The Brooklyn Rail is a free and independent publication that provides space for critical perspectives on art, culture, and politics. In the February 2021 issue “Only Anthropophagy Unites Us?” (published in Portuguese and English), The Rail asked a group of Brazilian artists and thinkers to consider “Anthropofagia” in a contemporary context, on the cusp of the art movement’s 100th anniversary. We were invited by editors Tiago Gualberto and Sara Roffino to design the issue, which explores the movement’s history and continued impact on Brazilian art and thought.

Embracing poet Oswald de Andrade’s 1928 Manifesto Antropófago (Cannibal Manifesto), Brazilian artists of 1960-70s used the term Anthropofagia to describe the artistic strategy of ‘cannibalizing’ Western influences as a reaction against colonial cultural power. Similarly, we looked to the document as inspiration for the issue’s cover design and interior spreads. Combining Girott’s declarative letterforms with the poetic sensibility of Art Company Mono, the typography references the manifesto’s formal qualities as well as its urgent tone. Interior layouts in black & white embrace newsprint as a medium, while title settings inspired by concrete poetry and rule-breaking image placements add a sense of tension that mirrors the issue’s content.