The Erratic Method: a Conversation with João Luiz Musa about his Artistic Practice and the Teaching of Photography at the University
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2178-0447.ars.2025.236609Keywords:
Art Teaching, Photography, Photography at the UniversityAbstract
João Luiz Musa (1951, São Paulo, Brazil) is a key
figure in Latin American photography. His intellectual work integrates practice, theory, and teaching. As a photographer and professor, he has helped train generations of professionals and researchers. At the University of São Paulo, he established the analog and digital photography laboratories, developed the curricula for photography courses, and coordinates the Photographic Printing Research Group. He has exhibited his work in museums and galleries and published numerous books. In the interview conducted in 2024 by Lucas Eskinazi and Marcelo Schellini, Musa reflects on his career as an artist, the photographic language and its teaching at the University, the tensions between artistic practice and teaching, and the challenges of transmitting knowledge.
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L’année dernière à Marienbad (1961), Dir: Alain Resnai, Roteiro: Alain Robbe-Grillet, França, 1”34’, Son., Pb.
MUSA, João Luiz. O leão na praça. 2020. Tese (Livre-docência) – Escola de Comunicações e Artes, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo. 2020.
MUSA, João Luiz. Um inverno (1973-1974). São Paulo: Edusp, 2010.
MUSA, João Luiz. O viajante e as cidades. 1999. Tese (Doutorado em Artes Plásticas) – Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 1999.
SCHELLINI, Marcelo; ESKINAZI, Lucas. O mundo como imagem e a imagem do mundo: fotografando o Google Street View. ARS, São Paulo, v. 22, e221298, 2024. Disponível em: https://revistas.usp.br/ars/article/view/221298. Acesso em: 3 nov. 2025.
WESTERBECK, Colin; MEYEROWITZ, Joel. Bystander: A history of street photography. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2017.
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