Alexandra von Ungern-Sternberg -
Two Aruanãs
Brazilian, b.1967
Two Aruanãs, 2007
C-Print on canvas, 21.5 x 21 inches
09.022
Gift of the Artist
Alexandra von Ungern –Sternberg was born on March 3, 1967 in Recife – Pernambuco in Brazil. She has lived and Studied in the US, Argentina, Brazil and Austria (speaks English, German, Spanish and Portuguese) She currently lives in Vienna where she works and continues to study art.
The Two Aruanãs is a piece about watching Brazilian Indigenous people fade away… The vanishing of traditions and their struggle to maintain their original culture are represented by out of focus digital photographs. The “Aruanã Dance” is the most important ritual of the Karajá Indians from Central Brazil. The ritual narrates the birth of the tribe that according to the legend originated underwater the Araguaia River. The men wear straw masks and costumes with colorful feather heads. The photographs were taken by the artist at an Indian reserve by the Araguaia River in the heart of her home country.
