a task that only an artist like Gretta (she herself a work of art) can undertake 2"- essay written by Marília Pera, published in 1982 for the book SELF PORTAIT OF BRAZIL, São Paulo - Brazil; Marília Pera: American critics elected best actress in 1981. She was born in Rio de Janeiro, Jan. 22, 1943

"Mirror and photographs steal a man's soul. This primitive way of perceiving acquires a civilised antithesis in Gretta's work. She doesn't steal. She reveals, unveils, surprises and shows people's souls. She doesn't steal but conquers. Her work, like every true artist's work, goes beyond the reality of faces, gestures, skin, nerves, wrinkles, smiles and veins. She transforms the mass-produced image of man into something unique, typical and essential".

"Yes, Gretta is a "paparazzi" without a flash. Her characters have come out strongly toned, with all the shades and secrets. Those who have been taken unaware by Gretta cannot expect a faded photograph or a lost negative. They will be history. Showing, in the future, the face of a country as it was in the eighties".