In 1937 the German government, led by Adolf Hitler, opened a large exhibition of modern art with about 650 works confiscated from the country's leading public museums entitled Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst). Marc Chagall, Otto Dix, Max Ernst, George Grosz, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, László Moholy-Nagy, Piet Mondrian and Lasar Segall were among the 112 artists who had works selected for the show. Conceived to be easily assimilated by the general public, the exhibition presented a highly negative and biased interpretation of modern art.

The Degenerate Art show had a rather large impact in Brazil. There have been persecutions to modern artists accused of degeneration, as well as expressions of support and commitment in the struggle against totalitarian regimes. An example of this second case was the exhibition Arte condenada pelo III Reich (Art condemned by the Third Reich), held at the Askanasy Gallery (Rio de Janeiro, 1945). The event sought to get support from the local public against Nazi-fascism and to make modern art stand as a synonym of freedom of expression.

In the 80th anniversary of the Degenerate Art exhibition, the University of São Paulo’s Museum of Contemporary Art, in partnership with the Lasar Segall Museum, holds the International Seminar “Degenerate Art – 80 Years: Repercussions in Brazil”. The objective is to reflect on the repercussions of the exhibition Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst) in Brazil and on the persecution of modern art in the country in the first half of the 20th century. During three days the Seminar will have round tables formed by national and foreign experts, as well as presentations selected from this call for papers.
This is a public call for researchers that have their PhDs, are applying for PhD, masters and masters students, from different areas and professional profiles, who have carried out or are carrying out research related to the theme of the Seminar, in its diverse manifestations.

Proposals should be submitted with an abstract containing from 200 to 300 words, and must include title, author's name, the highest academic qualification obtained, academic or professional link when applicable, and citation of one or more relevant works.
The communication proposals may address some of the topics listed below, but are not necessarily limited to:

- the assimilation of the term "degenerate art" in the artistic debate in Brazil in the first half of the twentieth century;
- episodes of persecution to modern art in Brazil;
- the biography of artists, Brazilian or immigrants, whose life and work were impacted by the persecution to modern art in Brazil;
- art criticism and exhibitions as tools of political engagement / propaganda in the first half of the twentieth century;
- the formation of private collections and institutional collections in the context of the persecution to modern art;
- the antifascist action of intellectuals, critics and artists in Brazil in the first half of the twentieth century;
- developments of the Degenerate Art exhibition and episodes of attack on modern art in Latin American countries, which help to contextualize the Brazilian case, are also welcome.

The selection criteria for the proposals will be: relevance to the theme of the Seminar, quality and originality of the reflection.

Up to 16 proposals will be selected to be presented in 04 communication sessions, distributed on April 25, 26 and 27, 2018, in the Auditorium of the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of São Paulo at Ibirapuera Park. Each presentation will last 15 minutes and the sessions will be followed by discussion.
The official languages of the event are Portuguese and English. Unfortunately MAC USP is not able to offer any kind of financial assistance to participants.

The proposals must be sent by March 9, 2018 to the e-mail: eventosmacusp.br, with the subject of the message “CPF Seminar Degenerate Art”. The result will be announced until March 16, 2018.

The seminar “Degenerate Art – 80 Years: repercussions in Brazil” is a complementary event to the exhibition “The Degenerate Art of Lasar Segall: Persecution to Modern Art in Times of War”, held at the Museum Lasar Segall until April 30th. 2018. During the Seminar there will be the launch of the exhibition catalogue.